Tickets are now on sale for OnyxFest 2022! OnyxFest is Indiana’s first and only theater festival dedicated to the stories of Black playwrights. Sponsored by the Africana Repertory Theatre of IUPUI (A.R.T.I.) in partnership with IndyFringe, this fall festival will feature six never-produced one-act plays written by local playwrights.
OnyxFest 2022 is scheduled for November 3 – 6 at the IndyFringe Basile Theater (719 E St. Clair Street, 46202) and November 10 – 12 at the IUPUI Campus Center Theater (420 University Boulevard, 46202).
Tickets are $15 and on sale at https:// indyfringe.org/OnyxFest/.
This year’s line-up of plays are as follows:
- “A NOISE IN THE ATTIC” by Vernon A. Williams. The life of a suburban housewife – neglectedby her ambitious husband and disrespected by her spoiled stepdaughter – becomes even more complicated by sudden, unexplained noises in their new house.
- “BLACK IS MY COLOR” by Celeste Williams. In 1989, poet/philosopher Mari Evans wrote an essay entitled, “Ethos & Creativity” for a publication edited by David Hoppe. This story tries to capture her essence.
- “HOUSELESS, NOT HOMELESS” by Michael Florence. The story of five homeless people, how they came to be homeless and how they survive day-to-day.
- “MAJESTIES” by Charla Booth. Three Black women from three generations meet on a journey to discover themselves and their worth.
- “POLICE STATE” by Rain Wilson. A young Black Man with so much promise has lost his life to police brutality and in the midst of community organizing being led by the younger brother – the father decides that its not enough – and there must be a different road chosen this time.
- “YOUR LOVE WILL BE JUDGED” by Gabrielle Patterson. Six jurors residing in a world where divorce is only an option if a jury of your peers says so, is quite the challenge when everyone has vastly different opinions about love and marriage.
For information, visit onyxfest.com or https://arti.sitehost.iu.edu/. To contact OnyxFest, send and email to onyxfestindy@gmail.com.
About A.R.T.I. (Africana Repertory Theatre of IUPUI):
The Africana Repertory Theatre of IUPUI (ARTI) is a program of study offered by the IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI, the School of Education and the IUPUI Office of Community Engagement using a multidisciplinary approach to “edutainment.” ARTI was developed to document and artistically reflect the history, cultural life, and politics of peoples of the African Diaspora. As a public arts initiative, ARTI has a deep commitment to and focuses on artistic and community engagement. The Office of Community Engagement and the Schools of Liberal Arts and Education are supporting this proposal because it advances the idea that learning in the arts is invaluable at all stages of life, and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life may advance civic engagement while also creating a college and career pathway.
About IndyFringe:
The Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival (IndyFringe) founded in 2005 is a place, an event, a movement, an incubator for new talent and a magnet for imaginative and thoughtful people. IndyFringe established OnyxFest in 2011 to counter the lack of diversity both on stage and in audiences of Indianapolis theatre. The annual festival is a vehicle to expose theatergoers to new and emerging Black playwrights. IndyFringe is best known for the annual IndyFringe Festival that transforms Mass Ave in downtown Indianapolis into a vibrant, eclectic and exciting festival avenue.
