After receiving dozens of scripts, drama jurors have selected six plays for OnyxFest 2023 – The first and only theatre festival in Indiana exclusively showcasing Black playwrights.
Sponsored by the Africana Repertory Theatre of IUPUI (A.R.T.I.) in conjunction with IndyFringe, OnyxFest Fall 2023 is scheduled for November 2 – 5 and November 9 – 11. Plays will be staged at the IndyFringe Basile Theatre and the IUPUI Campus Center Theater.
OnyxFest Executive Producer Vernon A. Williams said playwrights chosen will be funded for production costs that include royalties, venue for rehearsal and performances, marketing and promotion, production development, make-up, costume, set design, and video recording as well as stipends for actors, technicians, directors, and stage managers.
Williams said, “Planners are excited about the proliferation of interest in and recognition of Black Theatre in Indianapolis.” The plays chosen are as follows:
FALL 2023
- “TIGONIE” by Levi Frazier Jr. A man whose checkered past comes back to haunt him. A tale of regret, repentance, and reconciliation. Religion and hypocrisy surface.
- “ALL THINGS CONSIDERED” by Nattalie Gordon. A thirty-something Black artist who is healing from childhood and unconventional relationship wounds.
- “5 MOODS OF BLACK ANGUISH” by Josiah McCruiston. Spoken word, prose and sermonettes explore the pain and glory of a people with unconquerable spirits.
- “THE HEART OF A MAN” by Ardre Orie. An all-male cast stage production that reveals the sometimes-harsh truths on dating, marriage, sexuality, domestic violence, and love, from the male perspective.
- “RIGHT BEHIND YOU” by Deborah Patrick. Generations of women reflect on contrasting experiences as the elder of the family is dying of COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic.
- “BABE” by Delores Thornton. Based on a true story about how therapy helps reveal the buried truths of an 82-year African American woman who reaches inner depth of self-realization.
For information, visit onyxfest.com or https://arti.sitehost.iu.edu/.
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.