Tuesday, February 16, 2016

New Route Theatre's BLACK VOICES MATTER Festival Starts Thursday


Inspired by the national #BlackLivesMatter movement, New Route Theatre has created a three-day theatre festival they're calling "Black Voices Matter: New Voices, New Plays, New Directions." "Black Voices Matter" showcases new work written, directed and performed by African-Americans from Bloomington-Normal and Chicago.

First up will be the play Shades written by Leola Bellamy, performed on Thursday, February 18th at 7:30 pm. That will be followed by Black, by Kamaya Thompson, scheduled for Friday, February 19th at 7:30 pm. Glass Half Black, by Matty Robinson, takes center stage on Saturday, February 21st, with a matinee at 2:30 pm and and an evening performance at 7:30 pm.

New Route will offer discussions following each performance to give audiences a chance to talk about what they've seen with the casts,  playwrights Leola Bellamy, Matty Robinson and Kamaya Thompson, and directors Jamelle Robinson and Gregory D. Hicks. Because there are three different plays and each post-play discussion will be different, New Route is encouraging audience members to attend every performance.

Although the shows are free, New Route suggests a $5 donation at the door. Performances will take place at the First Christian Church, 401 West Jefferson Street in Bloomington.

Here's the complete schedule:

SHADES
By Leola Bellamy
Thursday, February 18 at 7:30 pm

BLACK
By Kamaya Thompson
Friday, February 19 at 7:30 pm

GLASS HALF BLACK 
By Matty Robinson
Saturday, February 21 at 2:30 and 7:30 pm.

For more information about New Route Theatre or the "Black Voices Matter" project, please contact Don Shandrow, Artistic Director or Jamelle Robinson, Development Director at new.route.theatre@gmail.com or check them out on Facebook.

No comments:

Post a Comment