Playwrights have spent the last two days polishing work for the third annual BIPOC Playwrights Festival. Now, Boiseans have a chance to see new plays, and get a look behind the curtain.
The Boise Contemporary Theater (BCT) began the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) Playwrights Festival in 2021. This year, the festival includes three productions and a panel over this weekend.
One of the plays, “Bridging the Gap,” was written by LaDarrion Williams about a true story following three Black artists from his hometown in Alabama who created a TikTok dance that, when it went viral, didn’t get any credit for its creation. Williams told Boise State Public Radio that the play is an experiment in bringing TikTok and social media into theater, while addressing the frequent practice of stealing Black art.
“I’m really excited to workshop this play and change the format, because we don’t have to stick to one type of linear storytelling when it comes to the theater,” Williams said.
You can get either individual tickets for $10, or festival passes for $15.
Playwrights Panel
Festival Director Lily Yasuda will lead a panel with playwrights Novid Parsi and LaDarrion Williams at BSU’s Special Events Center (SpEC) on the west wing of the Student Union. Free, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
Workshopped Plays
See “The Life You Gave Me,” by Novid Parsi, on Thursday at the SpEC at 2 p.m., or at the Morrison Center on Friday at 7 p.m.
See “Bridging the Gap,” by LaDarrion Williams, on Thursday at the SpEC at 7 p.m., or at the Morrison Center on Friday at 2 p.m.
Catch a one-man multimedia performance of “Break It Down,” written and performed by Herb Newsome, all about the early days of Hip Hop.
