Mar 28, 2019 | Blog, Script-In-Hand Series, The Lab
Debora Threedy has premiered her plays THE END OF THE HORIZON, WALLACE (co-written with Jenifer Nii), THE THIRD CROSSING and ONE BIG UNION at Plan-B, as well as contributing to several SLAMs and (IN)DIVISIBLE. Her latest play, BALTHAZAR, will be read as the final free reading of this season’s Script-In-Hand Series on Wednesday, April 3 at 7pm. Click here for free-but-required tickets. My play, BALTHAZAR, is in conversation with THE MERCHANT OF VENICE. In Shakespeare’s play, Balthazar is the name Portia uses when she goes to court dressed as a man. (In case you are in need of a refresher: In the play, the merchant Antonio borrows money from Shylock, who as “a merry jest,” asks for a pound of Antonio’s flesh if he defaults on the loan. Antonio borrows the money to give his best friend Bassanio so that Bassanio may woo the rich heiress Portia in style. Bassanio wins Portia, Antonio defaults on the loan, and Shylock demands his pound of flesh. Portia offers to repay the loan but Shylock won’t take her money. She then dresses as a man and goes to court where she defeats Shylock. Everyone lives happily ever after – except Shylock, of course, who basically is convicted of plotting Antonio’s death and punished accordingly.) I am – or was, I’m retired now – a law professor and the genesis of this play came when I was doing research for an academic article about Portia. In the midst of this research, one day this thought popped into my head: When Portia goes to court, I don’t think it’s the first time she cross-dressed. It...
Mar 23, 2019 | ...Of Color, Blog
…OF COLOR is sold out but you can still see the show! WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27 Click here for details on this Benefit Preview Performance for Racially Just Utah. REGULAR PERFORMANCES MARCH 28-APRIL 7 Any tickets that come available will be listed here. Otherwise, a pre-paid waitlist will form in the box office one hour before show time. You must be there, in person, to get on the wait list. Then check back five minutes before show time. As many waitlisters as possible will be seated at show time. Those we can’t seat will receive a full refund. We’ve never had a sold-out performance where at least two waitlisters weren’t seated. Th & F @ 8pm, Sat @ 4pm & 8pm, Sun @...
Mar 12, 2019 | ...Of Color, Blog
Former Utah State Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck is Plan-B’s current board president. One of the things I love most about Plan-B Theatre is our willingness to tackle difficult subjects head on. And the uniquely Utah experience we intentionally incorporate into our work provides a much needed overlay to explore the good and bad in our collective lives. Bringing …OF COLOR to life is one of those experiences. The four short works featured in this production are a wonderfully organic result of a Theatre Artists of Color gathering that we at Plan-B initiated a couple of years ago. A few of the 51 artists involved in that discussion mentioned that they wanted to expand their experience in writing plays but didn’t know quite where to start. We facilitated that opportunity. These stories are our voices, our experiences as people of color in today’s Utah – you might feel slightly uncomfortable, slightly out of place as you experience them. That’s intentional – we invite you to be immersed in some of the day-to-day situations that are sadly commonplace for many of us. We’ll also provide a healthy dose of belly laughs. Use what you see, what you hear, to enlighten yourself as well as those around you. Seek understanding. Seek change. …OF COLOR (comprised of “American Pride” by Iris Salazar, “The Frailest Thing” by Bijan Hosseini, “Drivers License, Please” by Olivia Custodio and “Roar” by Darryl Stamp) premieres March 28-April 7. Limited tickets available...
Feb 25, 2019 | ...Of Color, Blog
Jerry Rapier has been Artistic Director of Plan-B Theatre Company since 2000. He directs …OF COLOR, premiering Mach 28-April 7, 2019 his thirty-third full production for the company, not counting myriad Script-In-Hand Series readings, revivals and 10-minute plays. The following also appears in the March 2019 issue of Catalyst Magazine. “Life is learning to hold paradox.” – from “The Frailest Thing” by Bijan Hosseini If I hear one more person say “I don’t see color” I might lose my mind. Why? Because it’s not true. It’s just a thing people say when they want other people to see them as progressive. Let me rephrase that: It’s a thing white people say when they want people of color to see them as progressive. You will never hear a person of color use that phrase. Because it’s not true. Nor should it be. What matters is what you do with what you see. Think “color conscious” not “color blind.” I will tell you right now that when I enter a room, the first thing I do – I have always done – is scan the room and take a headcount of the other people of color. Every room. Every time. Why? https://planbtheatre.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Puppet.mp4 Because I feel a pressure to act differently if I am the only non-white person in the room. And I have yet to talk to another person of color who does not do the same thing. Call it POC-GPS. If there’s more than one of us, we intuitively split The Load of Representation, aka The Expectation of White People That People Of Color Represent Their Entire Race And, In...
Feb 21, 2019 | An Evening With Two Awful Men, Blog
Yes, the run of AN EVENING WITH TWO AWFUL MEN is sold out. But…you can still see the show! A pre-paid waitlist will form in the box office one hour before show time. You must be there, in person, to get on the wait list. Then check back five minutes before show time. As many waitlisters as possible will be seated at show time. Those we can’t seat will receive a full refund. We’ve never had a sold-out performance where at least two waitlisters weren’t seated. Thursday & Friday at 8pm Saturday at 4pm & 8pm Sunday at 2pm Through March...
Jan 21, 2019 | Blog, Edward Lewis Black Theatre Festival, Script-In-Hand Series
Our Script-In-Hand Series is hitting the road (well, one block south and three blocks east to the Main Branch of the City Library)! Short plays-in-progress from our Theatre Artists of Color Writing Workshop – “Guise” by Chris Curlett & “DoLs” by Dee-Dee Darby-Duffin – will be read as part of the Edward Lewis Theatre Festival on Sunday, February 10 at 2pm in the Nancy Tessman Auditorium. Click here for free-but-required tickets. In “Guise,” two friends explore what it means to be a man in today’s world. And in “DoLs,” two nerdy girls become fast friends in the most awkward situation imaginable. Yes, we know it’s “Guise” and “DoLs” Directed by Jerry Rapier. Read by Tyler Fox, Tristan Johnson, Brian Kocherhans, Darby Mest, Katie Jones Nall, Yolanda Stange. Stage managed by Cate Heiner. We’re up first at 2pm, followed by selections from: Wasatch Theatre Company’s #MeToo Monologues University of Utah’s Department of Theatre’s The Lynchpin Life Canary Down the Mine Theatre’s Let Me Down Easy Click here for the origin story of the Edward Lewis Theatre Festival, celebrating its 10th anniversary! KRCL’s RadioActive chat with the playwrights and director at 18:56 at the SoundCloud link below....
