Definition Theatre announces the recipients of its Amplify new play commissions. Chosen from feedback from the Definition Theatre ensemble and showcase audience, the commission recipients include Lot 110 by Nora Carroll, Corazones by Luna Dragon Mac-Williams, What a Time to be Alive (You Say That Every Time) by Paul Michael Thomson, and are you ready to smash white things? by Ireon Roach.
As a part of the program, each winner will undergo a play development process with Definition Theatre as well as a payment of $2,000, two workshops, and a final public reading of the play.
Artistic Director Tyrone Phillips says, “It is imperative to support Chicago artists by holding space for them to find their voice. We have great expectations for these incredibly talented playwrights and look forward to watching these four plays develop with great care.”
Amplify was created to provide space and resources to writers in the development of new works during the pandemic and to create a collaborative community for them to hear, see, and experience their work, amplified and actualized. Developed to empower and uplift underrepresented theatre creatives, Amplify is part of a larger initiative to capture new cultural expressions across the South Side of Chicago.
After an open submission period, the Definition ensemble selected eight short play excerpts that were then filmed at the Green Line Performing Arts Center. The Definition ensemble will subsequently choose up to four finalist playwrights, whose work feels most suited for the company, to be commissioned for continued engagement leading to a full staged reading as a part of the opening of Definition’s new space in Woodlawn.
About Definition Theatre:
Definition Theatre is a culturally diverse theater dedicated to telling language-driven, relationship-oriented, socially relevant stories about and created with underrepresented communities in Chicago. Our ensemble is a collective of artists, art administrators, educators, and designers who prioritize working towards and representing a more equitable theatre industry.
Definition has built its reputation on work that reflects its unique voice. It shared the words of Academy Award- Winner Tarell Alvin McCraney in The Brothers Size; it grooved with Amiri Baraka’s whirlwind story of a chance meeting on a train in Dutchman. In partnership with, The New Colony staged the world premiere of Byhalia, Mississippi, which starred Academy Award nominee ensemble member Kiki Layne. In association with the Goodman Theatre, Definition staged the Chicago premiere of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ An Octoroon, a subversive take on race in America that captivated audiences. Most recently, Definition sent us all to the moon with ensemble member James Ijames’s Moon Man Walk and explored the challenges of America’s public-school system through Nilaja Sun’s No Child… and highlighted the first- generation experience in the world premiere of Sam Kebede’s ETHIOPIANAMERICA.
Ensemble members include: Owais Ahmed, Jared Bellot, Carley Cornelius, Ari Craven, Danielle Davis, Martasia Jones, Slick Jorgensen, Kristy Hall, James Ijames, Kiki Layne, Kelson Michael McAuliffe, Neel McNeill, Sophiyaa Nayar, Alexandra Oparka, Julian Parker, Tyrone Phillips, Jacqueline Rosas, Christopher Sheard, and Dujon Smith. Artistic Advisory Board members include: director May Adrales, Steppenwolf ensemble member Alana Arenas, actress Shannon Cochran, Erica Daniels, actor Brandon Dirden, actor Jason Dirden, Writers Theatre Artistic Director Michael Halberstam, director Pam Mackinnon, Equity Quotient CEO Keryl McCord, professor JW Morrissette, director Ron OJ Parson, professor/lighting designer Kathy Perkins, Tony Award-winning actress and stage director Phylicia Rashad, and Goodman Theatre director in residence Chuck Smith. Tyrone Phillips is the Artistic Director and Neel McNeill is the Executive Director. For additional information, visit www.definitiontheatre.org and www.facebook.com/definitiontheatrecompany #stayinit