Inspired by his 1845 trip to Ireland. AN ELOQUENT FUGITIVE SLAVE FLEES TO IRELAND is a fictionized account of Frederick Douglass’ voyage across the Atlantic Ocean on the steamship Cambria. Exploring themes of racism, sexism, and freedom, AN ELOQUENT FUGITIVE SLAVE FLEES TO IRELAND uses dialogue sprinkled with rap to give enhanced contemporary resonance to a largely unknown page of Frederick Douglass’ life.
Genre: Global Majority Experience
Endlings
On the Korean island of Man-Jae, three elderly haenyeos—sea women—spend their dying days diving into the ocean to harvest seafood. They have no heirs to their millennia-old way of life. Across the globe on the island of Manhattan, a Korean-Canadian playwright, twice an immigrant, spends her days wrestling with the expectation that she write “authentic” stories about her identity. But what, exactly, is her identity? And how can she write about it without selling her own skin?
Quarter Rican
A young father in the playground, eleven-month-old baby in tow, engages another parent in the park in a conversation about neighborhoods, parenthood, and culture, processing some of his traumas and insecurities along the way as he tries to predict the factors that will shape his child’s Latinx identity. Meanwhile, his alter-ego, a swaggering hip hop jester named MC Plátano, comments on the action, fills in some of the blanks, and asks us some difficult questions.
The Boy Who Kissed The Sky
Set in the heart of Seattle’s Central District to the rhythms that shaped a generation, THE BOY WHO KISSED THE SKY, is inspired by the early life and influences of Seattle native and musical icon Jimi Hendrix. The early era of rock ‘n roll music sets the stage as a young Black boy conjures his creativity as a budding guitarist. Guided by the spirit of music itself, the boy learns to find harmony inside the challenging noises of his life. Told with vibrant music and daring imagination, this play inspires us to dream big when it matters most.
The Vagrant Trilogy
THE VAGRANT TRILOGY consists of three plays: The Hour of Feeling, The Vagrant, and Urge for Going. In part one, The Hour of Feeling, (1967) we meet Adham, a hot young scholar back from university in Cairo, readying himself to go to London to give a talk. He marries a girl from the village and takes her with him, and when war breaks out at home, the two near-strangers must decide what to do. The second play in the trilogy, The Vagrant, finds Adham and Abir nearly 20 years later (1982), divorced, him teaching at a humble college in London. Adham’s hopes for professorship are tested when both “homes”—England and Palestine—flare up with political violence, and the compartmentalization he’s built around himself in order to survive starts to crumble. The third play, Urge for Going, finds a completely different Adham and Abir, representing a different fork in the road taken back in 1967. We see them in a modern-day refugee camp in Lebanon, with a daughter (Jamila) determined to break out of the endless stasis of her family’s life.
12 Ophelias
In this play with broken songs, Shakespeare’s Ophelia rises out of the water dreaming of reclaiming her life. She finds herself in a neo-Elizabethan Appalachian setting where Gertrude runs a brothel, Hamlet is a Rude Boy and nothing is what it seems. In this mirrored world of word-scraps and cold sex, Ophelia cuts a new path for herself.
Shot: Caught A Soul
Kareem, a Black teen, waits for the bus, at night, in a suburban White neighborhood. He is approached by O’Donald, a White police officer. They struggle. A shot rings out. Kareem is dead. O’Donald says he feared for his life. The Police Union’s representative defends the shooting as self-defense. Kareem’s Aunt Janice protests her nephew’s death as racial profiling. There are no witnesses, but the truth will not die. Kareem’s spirit haunts Officer O’Donald, demanding to know why he was killed.
The Two Kids That Blow Shit Up
Diana and Max meet at 9 years old, the day their parents start having an affair. In the ensuing decades, they see each other through highs and lows, trying not to make the same mistakes their parents did. A play about trying not to fall in love with your best friend so you end up hating them.
twenty50
In the year 2050, Latinx people have been assimilated into the (white) majority of the United States, but race issues are far from resolved. In this tricky political environment, Andres Salazar is running for office and must decide whether losing some of his own identity is worth the potential social benefits. When a mysterious stranger appears at his house, Andres’s family must rally around him to save his imperiled campaign.
Plantation Black
PLANTATION BLACK is a compelling tale that unfolds through two distinct timelines, delving into the history of the Prioleau family. For nearly two centuries, since 1822, the Loch Dhu Plantation in South Carolina has remained under the ownership of the Prioleau family, comprising both White owners and the Black slaves they once possessed. In the year 2017, the White Prioleau descendants reach out to their Black counterparts in an attempt to resolve the ownership of the land and the distribution entitlements. They all have the same last name and share common biological ancestors. However, their bonds are as deep as the paper claiming half of the Prioleau tree as property.