Image via First Stage Children's Theater
First Stage has been a forerunner in developing new works for young people of all ages through its 34-year history. And it continues to break new ground with its Amplify-BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Short Play Series, which commissions new works from BIPOC actors and directors. And it’s the artists who explore and tell their own stories, according to Jeff Frank, First Stage Artistic Director
“We aren’t choosing works for the series, rather we are choosing playwrights then asking them what story they want to tell,” he explains. “The only parameters we give our writers is that the story has to be from a younger person’s point of view and feature primarily young performers.”
First Stage then brings directors in to discuss a direction and/or treatment that leads to the development of a first draft. “Then we bring in young performers to workshop the play and to contribute their voices into the final draft for rehearsal,” Frank says.
That collaborative process has resulted in the following new works that herald in the Series:
• How to Actually Graduate in a Virtual World By Nikkole Salter Directed by Samantha D. Montgomery.
When Milwaukee High announces that graduation will be virtual, TT gathers friends to come up with a way to make the ceremony special. As they weigh their options—and battle invisibility, hopelessness and indifference—we learn how the pandemic affected them all. Is an achievement an achievement if it goes unacknowledged? For families with young people ages 12 and up.
• Step Kids One-act musical by Tyrone L. Robinson and Postell Pringle Directed by Chris Gilbert
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
A group of seemingly unconnected high school students find common ground in the most unlikely of places—the audition for their school’s competitive step dance team. As the students become unified through the power of rhythm and dance, experience the joy of finding your tribe in this energetic performance. For families with young people ages 10 and up.
• The Tale of La Llorona as Told by the Chavez Twins By José Casas Directed by David Flores
Disappointed that a thunderstorm has stopped them from their traditional trick or treating, six middle-schoolers huddle together in a basement on All Hallow’s Eve. To pass the time, twins Consuelo and Chuy share some of their favorite ghost stories, but are they just stories …? For families with young people ages 12 and up.
And First Stage will continue to explore and bring to life onstage these stories out in the community that have yet to be told—but need to be seen and heard.
As Frank emphasizes: “... We’re just beginning this journey with the Amplify program, and we’ll keep seeking out artists to help lift stories that reflect the rich complexity of our community and that might otherwise have gone untold.”
How to Actually Graduate in a Virtual World begins streaming on Sept. 1 as the first play in the Amplify-BIPOC Short Play Series. For more information, call 414-267-2961, or visit www.firststage.org
