FRIGID New York presents the 2024 The Fire This Time Festival at a brand new home this January. The Obie Award-winning festival celebrates its 15th anniversary at wild project with the return of its annual Ten-Minute Play Program.
The six playwrights whose ten-minute plays will receive their world premiere include Taylor A. Blackman, Kamilah Bush, Leelee Jackson, Monique Pappas-Williams, Nia Akilah Robinson and Joël René Scoville. Cezar Williams, the Producing Artistic Director of The Fire This Time who directed the 8th annual Ten-Minute Play Program, returns to direct the 15th anniversary Ten-Minute Play Program.
In season 15, the ten-minute plays all focus on Black women and the Black family with themes ranging from a family who redefines the meaning of kinship, both biological and chosen, and another family who deals with the psychological toll racism has on their teenage daughter; women navigating careers as artists and activists and the demands it places on their private lives; young women confronting colorism within the Black community; and women being empowered to reclaim their agency and autonomy by refusing to be confined by unfulfilling relationships. The cast of the Ten-Minute Play acting company includes Marinda Anderson (Merry Me, You Will Get Sick, sandblasted, The Cake), Danielle Covington (Limes at Hudson Guild), Benton Greene (Power: Book II, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, Sweat), Larry Powell (The Christians, Seared, Father Comes Home From the Wars), and Shayvawn Webster (Law & Order, FBI).
It’s Karen B****!
Written by Taylor Blackman
The King Family is the "perfect" black family, with the "perfect" black life. Both parents in the household, one "successful" child, upper-middle class wealth, very liberal affirming values and mindsets and everyone is in therapy. What more could you ask for?! But the world turns awry in black paradise when the only child of the family reveals a huge secret that turns everything and everyone on its head.
Mamas and Papas
Written by Kamilah Bush
16 years ago Charles fathered a child who he left with his mother to raise. After his mother’s passing, his daughter has come to live with him and two people with full and beautiful, but complex, lives attempt to find a new way through grief and family together.
What’s Love Got To Do With It?
Written by Leelee Jackson
What’s Love Got To Do With It? centers an intimate bedroom conversation between A Woman and Her Man, a good man who fails to meet the standards of a good woman. This play is a fabulation of A Woman who prioritizes her desires above the complacent desire someone has for her.
The Mural
Written by Monique Pappas-Williams
Nia, a once carefree artist, now an activist painter, is confronted by her ex-partner Riz, freshly released from prison. As they reconnect and rehash their past, Nia struggles with her identity as an artist and activist, and Riz challenges her work's authenticity. Amidst tension and unresolved emotions, they find a cathartic release in creative collaboration, leading to self-discovery and healing.
Why Jamira Gotta Do All Da Werk?
Written by Nia Akilah Robinson
Jamira and Kiana, two party friends, discover what keeps them stuck from their friendship progressing beyond the club and face uncomfortable revelations which slowly begin to unravel under the guise of self-hatred.
Ethel & Ethel
Written by Joël Rene Scoville
It's their two-year anniversary and all Ethel Williams wants to do is have a romantic night with her secret love, Ethel Waters. But when they keep getting interrupted by a gentleman caller, the two women must decide if they still have something to celebrate.
Thriving in the Theater: A Panel Discussion
Moderated by TFTT founder and Executive Director Kelley Girod
Monday, January 22 @ 7 PM
You just have to write the play. Then you just have to get it produced. Ok, now you just have to get an agent. Ok, NOW you just have to get your agent’s attention. Actually, maybe you should move to Los Angeles to write for TV/film…If you feel like the target for what it takes to be a successful writer keeps changing, you are not alone. Since our founding 15 years ago the creative landscape for playwrights has shifted drastically, seemingly creating more opportunities across platforms for artists, but some of the obstacles have remained the same. In this panel discussion we speak with leading Black theatermakers including Keith Josef Adkins (New Black Fest), Garlia Jones (Harlem9, Blackboard Playreading Series, Black Motherhood & Parenting New Play Festival) and Goldie Patrick (Dramatist Guild) for a candid conversation to demystify what it takes to succeed and survive in the arts.
