Primary Stages presentsFresh Ink Readings Series
featuring work form the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group
Skybox by Eric Micah Holmes
Wednesday, April 3rd, 3pm
"Skybox, " an Afro-surrealist satire, introduces Quincy Delacourt, a star professional basketball player at the height of his powers who shocks the sports world by announcing his retirement and disappearing. A year later, after a series of profane and oracular tweets, Quincy reemerges to play for The Valkyries, a struggling franchise in desperate need of his talent. As negotiations proceed, the mysterious circumstances surrounding Quincy's disappearance are revealed, blurring truth and projection, delusion and ecstasy, the mundane and the mythic.
this man i call mi primo by Benjamin Benne
Thursday, April 4th, 3pm
Sean and Nathanael are cousins, born just a few weeks apart in 1988. Every year they visit the same beach in Southern California (first as children, then as adults) to swim in the ocean, eat carne asada, and witness how their lives, their bodies, and the natural world around them have changed year after year. Spanning 10 billion years in the life of the earth, Benjamin Benne’s Seattle Rep 20x30 Commission is a theatrical meditation on human and ecological transformation, intimacy between men, and the cycles of life and death that shape our existence.
A Good Goodbye by Oscar Cabrera
Friday, April 5th, 3pm
Sam and Gus, inseparable friends from their Columbia days, find themselves isolated in a pandemic-ravaged NYC. As the city grapples with uncertainty, Sam's apartment provides solace. But when Gus receives an unexpected call-- one that eerily echoes his late father's voice-- it all changes. We are left with a play that questions what can be replicated in a world where echoes linger and memories intertwine.
Malcolm X and Redd Foxx Washing Dishes At Jimmy’s Chicken Shack In Harlem by Jonathan Norton
Tuesday, April 9th, 3pm
1943. Two young Harlemites – Little and Foxy – form a friendship over leftover fried chicken and dirty dishwater. But a long hot summer of heartbreak, betrayal, and racial uprisings moves them closer to the men they will become and farther from each other. Commissioned by TheatreSquared.
Sgt. Hank Cole's Drama Club of Algona by Calamity West
Wednesday, April 10th, 3pm
After being captured by Americans during WWII, a group of young foot soldiers from the German army are transported to a P.O.W. Camp in Algona, Iowa where they are recruited to join a Drama Club led by Sgt. Hank Cole. Inspired by actual events, Calamity West’s newest play explores the traumas of war, the cycle of violence perpetuated by global imperialism, and the magic of theater.
Thursday, April 11th, 3pm
Abby (dutiful girl next door) and her Uncle V (failed college basketball star) have dedicated their lives to the family's B&B on Martha's Vineyard, but when Abby's father (the illustrious film director Tyson T) and his beautiful wife Jasmine (ex-childhood star) move in, shit hits the fan. What happens when this upper-class black family and their close neighbors are forced to actually deal with each other and worse...themselves? Chaos, dangerous love liaisons, hilarious shade, and most importantly real conversations are on the menu. Will this family choose to heal together, or will they let deep-seated trauma break them apart? This is black Uncle Vanya on the Vineyard.
The Little Clay Cart by Madhuri Shekar
Friday, April 12th, 3pm
When the high-born Charudatta falls in love with the wealthy courtesan Vasantasena, the consequences ripple out into his marriage, his friendships, the city, and even the kingdom as a whole. A joyful and curious take on a 5th century Indian play about love, loyalty, and being a Good Person.
All performances are free and open to the public, and will be held at 59E59 Theaters, Theater A.
The Fresh Ink Readings Series is made possible, in part, through the generous support of The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation, The Ellen M. Violet and Mary P.R. Thomas Foundation, and public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
