VIRTUAL PLAY SERIES, 2020
THEATRE SPARKS
Five short plays by Idris Goodwin, read live online with Mad Cow Theatre and directed by five Black women.
- 5short plays by Idris Goodwin
- 5Black women directors, one for each play
- 26actors answered the post-audition survey
WHAT IT WAS
THEATRE WHEN THE STAGES WERE DARK
In the summer of 2020, with theatres closed, BTGM and Mad Cow Theatre produced Theatre Sparks: Plays and Conversations for an Antiracist Tomorrow, a series of live virtual readings of Idris Goodwin's free plays about race in America: #Matter, The Water Gun Song, Nothing Rhymes with Juneteenth, Act Free and Black Flag.
Each reading was followed by a short recorded talkback with the director and cast, hosted by guest dramaturg Lynne Streeter Childress. The plan closed the series with a longer live conversation with the directors and the playwright.
WHO IT SERVED
ACTORS, DIRECTORS AND FAMILIES AT HOME
The series gave paid work to directors, stage managers and actors during the shutdown, and gave first directing credits with a professional theatre to BTGM members. Several of the plays are written for young audiences and their parents, so families could watch together.
ASL interpreters were part of the production, and Spanish translations of three plays were prepared. After auditions, BTGM surveyed every actor about how safe and comfortable the process felt.
HOW IT RAN
AUGUST TO OCTOBER 2020
- August 15, 2020. Virtual auditions for the play series.
- August 22, 2020. #Matter, directed by Mandi Jo John.
- September 5, 2020. The Water Gun Song, directed by Roberta Emerson.
- September 19, 2020. Nothing Rhymes with Juneteenth, directed by Karine Dieuvil.
- October 3, 2020. Black Flag, directed by Elaina Walton.
- October 17, 2020. Act Free, directed by Felecia Chivaugn Ellison.
- Every reading. Saturdays at 1 pm, streamed on Facebook Live on both the Mad Cow Theatre and BTGM pages.
- Company. Five stage managers under production manager MaRah Williams, with 30 actors on the casting list.
WHAT IT STARTED
THE PLAY THAT STAYED
One of the five plays never left. BTGM has produced Nothing Rhymes with Juneteenth at the Juneteenth Lunch and Learn every year since, performed live for children and the adults who bring them. A parent and a kid try to finish a rap for a school presentation, and end up talking about what the holiday means.
It returns at the 2027 Lunch and Learn.
Build the next one with us
This one is not coming back as it was, and that is the point. We shape new collaborations with arts organizations for a multicultural audience.
Collaborate with us