WITH STEW & HEIDI of PASSING STRANGE & COLEMAN DOMINGO
WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY | 5PM | FREE
We so rarely have the opportunity to pick the brains of our favorite artists for their wisdom, stories and insight. This year at Line Breaks, we sit down with each of our featured guests to ask 20 questions about their crafts, quests, and methodology. Join our intimate setting as we speak in-depth with Broadway performers Stew, Heidi Rodewald and Colman Domingo of Passing Strange, award-winning writer/performer Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and Bad Boy/Atlantic Records recording artist Janelle Monae.
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NEW WORKS SERIES PT. 2
ONE (WO)MAN SHOWS
WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY | 7PM | FREE
THE PROBLEM WITH SUNDAYS
ONE (WO)MAN SHOWS
WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY | 7PM | FREE
THE PROBLEM WITH SUNDAYS
Written and performed by Danez Smith (1st Cohort, First Wave)
Performer/educator Smith’s first solo work tells the story of Isaiah, a 20-something aspiring drag queen and reluctant evangelist. Navigating the turbulence between his daytime life as a representative for his community church and his secret night life as stage manager for the local drag club “And Gomorrah,” Isaiah is caught in the middle of two identities that refuse to agree. Smith narrates the story through seven compelling characters in this excerpt, to premiere at full length next year.
Written and performed by Camea Osborn (2nd Cohort, First Wave)
Langley Street is a fantastic fusion of spoken word poetry and theater telling the story of a community's journey through gentrification. Osborn challenges audiences to consider how they define transition through the personification of Langley Street's oldest house, its favorite porch, a flickering street light, and strutting pair of gator shoes.
Written and performed by Jessica Diaz-Hurtado (3rd Cohort, First Wave)
This show is based on the life of Elena Lopez, grandmother to Jessica Diaz-Hurtado. Throughout the piece the audience will see a woman from a “third world nation” grow through silence, learn by mistake, grasp onto her roots, and rebirth herself through strength. The way religion has molded the life of Elena, or Nena, is a strong theme as it ties Catholic and Mayan beliefs together. Diaz-Hurtado plays Nena and an outside perspective narrating her life from an actual letter about Nena’s life. In this excerpt from Act II, Nena is seen in two different perspectives: through her eyes and through her ex-lover’s eyes. We follow Nena on her journey from jumping in and out of abusers and to attempting to make it up north. We see the different realities that face Nena and women growing up in poverty in San Salvador, El Salvador in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
