Festival 53 Invited Productions
Productions
For Respondents
Response Forms
- Unified Production Response Form
(for all respondents and directors) - Mileage Reimbursement Form
Here’s a quick look back at the productions featured at our last festival
We were amazed by the creativity, talent and resilience in our region. The selected productions represent the full range of our region’s college and universities and include classics as well as cutting-edge contemporary productions. You’ll see creative approaches to utilizing technology in this very different year. In past Festivals we have invited an average of four full productions, but because we are in a virtual festival, we are able to bring TEN productions.
The majority will be viewable on demand at any time from Jan. 31 through Feb.7, 2021. Some of them will be limited to set dates and times due to rights issues. Access to the shows will be through the festival virtual lobby. We encourage you to watch and enjoy the work of your peers and celebrate their ingenuity in making theatre during this extraordinary time…
Pipeline
by Dominique Morisseau
Directed by Marshall Jones
Florida International University
Performed via a Zoom-like format with creative editing and imagery. Ms. Morisseau’s play is an important piece of theatre for the time in which we are living. From the Director, Marshall Jones; “I was proud to be a part of this production because stories like those of the main characters – Nya, Omari, Jasmine and Xavier’s— need to be told. Particularly in a time like the present because race and racism are an insidious and constant intersection that influence so many aspects of America – politics, demographics, business, education, housing, healthcare and more.”
Streaming on demand, February 5th only!
Describe the Night
by Rajiv Joseph
Directed by Sam Buchanan
University of Southern Mississippi
Set in Russia over the course of ninety years, this thrilling and epic play by Rajiv Joseph traces the stories of seven men and women connected by history, myth and conspiracy theories.
In particular note is the innovative use of virtual technologies and editing. From the respondent “I have seen a few online shows since we have been quarantining, but so far nothing has come close to what this program has accomplished. It was the closest thing to watching live theatre as I have experienced and it was all done with strict social distancing protocols.”
Streaming on demand throughout the festival!
disconnect (World Premiere)
by Lee Shackleford and the Collective
Directed by Roy Lightner
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Ingeniously blending live action and prerecorded scenes (as well as music and dance!) “disconnect” gives the audience access to private online conversations of a dozen college students as they navigate a night of mistaken identities, bold revelations, and conflicting values… most of them revolving around a controversial web site called The Color Wall.
A truly multi-platform event in which the characters appeared not only in the show but in their Twitter and TikTok accounts mentioned in the play.
Streaming on demand throughout the festival!
Measure for Measure
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Fanni Green
University of South Florida
Would you compromise your essential self to save someone you love? Set in the midst of carnival, this production incorporates masks into the costume design allowing for a live filmed performance (no audience) in these times. As noted by one of the respondents; “The vocal work of the actors, at times thorough two sets of masks, is amazing.”
Streaming on demand throughout the festival!
Time Zones Apart (World Premiere)
by Eric Eidson and Lauren Lynch
Union College
Directed by Christie Connolly
Commissioned to create a “story that embraced rather than ignored the virtual space, both logistically and thematically.” (from Director Christie Connolly) This new work follows the journey of six relationships through video chat. The technology allowed for international students who were not able to return to the US were able to be a part of the production. Actors performed from Ireland, Brazil, Israel, Colombia and the US.
Streaming on demand throughout the festival!
The COVID Monologues
Devised
Bluegrass Community and Technical College
Directed by Tim Davis
An original piece to embrace the times in which we live, students, alumni, and faculty join together to address the 2020, COVID, civil unrest, protests, … you name it. The focus was on the individual experience as shared through a collective collaboration. Drawing on creative answers to resources, the show was filmed in a classroom space as the only available performance space was shut down due to COVID. This is a great example of the creative work at our regional community colleges and two year programs.
Streaming on demand throughout the festival!
She Kills Monsters; Virtual Realms
by Qui Nguyen
Directed by Sharon Ott
Virginia Commonwealth University
A touching comedy-drama about two teenage sisters. Agnes is drawn into her late sister Tilly’s personal Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) campaign—a fantasy Tilly created to seek refuge from everyday life. Playing the adventure filled with D&D monsters and high school friends and bullies, Agnes learns more about her sister than she could have in real teenage life. Playwright Qui Nguyen released this adaptation intended for online performances in response to the global pandemic and closure of theaters worldwide.
Streaming on demand throughout the festival!
Zoom (out) (World Premiere)
By Iona Sun Holder
Directed by Iona Sun Holder
Georgia State College and University
This is a new script specifically written to address the many competing ideas we are all faced with each day. Due to COVID and the resulting global pandemic, everyone can relate to the confusion and the need to learn a new way of making progress – the world looked a little upside down. In the course of learning a lot of new things, we have come to the conclusion that there is ALWAYS another way and if we can remind ourselves to take DEEP BREATHS, we can make FORWARD MOTION. We are ALL a part of something bigger – a story that is constantly evolving.
Streaming on demand throughout the festival!
Antigone
a dramatic adaptation by Emily Mann from the play by Sophocles
Directed by Gaye Jeffers
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Is a world in which the 24-hour news cycle has morphed into a 24-hour Zoom cycle, the war-torn city of Thebes exists in isolation and quarantine. The conflict between Creon and Antigone plays out in an environment of news reporters, images of civil unrest, and virtual visits.
Streaming on demand, February 6th only!
Expressions
Devised
Directed by Katherine LeRoy
South Georgia State College
A collaboration of the words of student writers, musicians, dancers, and crew members — plus voices outside of our community, to express the realities still facing our nation after four centuries. We are tired. Hence the need to have this conversation. We were able to create an experience that was as broad and far-reaching as the pain felt throughout this land each and every time another black or brown life is lost.
Streaming on demand throughout the festival!
