Feature photo: left to right: Candance Boahene as Sofie, Anita Coleman as Co- Worker, Cassandra Stewart as Candy Moon, Jasymn Green as Genna, Jennifer Angel as Coco Brown.
Julie Whitney Scott, an acclaimed playwright and journalist herself, established the Columbus Black Theatre Festival to both present family-friendly entertainment at a reasonable price to foster a new generation of theatre lovers and also to present the work of playwrights at a time when productions of local plays are not easy to come by. She’s created an umbrella for vibrant new work and a rallying point for theatre makers and aficionados of the local black theatre community and the theatre community as a whole. She and her board sift through submissions on the lookout for new work.
The 3rd Annual Columbus Black Theatre Festival begins on Friday, July 10,2015 with two workshops. “Time to Write that Play” for young writers (split into two groups, 8-12 years old and 13-18) takes place at the MLK Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Libraries (1600 E Long St) with sign-up at 11:00am, lunch served 12:00-1:00 and the workshop from 1:00-5:00pm. The other workshop, “Improv Your Way into that Role” is geared toward people 16 and up and takes place at the Sheppard Branch (790 Nelson Rd), also with sign-up at 11:00am, lunch served 12:00-1:00 and the workshop from 1:00-5:00pm. Starting with education is a key focus of the festival, providing an outlet and encouragement for artistic expression.
July 11th and 12th take place at the Columbus Performing Arts Center at 549 Franklin Ave.
Saturday’s lineup:
- 1:00pm. “Hit the Dirt” by Is Said. Over the last 40+ years, Is Said has been one of Columbus’s finest playwrights, poets and performers. He’s also been a mentor to Whitney-Scott personally and heavily involved in the Columbus Black Theatre Festival from the beginning. “Hit the Dirt” is a new play of his set on a playground and geared toward children built around a sense of encroaching peril being presented in a reading.
- 2:30pm. “The Holy Shop” by Charlay Marie. Charlay Marie’s first produced play deals with a shop owner facing foreclosure with a fabulist bent delving into changes and “miracles” occurring within the shop outside of human intervention.
- 4:00pm. “Through the Fires” by Aaron D. Martin. Martin’s play follows a young man adrift after the death of his Father, struggling and rootless as his siblings thrive.
- 5:00pm. “Damsel Arise” by Jean E. Green. Green’s play is about a woman having a crisis of faith and trying to find her way back to God, including dealings with an angel and Lucifer himself.
- 7:00pm. “Ready to Grow” by ZF Taylor. Taylor, acclaimed actor, director, minister and musician presents a revision of his musical that deals with a man’s struggles at home and in his heart after losing his job.
Sunday’s lineup:
- 3:30 and 6:45pm “Come Alive” by Julie Whitney Scott. This new musical by the festival’s founder deals with bullying, and how it doesn’t always end at childhood, and suicide. Based on award-winning contemporary Christian record Arise: Permission to Live by Cassandra Stewart.
- 5:50pm “G-h-e-t-t-Oh No She Din’t” by Tasha Neal. One of the most talked-about writers and performers in past years, Neal returns to the festival with this one-woman comedy.
Columbus Black Theatre Festival runs July 11-12 at CPAC (549 Franklin Ave) with workshops on July 10 at the MLK (1600 E Long) and Sheppard (790 Nelson Rd) branches of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. For tickets and more info visit colsblacktheatrefestival.com.