Tickets are now on sale for OnyxFest 2023! 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 five never-produced one-act plays written by local and national playwrights.
OnyxFest 2023 is scheduled for November 3 – 5 at the IndyFringe Basile Theater and November 10 – 12 at the Crispus Attucks High School Auditorium. Tickets are $15 and on sale at indyfringe.org/onyxfest/. Group Price and OnyxFest 2023 Passes are available. Use your OnyxFest 2023 Pass to attend all five incredible shows celebrating the voices of local Black playwrights!
This year’s line-up of plays is as follows:
“5 MOODS OF BLACK ANGUISH” by Josiah McCruiston (Indianapolis, IN). An awe-inspiring theatrical masterpiece using drama, prose, poetry, and spiritual expression, written and directed by Josiah Ray McCruiston.
“BABE” by Delores Thornton (Indianapolis, IN). A cogent story which explains how the protagonist overcomes a deep seated issue. This brand new play is written and directed by Delores Thornton who starred as Mari Evans in 2022’s hit play, “Black is my Color.”
“RIGHT BEHIND YOU” by Deborah Patrick (Detroit, Michigan). Three generations deal with rising family conflict as their matriarch battles COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic. This dramedy is written by award-winning playwright, D.L. Patrick and directed by Megan Simonton.
“TIGONIE” by Levi Frazier Jr. (Memphis, Tennessee). A “changed” man’s sordid past comes back to haunt him unexpectedly after 30 years of bliss in this world-premiere drama from Levi Frazier Jr.
“THE HEART OF A MAN” by Ardre Orie (Atlanta, Georgia). Men are often seen but not heard until now, in this brand new drama written by Ardre Orie and directed by Rasheda Randle.
For information, visit onyxfest.com. To purchase tickets for OnyxFest 2023, visit indyfringe.org/onyxfest/.
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.