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Perceptions Theatre presents our 5th Annual BIPOC Play Festival dedicated to showcasing one act plays by talented playwrights of color. We have brought together 5 playwrights, 5 directors and 11 actors from South Shore, Chicago and the surrounding areas! You can attend the festival in person and will have access to this festival virtually soon after! These plays offer five diverse, intriguing tales that explore: friendship dynamics; job insecurity; prison industrial complex; and what happens when talk shows meet horror..
Meet The Cast & Directors
Not even a night of community, alcohol, and karaoke proves able to distract Oliver and Maya from the sorrow of a friend's passing. Instead, the inebriated duo mourn on an empty street, reminiscing about their friend group's past, contemplating the present, and grieving the futures of peers whose lives were cut short.
Imani 'Sinclaire' Johnson is an up and coming author elated to be invited onto the talk show of her childhood idol: thee renown Ro'Chelle Robins. However, when Ro'Chelle begins to micromanage, reimagine, and exaggerate Sinclaire's behaviors and autobiography, the young author must quickly adapt to the insidious and dishonest nature of both her idol and her chosen industry.
Jerluane "Jae" Jenkins
Director
Shanice Davis
Imani "Sinclaire" Johnson
Whitney Pipes
Ro'Chelle Robins
Cierra Sherise
Producer/Cue Card Holder
Imagine, in a rural Southern town, a Black mother holds her daughter’s racist rapist captive. A Time to Kill meets 12 Angry Men This powerful parable of what could come if change never comes takes place in a small Southern town. Henrietta Nolan’s daughter, Kamalise, is raped by John Joseph Bailey. The Baileys are a prominent, white supremacy family. They basically own the town and therefore, are impervious to the law. The assault on Kamalise unearths buried memories of Henrietta’s own attack, coincidentally, by a member of the same family. Unable to live with this recurring nightmare, Henrietta is determined to put an end to the abuse the Baileys wield in this town. Employing a variety of tactics, Henrietta is hell-bent on exacting a confession from John Bailey. While Henrietta confronts John Bailey, her children explore the
systemic racism and injustices in America. Through family stories, American history, and shared experiences, this suspense drama voices the unsaid, challenges the promise of America, and rips through the heart of one’s soul.
*Special Filmed Viewing*
Charlique C. Rolle
Director
Margo Harper
Henrietta Nolan
Andrew Freeland
John Joseph Bailey
In the wake of Bill Clinton's notorious "1994 Crime Bill," two Black people exist, incarcerated within a New York prison cell. Desperate and dehumanized, the two use their limited cooping mechanisms-conversation, literature, songs, board games, and prayer-in a constant effort to ward off insanity, violence, and self destruction.
Nia Vines
Director
MJ
Prisoner 1
Jamía Amíra Taylor
Prisoner 2
A duo spends their day lounging until one of the two initiates a sensitive topic: their hypothetical demise, complete with a post-death to-do-list for their friend to complete. The pair converses at length, pondering the logistics of some of the bullet points, their perspectives on life and death, and the bubbling emotions born from pondering a loved one's passing.
Ashley Keys
Director
Paloma Francesca Lozano​
Character A
Elizabeth Nungaray
Character B
Trio and Sage are roommates struggling with the circumstances of the 2020s: a devolving job market, a raise in fascism, and a botched economy, and most frightening of all, the impending end of their 20s. The friends spend tehri evening soothing one another, finding closure and direction despite an increasingly individualistic nation.
Maureen Azzun
Director
kendra renee​
Troi
Cierra Sherise
Sage
Meet The Production Team
Kenny Bell
Literary Manager
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Jabari Khaliq
Videographer & Cinematographer
Antwon Funches
Resident Graphic Designer & Social Media Manager
Lauren Littlejohn
Stage Manager
Stefan Brun
Lighting Designer
Jerluane 'Jae' Jenkins
Set Designers & Producing Executive Director
Myesha-Tiara
Casting Director & Producing Artistic Director
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