Who: Theater Breaking Through Barriers
What: Second Virtual Playmakers Intensive
Where: TBTB YouTube, Facebook
When: August 3-10, free, 7:30 on YouTube, 8:15 on Facebook
Why: Now in its forty-first season, New York City-based Theater Breaking Through Barriers “is dedicated to advancing artists and developing audiences of people with disabilities and altering the misperceptions surrounding disability by proving, once and for all, that disability does not affect the quality or integrity of our art or artists.” Because of the pandemic lockdown, it is going online with its Second Virtual Playmakers Intensive, titled “Voices from the Great Experiment,” consisting of new plays created on and for Zoom. From August 3 to 10, the troupe will present eight works exploring the American condition, one each night, streaming for free at 7:30 on YouTube and 8:15 on Facebook, consisting of Fareeda Ahmed’s The Olympians, directed by Kristin Heckler and starring Shravan Amin, Samantha Debicki, and Paul Pryce; Khalil LeSaldo’s Sing, directed by Ward Nixon, with Martin Lewis and AhDream Smith; Enrique Huili’s 3 Stops from Loop Tape Station, directed by Ashley Scott, with Juan Carlos Diaz and Melissa Jennifer Gonzalez; Christopher Chan Roberson’s M-O-U-S-E, directed by Kimille Howard, with Scott Barton, Nayab Hussein, Ayako Ibaraki, and Sean Phillips; Chris Phillips’s Cloudbusting, directed by Stuart Green, with Jen Bradley, Richard Lear, and Dan Teachout; Jeff Tabnick’s What If You Read My Plays, directed by Richard M. Rose, with Alyssa M. Chase and David Harrell; Tatiana G. Rivera’s (UNTITLED), directed by Everett Quinton, with Veronica Cruz, Christopher Imbrosiano, Patrick O’Hare, and Estrella Tamez-Penney; and Monet Marshall’s 3 Gods on a Zoom, directed by Keyanna Alexander, with Kalilah Black, Robin Carmon Marshall, and AhDream Smith. “Disability intersects with all populations in our world: every age, race, gender, and sexual orientation. TBTB strives to create a common ground for all voices and serves as an ambassador in the quest for full, systemic equality in our world,” artistic director Nicholas Viselli said in a statement.