[NEohioPAL] KARAMU THEATER: ARENAFEST

[michael oatman]

Karamu House Inc. Announces the Beginning of the 16th Annual 
R. Joyce Whitley Arenafest: Festival of New Play Readings
*ADMISSION FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Ms. Lady Lincoln
by Naomi Brown
This challenging period piece set in 1940s Mississippi follows one woman’s search for identity and answers to the one fundamental question. Who am I? Set against the backdrop of the past, this piece mirrors the struggle of woman to find a place in a sometimes hostile world.
Monday
January 7th, 6pm
January 14th, 8pm
Not My Father 
By Joyce Andrea Sampson
This terrific family drama addresses issues of loss, grief and forgiveness. Washington D.C. playwright, Joyce Andrea Sampson, pens an explosive narrative on how a dysfunctional family can sometimes pull together in times of crisis and find the courage to love one another.
Monday
January 7th, 8pm
January 14th, 6pm
Conner’s Boy
By Zetta Elliott
This domestic drama explores the social and racial politics that occur when an African American man named Conner kills himself and leaves behind a son. Soon a custody battle ensues leaving "Connor’s boy" trapped between Connor’s African American fiancee and the white family that raised Connor.
Tuesday
January 10th, 6pm
January 17th, 6pm
Hurting Starr
By Ameena Brown 
This engrossing heart rending drama follows the plight of Starr, a young girl who, due to the death of her grandparents who were raising her finds herself back with her mentally unstable mother. Refusing to properly medicate herself, the mother spirals down a tragic path of drug addiction. Starr attempts to find the strength to persevere through mental and physical abuse.
Tuesday
January 8th, 8pm
January 15th, 6pm
All Over
By Jamie Brunson
This fascinating romp alternates between drama and comedy and follows the adventures of Clive a newly discharged Gulf War veteran. Upon his release from the armed services Clive finds himself up to his ears in trouble and winds up in purgatory. This wonderful piece explores Clive’s desperate attempt to escape purgatory and get back to the arms of East, his lady love.
Wednesday
January 9th, 6pm
January 16th, 8pm
 
The Heart of God
By Joan Wheeler
This poignant piece explores one man’s loss of faith and the journey he must take to re-strengthen the beliefs given to him by his beloved mother.
Thursday
January 10th, 6pm
That Word
By Henry Miller
This comic curtain raiser deals with America’s pre-occupations with the word Nigger and the social impact of the word in the African American Theater.
Thursday
January 17th, 6pm
Summer Night and 
Fireflies
By Bianca Samms
This wonderfully delightful piece centers on the story of Zandra, a young woman who is struggling to get over a hurtful past. In love with Sean, the best man she has ever known, Zandra must discover a away move-on and accept love. Set in an East Texas bar in the ‘80s this atmospheric piece is quietly surprising and uplifting.
Friday
January 10th, 6pm
January 17th, 8pm
 
 
Ride the Rustling Wheat
By Francesca Sanders
This engrossing drama follows the story of Laurie, a young idealistic African American professor who lands her first job in a small Kansas University. Soon this dream job as a botany professor turns out to be a nightmare, as she realizes that she has been deceived by her department chairman, who secretly intends to force her to teach African American history because she is black. Laurie is thrown into a tailspin and soon visited by ghosts from the past who teach her the value of her people and her culture.
Friday
January 11th, 6pm
January 18th, 6pm 
 
 
*All 8pm show times are tentative and may be briefly pre-empted by earlier performance.
 
 
 
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