8th Bronze Collective Theatre Fest

The Bronze Collective Theatre Fest: 2022 Rising From The Muck and Mire

The Rochester Bronze Collective* announces the 8th Annual Bronze Collective Theatre Fest: 2022 Rising from the Muck and Mire from Feb. 17-19, 2022. Shows run 7:30 PM Nightly at the MuCCC Theater. Tickets are on sale at muccc.org.

Proof of vaccination and mask required.

Wed., February 16, 7:30 PM  A time to HONOR, REFLECT & REMEMBERANCE: in memoriam FREE!

Thursday, Feb 17 - 7:30 PM Mr. Soul!  Play Reading Development Series   $5

Friday, Feb 18 - 7:30 PM Anansi Tales REDUX                                                         $15 advance $20 door/ Children $5

Saturday, Feb 19 -7:30 PM The Legend of Double Ax Max                                $15 advance $20 door

https://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/bronze-collective-theatre-festival/Content?oid=14169470&fbclid=IwAR3-7DiD6q3o8CSk0u3dzfRbX9rJ11ejNmQWjQq2GBth2BjrW0PRxG53RgE

The last time the Bronze Collective Theatre Fest was live and in-person, the 6th Annual Bronze Collective Theatre Fest offered a week of theater with eight different performances. The pandemic has reduced their offerings, but their commitment to African American theatrical programming has not waivered.

This year's 8th Annual Bronze Collective Theatre Fest spans three days but four different productions. These theatrical offerings range from children's theater to new play development reading to weightier social introspection and folklore subjects. Local African American producers showcase variations of African American life through the vehicle of theatrical drama.

WHAT'S THE 2022 LINEUP?

Wed., February 16, A time to HONOR, REFLECT & REMEMBERANCE: in memoriam, for artists passing in 2021. 

The pandemic has affected many and the arts community has been deeply affected. This reception is a time where we can come together and acknowledge those that have transitioned in 2021 and beyond, locally and nationally. 

All are welcome to this FREE event (RSVP is mandatory) and reception. We will pour libations and lift up the names of those that have passed on, but will not be forgotten. FREE!

Thur., February 17, 7:30 PM – "Mr. Soul!" by Laura A. Thomas, a full-length play reading, based upon some events surrounding a black television show called Mr. Soul! which ran on public television from 1968-1973 and the producer and host of the show, Ellis Haizlip, a gay black man. A talkback and inquiry about the play will follow the play.

MUST SEE TV: Long before the NBC network coined the phrase, PBS had a Thursday night show that embraced it.

At 7:30 pm Thur, Feb. 17 take a trip back in time when Ellis Haizlip is host and producer of the very popular "Soul" television show at WNET in the Big Apple.

The Black Arts Movement -- poetry by Nikki Giovanni,  theater by Amiri Baraka, and dance by Alvin Ailey-- is flowering.

So Haizlip makes it a point to have artists like each of them on his show regularly.

Even as the nation mourns over mounting  Vietnam War casualties while also finding itself  at odds over the Civil,  Gay, and Women's rights movements,  Haizlip doesn't flinch  from having controversial guests -- like Muhammad Ali - who have opposing views on hot issues of the day.

No wonder Haizlip's show draws praise from its viewers, many of whom don't see themselves reflected on the airwaves, and the ire of critics who feel his show is way too far to the left for their tastes.

Arts supporter? Radical ? Communist ?Just who IS  Ellis Haizlip, 'Mr. Soul"?

Join playwright Laura A. Thomas st 7:30 pm next Thursday, Feb. 17 at the MuCCC , as she and her cast explore that question while shining a light on a largely forgotten but key figure in Black & LGBT history.

After the stage play reading, there will be a talk-back with the audience.

Admission is $5. For tickets and more information, go to muccc .org.

Fri., February 18, 7:30 PM- "Anansi Tales REDUX" by {theater}+{náfsi} FOR YOUTH teams up the stories of Anansi the Spider and Br'er Rabbit to provide fun for the family with a lesson tucked inside. 

The REDUX edition combines African, Caribbean, and African American folklore presented in interactive theatre, storytelling, and puppetry. 

These stories or folktales are traditionally passed from generation to generation orally to teach a lesson, gain insight on specific situations, or as a pass-time. 

Sat., February 19, 7:30 PM -"The Legend of Double Ax Max" by Karen Culley brings theater in the tradition of campfire stories, radio dramas, and spooky American legends (i.e., Legend of Sleepy Hollow) and mixes in a bit of suspense. 

The souls of the departed and enslaved assist "runaways" to navigate the wild terrain to escape the slavecatchers. 

The Legend of Double Ax Maxand the Shadow People will have you wondering about those sounds that go bump in the night and what happens to the tortured departed soul. 

For America, slavery was only the beginning. It created a debt that the Shadow People aim to help collect!!!

It was a rainy Halloween night in 1941. Great Grandma Abeni comes over to watch the children and tells a chilling tale. Done in the tradition of live radio shows of the 30s and 40s. Starring:  Douglas Curry , Richard Kendrick  Ashona Pulliam , Kesha Sharee Hartzog, A Dry Anna , Jahaka Mindstorm , Vanessa Ryland, Kathy Coughenour ,R Emmett Michie , Willis Brooks, and Larry Ploscowe, Directed by Reuben J. Tapp

The Bronze Collective* is an organization seeking to encourage, facilitate, and promote the collaboration of projects, marketing, and financing among Black/African Diasporic theatrical producers, producing artists, and organizations in the Greater Rochester Area. Starting in 2014, as a way for theater producers to collaborate, The Bronze Collective offers the "Fest" as an outreach tool to reach future Black/African Diaspora producers, artists, volunteers, and audiences.