Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Upcoming: In Preparation for Eden by Roger Reese, ProArts Collective, April 19 and 20


ProArts Collective Austin TX






presents a staged reading ofRoger Reeves (image via ProArts Collective, Austin)

In Preparation of Eden

by Roger Reeves

April 19 and 20, 8 p.m.

Rollins Theatre, Long Center, South First at Riverside

General admission $22 + $4.50 fee; students with ID $7 + $2.50 fee

PURCHASE TICKETS via Long Center box office

Quincy Thompson wants nothing more than to have a quiet dinner with his family. However, a visit from Charlie Pay-Day, a hustler and unintentional comedian, quickly thwarts Quincy’s plans, and with Charlie’s disruption comes the unraveling of a family that began over one hundred years before that date. Set in Austin, Texas at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, In Preparation of Eden is a story of a family struggling against modernity, the criminal justice system, and the spiritual and psychic upheaval that is the 1960s.

Based on a true story, In Preparation of Eden is a result of the playwright's research into the history, people, and lore of Central East Austin. As revealed through a series of interviews of long-time residents. The play features a sprinkling of names and places once familiar in the area now designated as Austin's African American Cultural Heritage District.

After lengthy development and a series of table readings, this engaging work takes its next step toward full production on Thursday and Friday, April 19 & 20, 8 p.m. at The Rollins Studio Theater at the Long Center for Performing Arts. A staged reading with a cast of seven includes award-winning performers Angela Bennet, Feliz McDonald and Janis Stinson is directed by Stephen Gerald of UT's Theatre and Dance Faculty.

Playwright Reeves is a Cave Canem Fellow who earned an undergraduate degree at Morehouse College and an MFA at the James A. Michener Center for Writers.

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