Amplify BIPOC Play Series returns to First Stage for fourth season

MILWAUKEE – June 15, 2023 – First Stage, one of the nation’s leading theaters for young people and families, is delighted to announce the fourth season of their Amplify BIPOC Play Series beginning November 4, 2023. In support of First Stage’s ongoing commitment to the development of new work, with an intentional focus on lifting voices of diverse playwrights and artists, this season’s Amplify Series will be presented as readings of three new plays, all held at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center. The Amplify Series is supported in part by a grant from the Milwaukee Arts Board and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin.

First Stage Artistic Director Jeff Frank shared his thoughts on this year’s Amplify Series: “As we continue to expand our efforts to lift the voices of underrepresented playwrights and stories, it is especially exciting to me that all three Amplify readings this season will feature strong, young female protagonists. Harmony must navigate the transition from the reservation and the only life she has known to the big city of Milwaukee where she discovers her voice, her heritage and her destiny. Similarly, Esperanza is uprooted from her life and travels on a journey where she discovers a new depth of understanding of herself, her family and her world. Finally, Emily Song discovers her true power on her 12^th birthday and uses her musical, magical powers to save the world. Collectively, we are so excited to hear feedback from our audiences on these new world premieres in process – all of which are slated to be part of our 2024/25 season at First Stage.”
The 2023/24 Amplify BIPOC Play Series will feature BIG CITY HARMONY, ESPERANZA RISING and EMILY SONG AND THE SHADOW QUEEN. (Titles are subject to change pending availability of rights.)

A talkback will follow each reading, allowing audiences opportunities to share their voices with the playwright and artists – helping shape the development of the plays and potential future productions at First Stage.

These new play readings will be Pay What You Choose events. Doors will open approximately one hour prior to each reading. A minimum suggested ticket price is $10, but attendees may pay any amount you choose. Patrons are encouraged to arrive early and may pre-order tickets by phone at (414) 267-2961. Learn more.

2023/24 AMPLIFY BIPOC PLAY SERIES 

BIG CITY HARMONY 

By Ty Defoe
Directed by Johamy Morales 

 

Saturday, November 4, 2023 at 7 p.m.  

Located at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center

Harmony, a young Anishinaabe girl, moves from the reservation to the big city with her family, learning valuable lessons in her own culture as she navigates adventures while trying to make friends at a new school. Taking place in the future, Harmony shares the ability to shapeshift with her Grandmother Hazel and learns to speak the language of wolves aiming to release her own voice into the wild!

Suggested for adults, teens and children ages 7 – 9 and 10 – 12.

From Jeff: Playwright Ty Defoe and Director Johamy Morales weaved magic together in our virtual production of COPPER HORNS IN WATER in 2021, and we are thrilled to have them together again as we enter the fourth year of our partnership with Indian Community School. This powerful tale of how Harmony finds her voice and her way will receive a full production in our 2024/25 season, but now is your chance to get a sneak peek and help the team finish the journey through your feedback.

ESPERANZA RISING 

Adapted by Alvaro Saar Rios
From the book by Pam Muñoz Ryan
With original music by Dinorah Marquez
Directed by Michelle Lopez-Rios

Wednesday, December 13, 2023 at 7 p.m. 

Located at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center

First Stage Playwright in Residence Alvaro Saar Rios, with frequent collaborator and composer Dinorah Marquez, combine their talents to bring a new fast-paced theatrical version of the powerful story to the stage, underscored with original music.

Two young storytellers, with the help of an ensemble of actors, take the stage and begin to weave the tale of Esperanza – a wealthy Mexican girl whose privileged existence is shattered when tragedy strikes, and she and her mother must flee to California. Forced to work in a migrant labor camp, Esperanza must learn to rise above her difficult circumstances and discover what she’s truly made of. Set in the turbulent 1930s, and based on the popular book by Pam Muñoz Ryan, ESPERANZA RISING is a poetic tale of a young girl’s triumph over adversity.

Suggested for adults, teens and children ages 7 – 9 and 10 – 12.

From Jeff: Alvaro Saar Rios and Dinorah Marquez are a powerhouse creative team – and it has been thrilling to watch them work together on this new adaptation of one of the most beloved books in young adult literature.

EMILY SONG AND THE SHADOW QUEEN
By Playwright and Composer Marcus Yi
Directed by First Stage Associate Artistic Director Michelle LoRicco 

Sponsored by Molitor Foundation 

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at p.m.

Located at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center 

Since her mother’s death, Emily Song’s home has always been a musical vacuum. Her father banned music from their lives for as long as she can remember. But that doesn’t stop Emily from secretly taking singing lessons online. On her 12^th birthday, Emily’s powers manifest and she discovers she is a music mage: a sorcerer who can cast magical spells through music. When her father is kidnapped by a mysterious entity known as the Queen of Shadows, Emily must figure out how to use her newly discovered talent to save her dad, and New York City from total destruction.

Suggested for adults, teens and children ages 7 – 9 and 10 – 12.

This reading is part of the TYA BIPOC Superhero Project, a new initiative led by playwright and educator José Casas, designed to give playwrights of color more access to mainstream/regional Theatre for Young Audiences/USA (TYA/USA) theatres. In an effort the TYA/USA is calling the largest and most comprehensive partnership of theatres ever undertaken in the field, 20 playwrights of color will be commissioned by 24 theatres to develop their work in a one-week residency. All the commissioned works will feature stories of BIPOC superheroes, and the project will culminate in a year-long celebration with productions, co-productions and a published anthology of all the plays. First Stage is honored to serve as a commissioning theater and overjoyed to be working with playwright/composer Marcus Yi.

To learn more about First Stage’s 2023/24 season, please visit to firststage.org/ or call (414) 267-2961. 

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.