DALLAS, TX—Cara Mia Theatre and Soul Rep Theatre Company resume their groundbreaking CAFÉ/NEGRO ARTS SERIES (established in 1998), with an audio play regional premiere production of Pulitzer Prize nominated playwright, Dael Orlandersmith’s, MY RED HAND/MY BLACK HAND, a poetic play about a half Indigenous, half African-American young woman. The play, directed by Soul Rep Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director, Guinea Bennett-Price, features three dynamic actors – Dallasite and celebrated neo-soul singer, N’Dambi; rising star of the Dallas stage, J Davis-Jones; and Alaskan based actor, Allan Hayton. The audio play will feature original and traditional blues and native music arranged by Music Director, Fredrick Sanders. The play will preview on October 12–Indigenous People’s Day–and officially stream October 15-November 8, 2020 online. The production, presented in partnership with Weatherford College and Indigenous Direction, is funded in part by the City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, The Law Offices of Domingo Garcia, Mercado 369, Moody Fund, and TACA.
MY RED HAND/MY BLACK HAND unfolds as a young woman describes the past, present and future of her parents’ cultures. She tells us about the “Red” Tlingit and Lakota parentage of her father, who leaves the reservation to play the blues in Boston, and the “Black” rural Virginia background of her mother, who goes to Boston seeking the big-city life. Her parents meet at a dance and fall in love, but not without the complications of prejudice from their families. “This piece truly lends itself to being an audio play,” says Bennett-Price. “It is a lovely soundscape capturing the oral and musical traditions of both Black and Indigenous people. Orlandersmith vividly explores a multi-ethnic woman’s unique place and struggle, being not only BORN and TORN between two worlds, but also WARMED by them.”
The reboot of the Cafe/Negro Arts Series could not come at a better time for Cara Mia and Soul Rep, who are both celebrating their 25th Anniversaries, and recently co-founded a BIPOC Arts Coalition with Bishop Arts Theater Center and Teatro Dallas. “There is so much power when two companies like Soul Rep and Cara Mía work together,” said David Lozano, Executive Artistic Director of Cara Mía Theatre. “The creative process has been full of powerful moments of discoveries and sharing, and the community programs will show how much impact our two companies can have when we put our minds and hearts together.”
MY RED HAND/MY BLACK HAND marks the second regional premiere of a Dael Orlandersmith play in two years for the North Texas community. Soul Rep produced Orlandersmith’s Pulitzer Prize nominated play, YELLOWMAN, in 2018 to critical and audience acclaim.
Tickets to stream the audio play are $10 and will be available for purchase beginning October 1st. A preview performance is set for Monday, October 12–Indigenous People’s Day–at 7:30 pm. A series of COMMUNITY ACTION CONVERSATIONS will be curated to accompany the run of the play. Please visit www.caramiatheatre.org or www.soulrep.org for tickets, more information, and details.
CARA MÍA THEATRE’S MISSION: To inspire and engage people to uplift their communities through transformative Latinx theatre, multicultural youth arts experiences and community action.
SOUL REP THEATRE COMPANY’S MISSION: Soul Rep Theatre Company exists to provide quality transformative Black theater that enlightens the imagination, the spirit, and the soul.
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