MILWAUKEE AMONG 40 CITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN ONE-NIGHT-ONLY INTERNATIONAL
SALUTE TO AMERICAN THEATRE
30th ANNIVERSARY BENEFIT STAGED READINGS OF THE AWARD-WINNING, THE COLORED MUSEUM, BY GEORGE C. WOLFE
Milwaukee – June 10, 2016 – Project1VOICE is set to celebrate the 30th year anniversary of the award-winning, The Colored Museum, written by two-time Tony award-winning theater polymath. George C. Wolfe. The benefit staged readings will be produced as part of the 6th annual Project1VOICE/1PLAY/1DAY and will be presented in association with theater companies, museums and other diverse educational, artistic and social institutions throughout the US and abroad, on Sunday, June, 19 and Monday, June 20,, 2016. A satirical, dark comedy, The Colored Museum is told through a series of 11 exhibits exploring the journey of self-identification within African-American history and the impact of African culture within America.
Milwaukee Production Takes Place on June 20 at the Marcus Center’s Vogel Hall
In Milwaukee, local theater companies Bronzeville Arts Ensemble, Lights! Camera!Soul! and MPower Theater are teaming up to present the production in association with Project1Voice and the Black Arts Think Tank. The production will take place on Monday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts in the Wilson Theater at Vogel Hall, located at 929 North Water St. in downtown Milwaukee. Tickets for the event are $25 plus applicable fees and taxes and can be purchased by visiting http://www.marcuscenter.org/show/the-colored-museum/. You may also call the Marcus Center at 414-273-7206.
Project1VOICE/1PLAY/1DAY is an internationally recognized cultural event committed to presenting programs and initiatives that promote and support the American theater, specifically black playwrights. Since Project1VOICE’s inception in 2009, it has played a vital role in making theater accessible to communities, connecting with a wide spectrum of artists, teens, and families through its robust educational initiatives and public programs which have prompted cross-cultural conversations for diverse audiences. This year’s Project1VOICE/1PLAY/1DAY will explore the themes of race, gender and identity in the 21st century through George C. Wolfe’s, The Colored Museum.
Project1VOICE, Inc. (P1V) is a 501(c) (3), nonprofit performing arts service organization based in New York City. Its mission is to promote and support black theater, including black playwrights. The company was founded and is now led by Erich McMillan-McCall, who also serves as one of the company’s three trustees. P1V’s core activity is the coordination of an international, same-day, staged reading series that revives and reintroduces, neglected—forgotten and/or underappreciated—seminal works written by black playwrights for the American theater. The success of this central program called 1VOICE/1PLAY/1DAY has also prompted other programs. These include (a) P1V 2.0—an Online Book Club, (b) P1V Conversations with Pioneers, (c) P1V Honors and (d) P1V WORKSHOPS. For more information about Project1VOICE visit www.project1voice.org
Bronzeville Arts Ensemble was founded in 2013, illuminates the black experience in America, inspiring healing and positive social change through the arts. Members of Bronzeville include some of Wisconsin’s highly sought artists with mastery in writing, directing, theater arts education, performance, music, dance and more. With a strong belief in the power of collaboration and partnership, Bronzeville Arts Ensemble is currently in residence at Milwaukee Repertory Theater and in partnership with The Body and Soul Healing Arts Center, using different resources to further cultivate Milwaukee’s African American theater arts community. Malkia Stampley is the Producing Artistic Director and Sheri Williams Pannell is the Associate Artistic Director.
Lights! Camera! Soul! strives to bring innovative entertainment to larger audiences through provocative and compelling performances across multi-disciplinary art forms. Lights! Camera! Soul! strives to be a premier destination for audiences and performers, alike. Under the leadership of Di’Monte Henning, Lights! Camera! Soul! brings original works, interactive elements that stimulate conversation, and performances that advance Milwaukee’s performing arts community. Di’Monte Henning is the Executive Director.
MPower Theater acting troupe is dedicated to empowering survivors and offering opportunities for underrepresented communities, in the hopes of creating and re-enacting theater with a social justice focus on activism, advocacy, and awareness. The burgeoning theater is the brainchild of Catina Cole, a UW-Milwaukee Graduate Student and staunch advocate for survivors of sexual and domestic abuse. MPower captured the attention of audiences with their powerfully witty version of the Pocketbook Diaries and Yetta Young’s Butterfly Confessions. For one night only, the entire cast of volunteer thespians captured a sold-out audience with dynamic dialogues and original performances sprinkled in between. Catrina Cole is the Director and Founder.
Black Arts Think Tank (BATT) and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts
Black Arts Think Tank’s mission to continue building strong, sustainable African American arts organizations in Milwaukee that preserve and promote the history and culture of the African diaspora and inspire creativity in future generations. BATT is most appreciative of the support it has received through its collaboration with Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. Both BATT and the Marcus Center understand the importance of African American arts in our community for the ENTIRE community.
