In the wake of national tragedies such as the massacre at PULSE Night Club in Orlando, FL and the continuing fatal police shootings, LTC put out a national call for new plays that explore how we come together and move forward in times of crisis. Featuring plays from notable writers from around the country, we seek to find answers to these questions through laughter, tears, and community.
PERFORMANCE DATES
Thursdays-Saturdays
All Performances @ 7:30pm
September 22 – October 1, 2016
TALKBACK THURSDAYS
September 22 and 29 – a feature of all LTC shows.
A chance to meet the artists, discuss the production and interact with us.
Landing Theatre @ the Docks
1119 Providence Street
Houston, TX 77002
THE PLAYS
SUMMER STORM by Jaisey Bates
directed by Melanie Burke
Two spoken word poem plays: “’before the worst shooting in u.s. history,’ they were dancing” and “I had a dream but now I’m woke” about the shooting at PULSE Nightclub and the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castille.
CRAM SCHOOL SNOW DAY by Reina Hardy
directed by Rob Kimbro
Phones no longer have internet, the Great Republic has just acquired a sniper corps, and five cram school teachers are stuck at school on a Saturday snow day. No children have arrived. Suddenly chanting and the sounds of gunfire spill in from the streets outside.
STOP FRISK by Rich Rubin
directed by Cheramie Hopper
A White cop stops a Black man on his way to visit a friend. After pinning him to the ground and taking his ID, the officer realizes that this was the high school football star he revered 20 years ago.
GYM CLASS HEROES by Dillon Rouse
directed by Mara McGhee
How hard would you work for a second chance? Marv, Ray, Lilly, and Harry push themselves past the limit at a Mixed Martial Arts gym – each with a past and literally fighting for a better future.
DOLPHINS AND SHARKS by James Tyler
directed by Vicky Comesanas
When new printers and computers keep appearing and the cost of printing keeps going up, Yusef and Isabel, who are making just over minimum wage at the Harlem print shop, debate whether or not to confront their manager about getting the raise they were promised upon hire – but at the risk of losing their jobs altogether, is it worth it?
NORTH BEND by Ariene Jaffe
directed by Lauren Hance
A mother packing boxes of non-perishable foods and wrapped cash explains to her son their plans to move away to North Bend, WA – off the grid and back to basics. Meanwhile her son, who suffers from paranoid personality disorder, keeps rambling about enemies lurking and arms himself to eradicate them. The question is: is he warning his mother about them or the voices in his head about his mother?
CREATURES OF HABIT by Blaise Miller
directed by Sophia Watt
Have you noticed how slated our news media has become since it’s been “twitter-ized?” Can an entire story be told in 140 characters? If not, what information is “hot” enough to include – and more importantly, what critical information is left out?
BULL by Peter Snoad
directed by Clara Goodwin
Two cops guard the statue of the iconic Wall Street Bull – one loves it; one plots to destroy it. Faced with the existential crisis of finding control over one’s own life, the cops struggle to grasp how to live in a world with so much “bull” crushing their American Dream.
THE BETROTHAL by Germaine Shames
directed by Rebecca Bernstein
While searching through the rubble of a recently demolished home, an abandoned Syrian girl and a rookie American journalist discover an imaginary world beyond conflict and retribution.
TWO BROKEN TAILLIGHTS by Elliot Kreloff
directed by Jonathan Gonzales
Two Black cops pull over a White couple for a broken taillight. Now switch. Two White cops pull over a Black couple for a broken taillight. Four actors, two cars, one scenario – go!
DALLAS/LOVE THE BOMB by Josh Inocéncio
directed by Erika Watson
Five White police officers have been shot. A Black army veteran is hiding in an office building, wielding a sniper rifle. A robot sent to find the killer approaches, male-like with a white painted face. Knowing it was sent by the Dallas PD and knowing he won’t make it out alive, he is forced to confront, in his final moments, what he’s really dying for.
DANCE AGAIN by Emilio Rodriguez
directed by Stephen M. Miranda
A Brief Choreopoem for the Brown Boys in Orlando.