News | April - June 2021 Newsletter
“It is an artist's duty to reflect the
times.” –Nina Simone, singer/song writer/activist
* The Secret Life of Wonder: a
prologue in G presented by Antipodes Theater Company & AngelPirate
Productions: Antipodes Theatre Company (ATC) continued their bimonthly Ricochet Reading Series in an online format, featuring plays that have yet to be
seen on Australian stages. The first plays in this lineup included The
Secret Life of Wonder: a prologue in G by U.S. playwright TS Hawkins.
On International Women’s Day, ATC presented this lyrical homage to Ntozake
Shange's for colored girls… which
follows seven young girls on their journey into womanhood. This presentation was
directed by Cheyenne Barboza and sponsored in part by AngelPirate Productions.
The all-Australian cast included Scout Hook, Andrea Mendez, Asha Khamis,
Mackenzie Dunn, Milo Hartill-Batsietswe, Zenya Carmellotti, Julie Leung, and a
special appearance by Augie Tchantcho. To read testimonials and biographies, click here!
* Queering Casting & Authentic Representation presented by BACKSTAGE & Ring of Keys: While it is illegal to ask someone’s sexuality and gender identity in hiring practices, authentic representation is vital. How do we bridge the gap? The Ring of Keys members discuss the importance of trans and queer representation in the industry, how we can achieve it, and what resources can be used for identity-conscious casting.
On May 10th, this conversation included queer perspectives on casting, performance, playwriting, dramaturgy, acting, on and Off-Broadway, and much more. Moderated by Ring of Keys members Emily Tarquin (they/them) and Kevin Kantor (they/them), the panelists included Keys TS Hawkins (they/them), Miss Hazel Jade (she/her), Charlie Hano (he/him), Christine McKenna-Tirella (she/her), Sushma Saha (she/they/xe/he), Josephine Kearns (she/her), and Michelle Mary Schaefer (she/her).
Backstage presented the conversation in partnership with Ring of Keys. RoK is an artist service organization that fosters community and visibility for musical theatre professionals—onstage and off—who self-identify as queer women and TGNC artists. It represents 500+ artists in 40+ cities throughout the United States, Canada, and England. By providing community outreach to advocate for and amplify queer women and TGNC artists and widening the public’s engagement with and education about queer stories, Ring of Keys queers the stage to create a more inclusive musical theater landscape for all. To watch the event recording, visit RoK!
* In My
Little Corner of the World, Anyone Would Love You by Sharon Hayes
presented by Philadelphia Museum of Art: Originally debuting in 2016 at Studio
Voltaire (London), this art film comes to Philadelphia as part of the New Grit: Art & Philly Now
exhibition! On display until August 22, experience the stories of queer
lives between 1955 and 1977 in the US & UK through this five dimensional
video installation (captioning available
on-site). Readers of this work include TS Hawkins, Pangia, Tiny, Mal
Cherifi, Sharron Cooks, Kristen Dieffenbacher, Jeannine Betu Kayembe, Jennifer
Angelina Petro, Swift Shuker, Karl Surkan, Madeline Rafter, Mahogany Rose and
Tatyana Yassukovich. For tickets and details, click here! To learn more about Sharon
Hayes, click here!
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IN THIS
ISSUE |
* Queering Casting & Authentic Representation presented by BACKSTAGE & Ring of Keys: While it is illegal to ask someone’s sexuality and gender identity in hiring practices, authentic representation is vital. How do we bridge the gap? The Ring of Keys members discuss the importance of trans and queer representation in the industry, how we can achieve it, and what resources can be used for identity-conscious casting.
On May 10th, this conversation included queer perspectives on casting, performance, playwriting, dramaturgy, acting, on and Off-Broadway, and much more. Moderated by Ring of Keys members Emily Tarquin (they/them) and Kevin Kantor (they/them), the panelists included Keys TS Hawkins (they/them), Miss Hazel Jade (she/her), Charlie Hano (he/him), Christine McKenna-Tirella (she/her), Sushma Saha (she/they/xe/he), Josephine Kearns (she/her), and Michelle Mary Schaefer (she/her).
Backstage presented the conversation in partnership with Ring of Keys. RoK is an artist service organization that fosters community and visibility for musical theatre professionals—onstage and off—who self-identify as queer women and TGNC artists. It represents 500+ artists in 40+ cities throughout the United States, Canada, and England. By providing community outreach to advocate for and amplify queer women and TGNC artists and widening the public’s engagement with and education about queer stories, Ring of Keys queers the stage to create a more inclusive musical theater landscape for all. To watch the event recording, visit RoK!
* They'll Neglect to Tell You presented as part of Theatre Exile's Studio X-hibition New Play Development: In May, They'll Neglect to Tell You was selected as part of Theatre Exile's Studio X-hibition new play development reading series. The virtual reading was directed by Lois Moses featuring Cynda Purnell as Grace, Angela Bey as Merci, and Mikayla Johnson presenting stage directions. For testimonials and visuals, click here! Additionally, feel free to sway to the journey of Grace & Merci with this curated MoodList on Spotify!
* #TimeWithTS: In the “downtime”, see what holds TS’s attention! The Top 3 - The Upshaws (Netflix), A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO), The L Word: Generation Q (Showtime). What shows/plays spark joy for you? Email us to shout out your favorite programming!
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ONGOING UPDATES |
* TSPoetics Press
* Plays by TS Hawkins
* Weddings by TS Hawkins
* Workshops by TS Hawkins
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RESOURCE LISTINGS |
* BLM Chapter Listing (Nationwide)
* List of BIPOC Artists, Designers, and Technicians (Nationwide)
* List Black Womynx Directors (Nationwide)
* List of LatinX Theatre Directors (Nationwide)
* BIPOC Creative Resource & Database
* Crowdsourced List of BIPOC Theatre Artists by Roger Tang
Interested in past TSPoetics Newsletters? Click to view!
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