In Bliss Montage, Ling Ma brings us eight wildly different tales of people making their way through the madness and reality of our collective delusions: love and loneliness, connection and possession, friendship, motherhood, the idea of home.
"Reading Anaïs Duplan's chapbook, you realize you are more than an assemblage of ideologies, a cellular plan, or even an estranged, familial relation possessing the accoutrements of a melancholic nation, but also, too, the glorious product of dense, self-referential layered texts that call to the surface your loneliness and feelings of kinship. Here are poems that revel in post- hybridity and borderless threnodies, and go straight to the stillness of the heart, to performances of language that are fierce and juicier than a papaya, and frankly, that one would only expect from a brilliant, young mind as theirs." —Major Jackson
Juicy is a queer, Southern college kid, already grappling with some serious questions of identity, when the ghost of his father shows up in their backyard, demanding that Juicy avenge his murder. It feels like a familiar story to Juicy, well-versed in Hamlet’s woes. What’s different is Juicy himself, a sensitive and self-aware young Black man trying to break the cycles of trauma and violence in service of his own liberation. From an uproarious family barbecue emerges a compelling examination of love and loss, pain and joy.
Cast: Taysha Marie Canales, Kimberly S. Fairbanks, Jennifer Kidwell, Brennen S. Malone, Anthony Martinez-Briggs, Brandon J. Pierce, Lindsay Smiling; Director: Morgan Green
Told through music, movement and lyrical storytelling, New Age follows four women at different junctures in life as they contend with their sexuality, insecurities and legacies. Cass loves art and continues to redefine herself after divorce, Lisette recounts how she became a writer as she faces health challenges, Candy has carved out a life for herself and despite struggles remains upbeat, and Liberty, the youngest of the group, begins her career as a rock musician. Edgy, joyful and authentic, Dael Orlandersmith’s distinctive style brings the stories of these resilient women to life as they prove that they are defined by much more than age.
Cast: Blair Medina Baldwin, Lisa Harrow, Courtney Rackley, and Delissa Reynolds; Director: Jade King Carroll
Inside a cubicle in a small office in southern Idaho, two men struggle to balance the confounding terms on a loan. In a departure from his acclaimed epics, Samuel D. Hunter’s A Case for the Existence of God is a thoughtful meditation on human resilience.
Cast: Kyle Beltran and Will Brill; Director: David Cromer
Summer means sleepaway camps, days with friends by the pool, and late nights gazing at the stars. For nine-year-old Maurice Abernathy Anderson, a significant loss and one little lie means his summer just got more complicated. Written and performed by nationally acclaimed storyteller, Kevin Kling, and featuring rousing sing-a-longs, The Best Summer Ever joyfully explores the way childhood is measured by sights, sounds, feelings, and love.
Cast: Kevin Kling; Director: Steven Dietz
“King” LeBron James’s reign in Cleveland brings promise, prosperity and renewal to a city in desperate need of all three. It also brings together two unlikely friends in a bond forged by fandom. Told over twelve years (from LeBron's rookie season to an NBA Championship) King James is an intimate exploration of the place that sports occupy in our lives and relationships. Rajiv Joseph's clever and fast-paced comedy traces the arcs of two friends whose turbulent relationship is best navigated through their shared love of basketball—and the endless amiable arguments that erupt from that love. All the while, the promise and burden of LeBron's talent and legacy loom large.
Cast: Glenn Davis, Khloe Janel, and Chris Perfetti; Director: Kenny Leon
Penny flirts at a morbid anatomy museum. Kyle tells stories of dismemberment. Sally turns you on with tea and biscuits, and Shareen prepares a mysterious potion. A study in kink, trauma, pleasure, and revenge…
Cast: Janice Amaya, Clare Barron, Annie Fang, Nina Grollman, Greg Keller, and Constance Shulman; Director: Clare Barron
