The work of three Illinois State University faculty will be featured at the Voices of Pride, a festival of new LGBTQ plays.
Voices of Pride is sponsored by New Route Theatre, in conjunction with Prairie Pride Coalition. The festival, featuring four selected submissions from around the Midwest, runs from April 22 to April 24 at First Christian Church, 401 W. Jefferson St. in Bloomington. Tickets will be available at the door for a suggested donation of $10.
garbage can blues, written by Associate Professor of English Paula Ressler and directed by Assistant Professor of Theatre Duane Boutté, will be at 7 p.m. Friday, April 22, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 24.
garbage can blues is the haunting tale of a lesbian mother struggling to come to terms with the circumstances of her son’s demise as she questions any role she may have played. Performed in a single act, garbage can blues reads with artful precision. The work paints a mother-son relationship that delivers enduring questions about society’s judgement of non-traditional families, and its effect on modern youth.
Thingification, written and performed by Associate Professor of English Duriel Estelle Harris and directed by Boutté and Gina Cleveland, will be performed at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 23, and at 6 p.m. Sunday, April 24.
Thingification is an expansion of Harris’ series of performance poems called “Phaneric Displays” including excerpts from her published works Amnesiac: Poems, and Drag. In a solo play in one act, Harris performs a progression of vivid characters from southern cotton fields to big city dance clubs, resulting in a compelling discourse on African American identity and empowerment.
Other plays will include ReConnect, written by DC Cathro, a playwright from Maryland, and Bedfellows, written by Daniel Kipp, a playwright from Rock Island. For more information regarding New Route Theatre and the Voices of Pride Festival, contact Don Shandrow at new.route.theatre@gmail.com or find New Route Theatre on Facebook.
