In response to the current global spotlight on racial injustice against Black people The Breath Project announced the line-up for the inaugural The Breath Project Virtual Festival. The Breath Project is a new theatrical initiative formed by Artistic Director and Co-Founder Gamal Abdel Chasten and Co-Founder Marieke Gaboury. The Breath Project Virtual Festival is being held on at 5 p.m. both Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25.
In partnership with Flint Repertory Theatre and 23 other theater companies across the country, the free festival will feature 24 world-premiere works created by multidisciplinary theater artists of color that are all eight minutes and 46 seconds in length. In the wake of the death of George Floyd, the 8-minute-and-46-second time frame has become a symbol for the racial injustice faced by countless members of the Black community across the United States.
Following a call for entries in August 2020, original works ranging from monologues and slam poetry to puppetry and dance activism were submitted. From those entries, a diverse panel of artists of color selected the 24 works that will comprise the inaugural festival. All works that have met the required submission guidelines will be archived on The Breath Project website.
The virtual festival will feature two works commissioned by Flint Repertory Theatre; “Nice to Meet You” created by Flint theatre artists David Guster and Harvey’s “Breonna’s Prayer.”
“We received many inspiring submissions from around the country to be housed in our archive, and a third of those will be featured at the virtual festival,” said Chasten. “The range of works we received was vast, and included more traditional theatrical presentations and those that challenged the idea of what is theater in this moment of isolation. It is my hope that when people visit our website, attend the virtual festival, or follow and support our vision, they will have their boundaries pushed and their ideas challenged, and that, in the process, we change the face of American theatre.”
“We are thrilled to partner with The Breath Project on this monumental festival,” said Flint Rep Producing Artistic Director Michael Lluberes.
“David Guster and Harvey have created strikingly original, surprising and potent pieces about their own experience,” Lluberes added. “They are both powerful new voices for the American Theatre and we are grateful that we can help share their work with a national audience.”
“I submitted to TBP because I had been putting off creating work surrounding all of the oppression that Black people are facing right now,” said Harvey, who has performed in “The Wolves and The Chairs” at Flint Rep.
“It’s hard to have to sit and think about how you could die at any time with no justice,” Harvey added. “TBP was a really great avenue to force me to finally take the time to bring all of my feelings about the issue to life. The result is the best thing I’ve created in my life so far. I unlocked a new world of creative possibility through this project.”
“I’m so honored to represent theatre in Flint and theatre for actors of color,” said Guster, a former Flint Youth Theatre student (2009-18) and a junior studying theatre performance at the University of Michigan-Flint.
Guster was recently in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” at Flint Rep.
“I decided to participate in ‘The Breath Project’ because I’ve become a very outspoken person during this time of socioeconomic unrest and would consider myself an activist in support of the Black Lives Movement,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to be a part of theatre that is involved, loud and helps navigate the feelings we’re all having during this time.”
Theaters partnering with The Breath Project include (in alphabetical order): Alabama Shakespeare Festival (Montgomery, AL); Alumni Theater Company (Pittsburgh, PA); Cherry Lane Theatre (New York, NY); Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (Cincinnati, Ohio); City Theatre Company (Pittsburgh, PA); Cornerstone Theater Company (Los Angeles, CA); Curious Theatre Company (Denver, CO); Detroit Public Theatre (Detroit, MI); Dorset Theatre Festival (Dorset, VT), Face Off Theatre (Kalamazoo, MI), Flat Rock Playhouse (Flat Rock, NC); Flint Repertory Theatre (Flint, MI); Kumu Kahua Theatre (Honolulu, HI); Marin Theatre Company (Mill Valley, CA); Network of Ensemble Theaters (National Service Organization); Palo Alto Children’s Theatre (Palo Alto, CA); Pillsbury House Theatre (Minneapolis, MN); Portland Center Stage (Portland, OR); Rude Mechs (Austin, TX); San Diego Repertory Theatre (San Diego, CA); Southern Rep Theatre (New Orleans, LA); Studio Theatre (Washington DC); Two River Theater (Red Bank, NJ); and Western Michigan University Department of Theatre (Kalamazoo, MI).
To RSVP for The Breath Project Virtual Festival, visit tinyurl.com/tbp-festival-2020. For more information on The Breath Project, visit thebreathproject2020.com.
