2012 Shows
Sweet Home
January 27 – March 11, 2012
Previews: January, 27th - February 4th
Opening: Monday, February 6th @ 7pm
Closes: Sunday, March 11th
Showing every Thursday, Friday and Saturday @ 8pm, Sundays @ 3pm
The Greenhouse Theater Center 2257 N. Lincoln Ave
Written By: Keith Josef Adkins* Directed By: Kimberly Crutcher*
Strange things are happening in Sweet Home. A once thriving black town, it is now an urban wasteland with a peculiar problem: all the black boys are missing. When Demus, a quirky young genetic engineer, stumbles into Sweet Home seeking refuge, he quickly finds himself tangled in the bizarre mystery. He also must make a choice—become the next missing black boy, or engineer the perfect indestructible black boy and save Sweet Home forever.
*Denotes Resident Artist
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2012-2013 Season
October 22 – June 2, 2013
BLACKADEMICS
Runs through November 25th
Ann and Rachelle – frienemys and colleagues in academia set out for a night on the town. What begins as a celebratory meal morphs into a spirited discourse of their personal and political ideologies. The evening doesn't go quite as planned; their sly server, Georgia, provokes the competitive tensions between them, transforming the evening into something neither of them expected. Part hunger, part humor, Blackademics engages the audience in a lively dramatization of modern black psychology.
Leaves, Trees, Forest
Written by: Paul Notice
Runs through March 3rd 2013
Charles Bowery has two wishes: A life in politics so that he can change the world and his fathers approval. But like many young post-grads, Charles quickly learns that the world will demand him to change before he will even get the opportunity to change the world for others.
Reality Check
Written by: Kevin Douglas
Runs through June 2nd 2013
In a world where we are constantly plugged in to iPhones, iPads and Laptops, our idea of reality has been altered and blurred beyond recognition. In times like these we need a Reality Check. Through the art of sketch comedy this show takes a look at what we now call reality... both in our personal lives and the absurdities that surround our collective experience.
Touring Shows 2012-2013
August 27 – March 20, 2013
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Looking Black
During the fall and winter season of 2012-2013 MPAACT will offer a diverse set of programs available to tour institutions throughout the United States and abroad. The performancecollection features: Looking Black: Questions of Identity in America and BlaQ Market Monologues and Scenes. In addition, MPAACT offers a host of Master Classes and Workshops. To find more information on the shows and master classes please click the link below. Tour Shows 2012-13.pdf
Donation Campaign
August 22 – August 15, 2013
For the past twenty years MPAACT has brought world premiere productions to Chicago that explore the vast experiences of the African Diaspora. Through our mainstage productions, touring shows, and arts education programming we have touched lives throughout the region and the country. The 2011/12 season has been particularly fruitful. MPAACT has produced another outstanding season of world premiere productions garnering two Joseph Jefferson recommendations for outstanding quality of production with Shepsu Aakhu's Speaking in Tongues and Carla Stillwell's Bodies. Additionally the company is a double nominee for best new work (Joseph Jefferson citation) with Keith Josef Atkins' Last Saint on Sugar Hill and Shepsu Aakhu's Speaking in Tongues.
In support of performing artists across the country, we have also expanded our programming to include 30 new shows in our Solo Jams series and 2 new productions in our Extended Jams series. These programs greatly increase opportunities for artists venturing into the arena of production and they also mark a new era in MPAACT, an era that embraces our role as a mentor of artists and art-making.
In support of the quality of our work and the impact of our effortsThe Joyce Foundation has announced a challenge grant to MPAACT in the amount of $30,000. The Joyce Foundation has been a generous supporter of our efforts for the last five years. With this challenge grant The Joyce Foundation hopes to encourage our supporters to help us further our mission to nurture, and sustain Afrikan Centered Theatre, an artistic expression grounded in the many cultures and traditions of the Afrikan continent and its Diaspora. The Joyce Foundationwill match dollar for dollar all individual and corporate contributions up to $30,000.
We are excited by this opportunity and are endeavoring to reach the halfway point by June 30, 2012. With the support of individuals like yourself, we hope to meet this challenge and ensure a bright future for MPAACT as well as the artists and communities we support.
Today, you can make an immediate difference in the health and vitality of the arts. I hope we can count on you to assist us in meeting the challenge.
You can contribute to MPAACT in the following ways...
- Personal check payable to: MPAACT, P.O. Box 10039, Chicago, IL 60610
- In the lobby before or after any MPAACT production.
- Online at www.mpaact.org (JustGive)
MPAACT is a 501(c) 3 not for profit corporation. All contributions are tax deductable to the full extent allowed by law.
With grateful appreciation,
Reginald Lawrence
Executive Producer
MPAACT
We look forward to seeing you at the theatre!
Solo Jams 2012-2013
October 24 – June 1, 2013
Solo Jams 2012-2013
Solo Jams 2012-2013 are here again!!! Welcome to a season filled with electrifying performances by an amazing array of artist and performers. Prepare to be blown away with 30 new Solo Jams for the Autumn, Winter, and Spring season. Below is a list and schedule of all performances. Each season will start with a season kick off, which is free to the public. Can't wait to see you there.
Fri. October 26 Jesse Dean Stanford (The Jozzpel According to Jesse Dean)
Sat. October 27 Jamie Black (It's My Penis And I'll Cry If I Want To)
Fri. November 2 D-Nick (Mind Of A Misfit)
Sat. November 3 Melissa DuPrey ( SEXomedy)
Fri. November 9 Kate McCandless (gloria, G-U-I-T-A-R!)
Sat. November 10 Martin M. Morrow (In My Head)
Fri. November 16 Celeste M. Cooper (The Love?... of Power.)
Sat. November 17 Huey Amaru (For Colored Undergrads…)
Fri. November 23 Tramaine Montell Ford- (TheTramaineExperience: AnUrbanDramedy)
Sat. November 24 Chris Redd- (Redd Alert)
Wed January 30,2013Kickoff Event (Topic: The State of Spoken Word)
Fri. February 1 Eddie Jordan III ((Asterisk)ucked up...but still here)
Sat. February 2 ArinMaya Lawrence (A Return to Graceland)
Fri. February 8 Joshua Torrez (Joshua Torrez Live 1 Night Only)
Sat. February 9 Penelope Walker (The Penny Show!)
Fri. February 15 Obehi Janice (Fufu & Oreos)
Sat. February 16 Jonathan Keaton (Citizens Ignited)
Fri. February 22 Medina Perine (Hair Crownicles)
Sat. February 23 Robert D. Hardaway (Deferred Love & Nightmares Lived)
Fri. March 1 Oba William King (The Djeli's Drum)
Sat. March 2 Ashlee Olivia (Sleep Interrupted)
Wed. May 1, 2013Kickoff Event (Topic: The State of Black/Brown Sketch Comedy)
Fri. May 3 Kantara Souffrant (Ayibobo!: A Haitian Love-Hate Story)
Sat. May 4 Sean Parris (Wrestling in the Future)
Fri. May 10 Brandon Holmes (I've Gotta Be Me: The Story of Sammy Davis Jr.)
Sat. May 11 Brittany Davis (Hey- It's Brit)
Fri. May 17 CoCo Elyses (You Can't Hide)
Sat. May 18 Jimmy Woodie (The Sins of A Father: Confessions of a Moma's Boy)
Fri. May 24 Yah-Unity (ReCollect)
Sat. May 25 Andre Richardson Hogan II (My Love For Words)
Fri. May 31 Daaimah Mubashshir (The Untangling at The Junction)
Sat. June 1 Coya Paz (Coya Paz is Not ____: Despachos y Otras Cosas)