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

presents a staged reading of

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.

Upcoming: Digging Up the Dirt by Cherrie Moraga, ProArts at Mexican-American Cultural Center, February 11

Found on-line:

presents a staged reading of

Digging Up the Dirt

by Cherrie Moraga

February 11th, 2:00 PM

Mexican American Cultural Center, 600 River Street Austin TX 78701 (click for map)

Admission is Free with the donation of a non-perishable item.

Post performance talk-back with Cherrie Moraga

Digging Up the Dirt takes place, as Moraga writes, “Inside The Poet’s head, somewhere in the fragmented Chicano nation of Aztlán.” Here, as in most Moraga plays, the playwright uses the imagined landscape of the Southwest to poignantly explore those censored questions that continue to impact Chicana lives. And, as in most Moraga plays, such depictions give all of us pause –regardless of race or gender or sexuality. This is especially the case in “Digging Up the Dirt” where the plot thematically interweaves two murder stories.

Common Ground by Antoinette Winstead, ProArts Collective, April 3-5

An impressive cast brought San Antonio playwright Antoinette Winstead's Common Ground to the Boyd Vance theatre this past weekend, with the sponsorship of the Pro Arts Collective. LeVan Owens stands tall at the center of the piece, in the character of James Parker, a powerfully built man stiff legged from a rodeo accident long ago. He's a dutiful son enduring a deep, mute resentment.

Winstead sets the piece at a Christmas sometime in the early 70s, starting the action with the unexpected arrival home of younger brother Luke, an Air Force pilot back from Vietnam. Luke's wife Sara Beth and his six-year-old child Veronica have for some undefined period (years?) been living with the boys' mother, "Miss Ruth."

In program notes Winstead says that Common Ground is her attempt at addressing family dysfunction in all its dark and illustrious glory.

The situation depicted is plausible. The drama arises from tensions between the brothers and the enigmatic position in the family of Luke's wife Sara Beth. Six-year-old Ronnie is a lively and inquisitive child who worships Uncle James and initially distrusts the smooth, smiling stranger said to be her father. And "Miss Ruth," with a mother's sharp eyes and authority works hard to keep comity in the household with the best weapons she has at hand -- cooking, chores for everyone, good-natured grousing, and, when necessary, straight talk.

Read More at AustinLiveTheatre.com. . . .

Upcoming: Common Ground by Antoinette Winstead, Proarts Collective at Vance Boyd Theatre, April 2 - 5

Information found on-line:

ProArts Collective will perform Common Ground by San Antonio playwright Antoinette F. Winstead at the Boyd Vance Theatre, April 2-5.

In a recent on-line article on San Antonio theatre, Winstead described the work: "Set in South Central Texas in 1968, Common Ground is a family saga about a man so set on revenge that he is willing to destroy his entire family to achieve it."

The play is about an African American ranching family, and delves into the fraught relationship between a former bronco rider and his younger brother.

NowPlayingAustin.com notes, "ProArts Collective first presented a stage reading of Common Ground as a part of the 2007 BAM Festival. Lisa Byrd, Executive Director, said, 'The response was so positive that we decided to fully produce the play as a world premiere.'"

The following profile of Winstead was published in connection with the The 14th Annual Last Frontier Theatre Conference, held in Alaska in June, 2006: