Who: Candis C. Jones, Carmelita Tropicana, DeLanna Studi, Eisa Davis, Jaclyn Backhaus, Lydia R. Diamond, Lynn Nottage, Mahira Kakkar, Nikkole Salter, Patrice Bell, Rebecca Martinez, Regina Taylor, Russell G. Jones, Shyla Lefner, Stacey Rose, Tamilla Woodard, Taylor Reynolds, Tiffany Nichole Greene, Zuleyma Guevara
What: Microplays performed for one person at a time
Where: Theatre for One online
When: Thursdays, August 20 – October 29, free with advance RSVP, 6:00 – 7:30 (reservations available the Monday before the show at 10:00 am)
Why: Since 2010, Tony-nominated set designer Christine Jones has been presenting Theatre for One, short plays performed for one person at a time inside a mobile four-by-eight-foot repurposed musical equipment container, at such locations as Times Square, the Brookfield Place Winter Garden, Zuccotti Park, the Signature Theatre, and the Grace Building. With the pandemic lockdown, Jones and Brookfield Place are taking the show online, reimagining its motto of “Intimate Exchanges in Public Spaces” for private spaces, where specially commissioned plays by BIPOC women about intimacy and isolation at this challenging moment in history will be staged in computer boxes, for one audience member at a time, sitting in the confines of wherever they are sheltering in place. “Here We Are” is also being held in conjunction with the hundredth anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, but a century later, voter suppression, particularly of people of color, is still a major issue.
Co-artistic directors Jones and Jenny Koons said in a statement, “American theater is facing both a historic crisis and a historic opportunity: the COVID-19 crisis and the opportunity to fundamentally address white supremacy in our culture. A spectrum of responses is essential to create lasting change in the fight against systemic racism. The Black Lives Matter and We See You WAT movements, and all of the theater artists fighting racism in our community, inspire us. ‘Here We Are’ is our vision of American theater: one where a vibrant chorus of the most innovative and eloquent artists are centered to share their voices. Theatre for One is made by many. We are committed to creating intimate exchanges in equitable digital and physical spaces.”
The all-star roster for “Here We Are” includes playwrights Jaclyn Backhaus, Lydia R. Diamond, Lynn Nottage, Carmelita Tropicana, DeLanna Studi, Regina Taylor, Nikkole Salter, and Stacey Rose, directors Tiffany Nichole Greene, Candis C. Jones, Rebecca Martinez, Tamilla Woodard, and Taylor Reynolds, and actors Russell G. Jones, Mahira Kakkar, Patrice Bell, Shyla Lefner, Zuleyma Guevara, and Eisa Davis. Eight microplays (three of which are Pandemic Fight, Here We Are, and Before America Was America) will be performed Thursday nights from 6:00 to 7:30 (with additional, later shows some evenings), August 20 through October 29; free tickets will be available each preceding Monday at 10:00 am. There will be some interactivity, so have your computer audio and camera at the ready.