Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre is proud to announce the return of the Annual Gloria Bond Clunie Playwright’s Festival for a third year. This festival will take place over two weekends (July 10th-12th and July 17th-19th) at FJT’s home, the Noyes Cultural Arts Center at 927 Noyes St. in Evanston. The first weekend will be for the playwrights to connect with each other and spend uninterrupted time developing their play with a team of directors and actors. The second weekend will offer rehearsal time with their team, culminating in a public staged reading for each of the three plays chosen from 70 entries this year. In keeping with FJT's mission statement, our plays speak to the Black American experience and explore African Diaspora-centered storytelling. Audiences will have an opportunity to participate in a post-reading conversation after each performance.
Photo by Eileen Tull, from 2024 inaugural festival.
The festival will feature these three new plays in development. There will be a double bill of two short one-act plays – BLACK ENOUGH and VISITATION – on Saturday, July 18. The full-length play MISS SPENCE’S PLAY will be performed on Sunday, July 19.
BLACK ENOUGH
by Beckett Thompson
Directed by Lip Lewis
Saturday, July 18th at 5:00PM
VISITATION
by Caitlin Frazier
Directed by Faramade F. Oladapo
Saturday, July 18th at 7:00PM
Tickets $15.00 for the program of two plays on July 18, available at https://www.fjtheatre.com
MISS SPENCE’S PLAY
by Annie Janeiro Randall
Directed by Rashaad Bond
Sunday, July 19th at 3:00PM
Tickets $15.00, available at https://www.fjtheatre.com
This new play development initiative honors the incredible career and legacy of Gloria Bond Clunie, the founder of Fleetwood-Jourdain. She is also a founding member of the Playwriting Ensemble at Victory Gardens Theater where she premiered her plays NORTH STAR, SHOES, and LIVING GREEN. Her work as a theater artist and educator has been recognized by the NAACP, the Joseph Jefferson Awards, Chicago Black Theatre Alliance Awards, and Evanston Mayor’s Award for the Arts, among many others..
The festival producers are Taria Michelle Abram and Eileen Tull and Tim Rhoze is Artistic Director of Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre. Tickets are available through Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre’s website. https://www.fjttheatre.com.
ABOUT FLEETWOOD-JOURDAIN THEATRE
Founded in 1979, Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre is a professional, award-winning theatre company that has been thrilling audiences with over four decades of unique, inspirational, and invigorating Black American and African Diaspora-centered storytelling. The company has been honored by the Black Theatre Alliance/Ira Aldridge Awards and is frequently listed as a top-rated Chicago theatre company. From original plays to the best of Broadway, Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre has remained committed to supplying the very best in theatre. "Umoja!! ….Working Together in Unity" is the foundation from which FJT began and continues to thrive!
It is our mission to present powerful, thought-provoking, Theater Arts programming with a commitment to diversity and creative excellence. We are dedicated to providing a nurturing and creative environment for directors, playwrights, actors, set, light, and costume designers. In this positive environment, they can further develop their creative skills and share their artistic expressions. The Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre is funded by the City of Evanston and in part by the Illinois Arts Council, A State Agency.