Men share their experiences in a pair of Miami plays
Coming up in South Florida theater, return engagements for the powerful veterans’ play Conscience Under Fire and Keith C. Wade’s Hustle. Plus playwright France-Luce Benson gets a prestigious fellowship.
VETERANS SHARE
MDC Live Arts is presenting two free performances of Conscience Under Fire, a theater piece created by South Florida veterans under the guidance of playwright-director Teo Castellanos. Anthony Torres, Allen Minor, Hipolito Arriaga and Andrew Cuthbert channeled their experiences with post-traumatic stress disorder into a piece that is powerful, harrowing and humorous; as Castellanos remarks, “These four men have traveled to the bowels of hell, physically and mentally, offering themselves as sacrificial lambs. They come back with the determination to heal not only themselves but the rest of us as well.”
Performances are at 8 p.m. Sept. 11-12 at Teatro Prometeo, 300 NE Fourth St., Miami. Because seating is limited, theatergoers have to reserve the free tickets at 305-237-3010 or by visiting mdclivearts.org.
‘HUSTLE’ RETURNS
The African Heritage Cultural Arts Center had a success in 2006 with the African American Performing Arts Community Theatre’s production of Hustle, a play written and directed by Miamian Keith C. Wade. Now, for one weekend only, the center is bringing back Wade’s play about a group of black, Latino and Caribbean men who bond and share their fears, frustrations and dreams on their neighborhood basketball court. The language can be raw and rough, so the play isn’t recommended for anyone younger than 14.
André L. Gainey, Lorenzo Johnson, Jesus C. Mitchell, Njie Sabik, Herman McGloun, Jamil Malik, Charita Joseph and Wade are in the cast. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11-12, and 4 p.m. Sept. 13 at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, 6161 NW 22nd Ave., Miami. Tickets are $20 Friday and Sunday, $25 on Saturday. For information, call 305-638-6771 or visit www.aapact.com.
BENSON HONORED
France-Luce Benson, a New World School of the Arts grad whose powerful play Risen From the Dough was produced as part of City Theatre’s Summer Shorts in June, has been selected as one of five playwrights and eight musical theater writers to receive a 2015-16 Dramatists Guild Fellowship.
Chosen from among more than 150 applicants, Benson will spend nine months in New York working with experienced theater professionals to develop a full-length play. For more information, visit www.dramatistsguild.com.
This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 4:07 PM with the headline "Men share their experiences in a pair of Miami plays."