Playwrights Local Presents A Free Reading of a New Play *MEN DON’T CRY* *Written by Stephen D. Hood & Susan E. HughesDirected by Luther Pete Robinson* *Wednesday, January 27 at 7:00 pmPresented Online via Zoom* *INFO & ZOOM ACCESS* http://www.playwrightslocal.org/winter-roundtable-series-2021/ *CAST* Anthony Lanier Bobbie Dancy Stephen D. Hood Prophet Seay Andrew Aaron Valdez *SYNOPSIS* *Men Don’t Cry* is a choreopoem based on the lives of five men of color. As each man takes the journey from childhood to adulthood through trials, surviving life’s drama, successes and identity failures, they discover manhood and the wisdom that follows. As they explore topics such as death, religion, spirituality and growth, these men share their deepest secrets of discovery of who and what they are, and what the future holds for them. *ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHTS* *Stephen D. Hood: *As an actor, Stephen has been in Cleveland most of his career, and toured with a national company production of *Raisin: The Musical*. He has appeared on every Cleveland stage from Playhouse Square to Karamu House. His movie credits included Life’s Poison (Cleveland International Film Festival), directed by Malcolm Lee, also he appeared in Cleveland’s own *The Land: FAU*, a detective series by Dominique Paramore. *Men Don’t Cry* is Stephen’s first play, and has gained a following of its own. MAAFA by Terrence Spivey and Playwrights Local’s production of Live Bodies for Sale were Stephen’s last on-stage performances before COVID. *Susan E. Hughes* has performed on stages in the Cleveland area for many years. She was one of the founding members of Karamu House’s T.O.P.S. program and has taught for the Young Audiences’ Summer Literacy program. She has studied and worked under such notables as Margaret Ford-Taylor, Scott Spence, Fran Charnas, Fran Soeder, and Christine Buster. Currently, she is working on other literary pieces.