UP NEXT: DISCOVERIES OF THE SALON SERIES
UP NEXT:
NEW HOPE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH PRESENTS:THE NATIVITY STARRING KEISHA TAYLOR AS THE VIRGIN MARY
A full length play by Olivia Matthews
To recap: this year we’ve formally added a Salon Series of new and/or developing theatrical readings to our season. Our hope is to extend a bit of our love for process to our playwright friends. On April 26th we will host readings in Canton (1:30) and Cleveland (7:30).
Admittedly, our resources are limited in the preparation for these readings. We’ve attempted to space them between our fully staged productions; and in doing so, we have to keep the schedule for them to an efficient two rehearsals. This quick and dirty process has some challenges but also creates some fun opportunities for rigorous spontaneity.
The most obvious challenge is time. If you read any part of these blog posts, you’re likely to notice that we LOVE process and we relish spending extra time to develop a working actionable process per production. It’s much more of an artistic “triage” during these two rehearsals. The first rehearsal we’ll just read the script aloud, taking notes to ourselves where there are challenges or where we are NAILING IT. It’s an amazing thing to behold a play being read and being given life off the page for the first time. Sometimes it can be clumsy, sometimes it can be confusing, and sometimes things that are difficult to illustrate on the page immediately make perfect sense with a voice. The other major challenge for the day is the marathon we try to accomplish by doing two readings in two different locales on the same day. The decision was born from wanting to give the play the opportunity to experience more than one read and one audience while not taking an entire weekend away from the cast of [super wonderful, talented, collaborative, and gutsy] Northeast Ohio actors. We’re giving a bit more space between readings this round in hopes of giving a gentler cushion of time for our cast and facilitating ensemble.
The opportunities for productive and joyous art-making that present themselves in these readings continue to prove to us at SOTP that this endeavor is well worthwhile. First, these opportunities allow us to work with even more terrific actors in our community. A main stage season can be so limited in how many actors we’re able to accommodate, and getting to do a shorter commitment with more actors has been a real treat for us. Getting to provide these readings with two(ish) rehearsals and two readings feels like the right balance to get a cast comfortable enough with the script to make well-informed choices while allowing room for delightful surprises as new things are heard and given different priority. The audience receptions of our readings have been shockingly diverse between Akron/Canton and Cleveland. The responses and talk back conversations have illuminated radically different ideas and themes depending on whether they happen further south or north. There’s not really anything to diagnose there, just that it’s cool that these plays carry such a range of significance.
For the reading ahead, we did one extra step that we usually don’t have time for, but “huzzah” for planning WAAAAAAAY in advance. Olivia asked if Craig as AD, Zyrece as Director, and Michael as Producer, would read the play and give her notes a solid few months before the reading would occur. In the notes session, these three company members offered their unique perspectives on the play and Olivia, like a theatrical wide-receiver (let’s go sports!), caught every notion tossed her way. This play covered a lot of ground, and even among just the three of us, there was a lot to latch onto. We’re so excited to see Olivia’s latest draft, and hope you’ll join us for one (or both) of the readings April 26th. You can get your tickets here!
About the Play
Keisha Taylor is a #GoodGirl. Or so she’s told when she’s cast as the Virgin Mary over her “fast” friend Trinity in their church’s Christmas play. But when Trinity announces she is pregnant by divine intervention, everything Keisha knows about faith and friendship is turned upside down. As Trinity ignites a religious movement at school and online, a doubtful Keisha finds solace in a mysterious boy from the darkest tangles of the World Wide Web. With the Christmas play quickly approaching, can Keisha mend her friendship with Trinity while reconciling the limits of her own faith? The Nativity Starring Keisha Taylor is a satirical look at religion, purity culture, and Black girlhood in the age of social media.
Content warning: this play contains discussions/depictions of homophobia, misogyny, sexual harassment and exploitation, physical violence, fatphobia, and disordered eating.
