Category Archives: Earth Love

A Southeastern Premiere

“THRILLING! The Wolves keeps you on the edge of your seat.” – The New York Times

---

Horizon Theatre Company is kicking off its 35th Anniversary Season with a 2017 Pulitzer Prize Finalist for Drama! The Wolves, a groundbreaking new play by Sarah DeLappe, will hit the Little Five Points stage from January 25 through March 3, 2019. The anticipated Southeastern premiere will include a cast of 10 of Atlanta’s best actresses showcasing their acting and athletic prowess as this powerful story takes to the stage.

“High energy and up-to-the-minute, this story of soccer, hopes and dreams takes you inside the rituals and rivalries of a tight team,” explains Horizon Co-Artistic/Producing Director Lisa Adler. “And with audience surrounding the action on the indoor soccer field set, you’ll be on the edge of your seat and in the midst of the action. The smart writing performed by ten of Atlanta’s hottest young talents will score with young and old alike in this touching and dynamic play that Horizon is thrilled to bring to Atlanta.”

Left quad. Right quad. Lunge. A girl’s indoor soccer team warms up. From the safety of their suburban stretch circle, the team navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with all the vim and vigor of a pack of adolescent warriors. A portrait of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for nine American young women who just want to score some goals.

Veteran director Heidi Cline McKerley leads a racially diverse cast with the indoor soccer world created by Suzi-Award-winning resident set designers Moriah and Isabel Curley-Clay and lighting designer Mary Parker.

---

The Wolves is a fly-on-the-wall look at a girls’ high school indoor soccer team when an uber-talented, but strange and worldly new team member arrives. As they practice on the field in the weeks leading up to the championship, Ms. DeLappe thoughtfully and eloquently opens a window into a complex world of young women facing their future – all in the space of 90 minutes.

“I wanted to see a portrait of teenage girls as human beings — as complicated, nuanced, very idiosyncratic people who weren’t just girlfriends or sex objects or manic pixie dream girls but who were athletes and daughters and students and scholars and people who were trying actively to figure out who they were in this changing world around them,” explains playwright Sarah DeLappe.

---

The Wolves will run January 25 – March 3, 2019 (Press Opening: February 1). Performances are Wednesday through Sunday (Wed-Fri at 8pm, Sat at 3pm & 8pm, Sun at 5pm). Tickets start at $30 for weekdays and $35 for weekends. $20 anytime for teens and full-time student under 25 with valid student ID. Prices are subject to change and will rise as performances fill up. Patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets early for best prices. Seating is general admission. Our intimate theatre is in the heart of Inman Park and Little Five Points at the corner of Euclid and Austin Avenues (1083 Austin Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30307), and includes FREE parking. Tickets and information are available at horizontheatre.com or 404.584.7450.

GROUP RATES
Group discounts are available for parties of 10 or more. Horizon Theatre offers a lounge space available for rental for pre-show gatherings. Contact Group Sales at 404.523.1477 x111 for more information.

---

 

From a Tony Award Winner to a Pulitzer Prize Finalist, Horizon Theatre Company’s 35th Anniversary Season will be its biggest and boldest to date. Once again, Horizon will deliver smart, funny and provocative contemporary plays that change the face of Atlanta Theatre.

---

THE WOLVES

by Sarah DeLappe

“Thrilling! THE WOLVES keeps you on the edge of your seat.” — THE NEW YORK TIMES

FINALIST for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama! Left quad. Right quad. Lunge. A girl’s indoor soccer team warms up. From the safety of their suburban stretch circle, the team navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with all the vim and vigor of a pack of adolescent warriors. A portrait of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for nine American girls who just want to score some goals.

Directed by Heidi Cline McKerley

---

PIPELINE

by Dominique Morisseau

“Pipeline showcases an American playwright in full blaze.” — HUFFPOST

Nominated for five 2018 Lucille Lortel Awards, including ‘Outstanding Play.’ In Dominique Morisseau’s PIPELINE, Nya Joseph is a dedicated, inner-city public high school teacher who is committed to her students’ achievement, while she sends her only son, Omari, to a private boarding school. When Omari is involved in a controversial incident which threatens him with expulsion from his school, Nya is forced to reconcile Omari’s anger, her own parental decisions, and the public and private school systems, as she rallies to save her son.

---

THE CAKE

by Bekah Brunstetter

“Brilliant … Powerful and meaningful … abundant wit and humor” – LA Post-Examiner

When Della, a North Carolina Baker and devout Christian, is asked to bake a wedding cake for her best friend’s daughter, she is overjoyed. But that joy is short-lived when she learns that the intended is another bride. Struggling to reconcile her deeply-held belief in “traditional marriage” and the love she has for the woman she helped raise, Della finds herself in strange new territory. Inspired by a story still in the headlines, this marvelously funny new play by Bekah Brunstetter (TV’s This is Us) is proof that love is the key ingredient in creating common ground.

---

Soon To Be Announced REGIONAL PREMIERE

Horizon favorite Thomas W. Jones II – the director behind the hits Blackberry Daze, Da Kink In My Hair, How Black Mothers Say I Love You, and many more – will come another will come another stunning production, to be announced soon.

Directed by Thomas W. Jones II

---

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME

adapted by Simon Stephens

from the book by Mark Haddon

“A beautiful, dazzlingly inventive show about the wonders of life.” – Evening Standard

Winner of 7 Olivier Awards and 5 Tony Awards including ‘Best Play,’ The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time brings Mark Haddon’s best-selling novel to thrilling life on stage, adapted by two-time Olivier Award-winning playwright Simon Stephens. Tenacious and intelligent, Christopher is an autistic teenager who’s better at solving equations than navigating a world that’s stubbornly out of sync with how his mind works. After being wrongly accused of murdering his neighbor’s dog, he resolves to find the real culprit. But, when his investigation uncovers painful truths about his family, he dares to strike out on his own, embarking on a thrilling adventure that upturns his whole world.

---

We Cannot Wait To See You At The Theatre For Our 35th Anniversary Season Of Outstanding Contemporary Plays!

---

 

 

Horizon Theatre Company is ringing in the holiday season with a new tradition! Waffle Palace Christmas, a sequel to the smash-hit show inspired by real events at Waffle House restaurants, will hit the Little Five Points stage from November 16 through December 30. The anticipated world premiere will include familiar faces as well as new, charming cast members dishing up heartfelt southern humor—scattered, smothered and covered in a spicy holiday sauce.

“After staging several sell-out runs of Waffle Palace in past years, we’re excited to bring back the beloved all-night diner and its staff in a new edition perfect for the holiday season,” said Co-Artistic/Producing Director Lisa Adler.  “This festive spin on the cordial comedy will serve up a new tradition, filled with laughter and holiday spirit sure to satisfy everyone for seasons to come!”

Waffle Palace Christmas picks up with the vintage Waffle Palace now thriving in the middle of a new modern city multi-use complex. The holiday season is in full swing and the staff is adjusting to new roles, an inexperienced employee and quirky regulars. With Christmas cheer aplenty among the diverse staff and diners, Krampus, a legendary, shape-shifting holiday villain, appears over the restaurant to sabotage the spirit and challenge all in his path.

 

STORY:

The holiday spirit is alive and well within the Waffle Palace for customers and staff alike. Long-time, African-American waitress Connie has invested her own savings to keep the Waffle Palace open and is now in partnership with her former boss, John Picket. Connie hires a likeable young cook with no grill experience but artistic talents galore, and a young web developer with some secrets, Alex, begins hanging out at the Waffle Palace daily. Former waitress Esperanza and customer Hugo have returned from a long honeymoon (funded by the lottery she won) and are pregnant, with the baby due on Christmas Day. To top it off, Dave, a young vet who may or may not be homeless, has pitched a tent on the roof where he sings the blues.

As ancient folklore has it, Krampus is often drawn to places filled with holiday cheer and appears one night in a cloud of smoke over the thriving Waffle Palace. In attempt to foil the Waffle Palace’s holiday spirit, Krampus uses his powers to wreak havoc in the restaurant by manipulating the staff, customers, weather and more to his own ends.

Eight actors play 20-plus roles in this story about new beginnings and overcoming the darkness; and of course, an ending with a Christmas birth and Wiccans chanting in the parking lot.

 

Nomad Motel – a fresh, coming of age comedy-drama about an American and a Chinese family whose lives are unexpectedly linked – makes its Southern debut as the finale of Horizon Theatre Company’s “New American Dreams Series” this fall. 

Nomad Motel is a funny and poignant tale of motel kids and parachute kids raising themselves and making something out of nothing in the land of plenty.    Alix lives with her family in a tiny motel room, caring for her brothers while her newly single mom figures out a plan.  Her Chinese classmate, Mason, lives alone in a grand, empty house, composing music and dodging child services and immigration while his absent father runs jobs for the Hong Kong mafia.   Then suddenly, his father and source of funds disappear, and Alix shows up at his front door without a home.  An unlikely friendship is born as they learn to scrape by without giving up on their dreams.

“Both tough and tender, this is a story that will resonate with every parent and grandparent who has struggled through the trials of raising kids,” explains Co-Artistic Director Lisa Adler, “and every teen who is facing the fear and anticipation of adulthood.   This intercultural tale of two determined teens and their parents looks at the New American Dream through the eyes of the next generation.   It’s an epic story with live music onstage and even a surprising fight scene.”

Nomad Motel was first produced earlier this year at City Theatre Company (Pittsburgh) and will continue later this season with productions at Kansas City’s Unicorn Theatre and Off-Broadway’s Atlantic Theatre.  Pittsburgh in the Round says, “Nomad Motel brilliantly depicts the intersection between two groups of young adults [“Parachute Kids” & “Motel Kids”]… who find themselves interconnected in ways that profoundly alter and unify them.”  Theatre and television writer Carla Ching takes Atlanta by storm this month with her plays running concurrently at two of Atlanta’s premiere professional theatres.  While Horizon is playing Ching’s Nomad Motel intown, her play The Two Kids Who Blow Sh*t Up is also showing at Aurora Theatre in Lawrenceville through September.

 

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

“I write to tell the stories of people I know who may not have made it to stage yet,” explains Carla Ching.  “Asian American characters that aren’t the stock characters you’ve seen before — the goofy neighbor, the nerdy scientist, the tech guy. But who have layers, regrets, pasts, hopes and enormous dreams for the future.”  Her plays focus on broad questions such as “Why are parents so hard on their kids?” and “Why are we so mean to the people we love?”  Of Nomad Motel, she says, “I think a lot of what we’re trying to do here, too, is about home, about trying to find family when your own family isn’t around or is dysfunctional or is breaking apart. It’s about trying to find love when you are alone.”

Nomad Motel was a South Coast Repertory Time Warner CrossRoads Commission, and was developed by the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Playwrights Contest, the National New Play Network Showcase of New Plays, Atlantic Theatre Company’s Mixfest and City Theatre Company.   Her play Fast Company (South Coast Rep, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Lyric Stage and Pork Filled Productions; winner of the Edgerton New American Play Award) is published by Samuel French.   She is the former Artistic Director of Asian American Theater Company, 2g.   On television, Carla has written for USA’s “Graceland”; AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead,” Amazon’s “I Love Dick,” and is currently working on the forthcoming Hulu drama “The First” from Beau Willimon and AMC’s “Preacher.” www.carlaching.com  @carlaching

 

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM

Horizon’s production is helmed by Atlanta director Melissa Foulger whose work has been seen on many Atlanta stages, including Clybourne Park at Aurora Theatre, Boy at Theatrical Outfit and The Flower Room at Actor’s Express.  The production features Kevin Qian as Mason, a recent graduate of the Actor’s Express intern program and former GA Tech student of director Melissa Foulger.   Alix is played by Ashley Anderson, who has worked at theatres across Atlanta since she debuted here with her acclaimed work in Ada and the Memory Engine at Essential Theatre last season.  Alix’s beleaguered mom Fiona is created by Liza Jaine who has been seen as iconic mothers in Tuck Everlasting at the Alliance and Mary Poppins at the Aurora Theatre.   Hailing from Chicago is Wai Yim who takes on the role of James, Mason’s tough father who parents long distance from Hong Kong.  Wai has been seen on many premiere Chicago stages including the Goodman Theatre and Lookingglass Theatre.   Finally, Oscar, Alix’s teen friend who takes her in, is played by Marcellis Cutler, recently seen as the lead in Breath and Imagination at ART Station.

The tiny motel/large house split stage set will be created by Horizon’s Suzi-Award-winning resident designers Moriah and Isabel Curley-Clay with lights by resident designer Mary Parker.  Original music compositions that Mason creates onstage with electric violin and keyboard are by Okorie Johnson and Kevin Qian.  Fight director David Sterritt creates a high energy fight sequence.  Sound, costumes and props are by Horizon regulars Thom Jenkins (How to Use A Knife), Nyrobi Moss (How Black Mothers Say I Love You, Blackberry Daze), and Kathryn Muse (Freaky Friday, How Black Mothers Say I Love You).

Immigrant Domestic Workers and Family Separation

The phrase “family separation” has taken on new meaning in light of recent events surrounding immigrants and asylum-seekers to the United States. Though the specifics are different, How Black Mothers Say I Love You examines the repercussions of a similar separation for one family, and a path to healing and acceptance. Daphne, the mother in the play,  would have come to North America under an immigration program that allowed her to do domestic work in order to earn citizenship. Programs like this often required women to be single, so bringing any children she may have had would be out of the question.

Playwright Trey Anthony originally set this play in Canada to reflect the stories of the women who were part of a Canadian government program that began in 1955. The West Indian Domestic Scheme recruited young women from select West Indian islands to satisfy the country’s need for post-war household labor. However, this scenario, of a mother emigrating to find work and create better opportunities for her family, was and is common all over the world.

Anthony herself comes from a legacy of black mothers who have left their children. She says, “My grandmother left her children in Jamaica and went to England and was separated from them for six years. My paternal grandmother also left her children in search of a better life. Both of my grandmothers were poor women mothering in less than ideal situations. The legacy of mothers leaving continued when my own mother left us in England in search of the Canadian dream. I was left behind… Even though my family is now reunited, we never fully recovered from these separations. We are women who share a complicated herstory of leaving and being left behind.”

The West Indian Domestic Scheme recruited young women from select West Indian islands and enlisted over 2,250 women who left their homes to assist thousands of upper class families in exchange for permanent residency. Due to Canada’s strict and often racially discriminatory immigration laws, the scheme was often the only opportunity for women to migrate to Canada in order to better their families’ lives. By their own accounts, while leaving their children caused them immense sorrow, many of these women felt they had no choice.

Women intending to participate in the scheme submitted an application through their country’s Ministry of Labour. Applicants were required to meet four criteria: they must have been between the ages of 18-35, must have been single, must have received at least an eighth grade education, and must have passed an interview and medical examination conducted by Canadian immigration officers. Once granted access to the program, the women were required to serve one year as a domestic worker earning a salary of $280. Only then could they send for immediate family members and pursue more prestigious job opportunities.

Upon their arrival, migrants were often literally and figuratively isolated from each other and the surrounding community. According to a study conducted by social researcher and anthropologist Frances Henry, many women felt they were unprepared for the isolating, demeaning, and strenuous way of life. While some women expressed a positive experience, the majority of those interviewed cited instances in which they were personally discriminated against. For this reason, many women were forced to continue working as domestic employees for years after their service ended; no established  business hired people of color. Racial bigotry at times led women to leave their children in the West Indies permanently to spare them a childhood of alienation.

 

Brief History of Immigration Legislation in the United States

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed a landmark immigration reform bill, the Hart-Celler Act, into law. It abolished the quota system that had been established by the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924, which critics condemned as a racist contradiction of fundamental American values. For example, the Johnson-Reed Act is the legislation that prevented any citizens from Japan from entering the United States.

By liberalizing the rules for immigration, especially by prioritizing family reunification, the Hart-Celler act stimulated rapid growth of immigration numbers. Once immigrants had naturalized, they were able to sponsor relatives in their native lands in an ever-lengthening migratory process called chain migration, which is an enduring legacy of Hart-Celler that is a significant part of the immigration conversation today.

Unlike flows from other parts of the world, the uptick in Caribbean immigration was not necessarily prompted by the 1965 Hart-Celler Act because migration from the Western Hemisphere had not been subject to the national origin quotas set in 1924. Instead, the growth had to do with circumstances specific to each country. Migration from Jamaica and other former British colonies was driven by immigration restrictions set by the United Kingdom and the simultaneous recruitment by the United States of English-speaking workers of varying skill levels, from rural laborers to domestic workers to nurses. At present, Jamaicans are the largest group of American immigrants from the English-speaking Caribbean.

FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT

I come from a legacy of black mothers who have left their children. My grandmother left her children in Jamaica and went to England and was separated from them for six years. My paternal grandmother also left her children in search of a better life. Both of my grandmothers were poor womyn mothering in less than ideal situations. The legacy of mothers leaving continued when my own mother left us in England in search of the Canadian dream. I was left behind…

Even though my family is now reunited, we never fully recovered from these separations. We are womyn who share a complicated herstory of leaving and being left behind. As a result, we are storytellers, telling jokes rather than talking about feelings. Silences feel dangerous and “I love you” is replaced with overflowing plates of rice & peas and chicken. Yet, even with the many things left unsaid, I have no doubt that my mother and grandmother love(d) me and each other fiercely.

When my 80-year old grandmother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, for the first time, she seemed compelled to finally talk about her past. Armed with just an iPhone and pen and paper, I eagerly recorded her response.

Me: “Gran, do you have any regrets?”

Gran: “My biggest regret was leaving my children, they have never forgiven me, especially your mother. Sometimes as a mother you have to do what is best for your children. But they will never understand.” 

How Black Mothers Say I Love You became my own way of trying to understand this complicated herstory of my family.  It is the love letter of understanding… It is written for all those that had to leave, and for those left behind. It is for every mother who is mothering under less than ideal circumstances. It is for every daughter who is trying to find her own place of healing while navigating her own childhood hurts.

We are all hurting, all feeling that we need more love and understanding in our lives. I affirm daily to be kinder, softer, and more loving to everyone I encounter. I wish to hold black womyn and especially my mother, in a kinder, safer, more gentle space. How Black Mothers Say I Love You, is my gentle place, my kinder more forgiving place… There is great love here for you.

I would like to thank my beautiful and amazing life partner, Dr. Vernetta Harris, my grandmothers and mother, and my family/friends for all of their love and support.

I want to truly thank you for coming out to see my play, and  please stay in touch I can be reached on Instagram @blackgirlinlove and on Facebook, under trey anthony.  Please keep spreading the word to ensure diverse stories continue to be told.   Much love.

 

– Trey Anthony

 

Trey Anthony was Horizon’s National New Play Network Playwright-in-Residence in 2016, during which time Horizon produced her smash hit, Da Kink in My Hair, and workshopped her new play, How Black Mothers Say I Love You.   Both plays were directed by Artistic Associate Thomas W. Jones II and the Black Mothers workshop featured Yvonne Singh and Minka Wiltz in the same roles you’ll see them in for this production.   We are thrilled to present the American premiere of the play after its great success in Canada.   

How Black Mothers Say I Love You

Powerful and Touching:

From the creator of ‘da Kink in my Hair comes a tale of immigration, family, and sacrifice

July 13 – August 26, 2018 (Press Opening July 13)

 

Second in Horizon’s New American Dreams Series, How Black Mothers Say I Love You is a powerful, funny and touching tale of a Jamaican mother and her daughters back home together – laughing, shouting and searching for love. How Black Mothers Say I Love You makes its U.S. premiere at Horizon Theatre Company with an all-star cast and creative team, with performances beginning July 13. Ottawa Tonite says, “Playwright Trey Anthony’s love letter written to those women in her family that had to leave their children behind has both a whimsical and a hard edge to it. This play is good – standing ovation good.  Sweet, touching and funny, ample in its raw emotion, How Black Mothers Say I Love You can’t help but work its way into your heart.” The play is sponsored by the family and friends of Denise McLaughlin in honor of her milestone birthday.   Performances begin July 13 and run through August 26 (press opening on July 13) on the intimate Horizon Theatre stage in Little Five Points/Inman Park.

Hard-working Daphne left her two young daughters in Jamaica for six years to create a better life for them in America. Now thirty years later, proud and private, Daphne is relying on church and her nearby dutiful daughter to face a health crisis. But, when feisty activist Claudette arrives unexpectedly from far away to help out, her arrival stirs up the buried past, family ghosts and the burning desire for unconditional love before it’s too late.   Horizon’s Associate Artist, Thomas W. Jones II (Blackberry Daze at Horizon, former Artistic Director of Jomandi Productions) is at the helm of this production as director, and it features Yvonne Singh, Wendy Fox-Williams, and Horizon favorite Minka Wiltz (‘Da Kink in My Hair at Horizon).

How Black Mothers Say I Love You plays July 13 – August 26. Performances are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. (see details below) at Horizon Theatre in Little Five Points/Inman Park (1083 Austin Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA. 30307).  Tickets are $25-$45 and prices increase as performances sell out, so get your tickets early.  Seating is general admission.  Tickets and information are available at horizontheatre.com or 404.584.7450.

 

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Trey Anthony is a visionary creator, motivational speaker and award-winning playwright of international significance, currently based in Atlanta. Her hit play and television series, ‘da kink in my hair has received tremendous critical acclaim and was named one of the top ten plays in Canadian theatrical history and the winner of four NAACP awards. It sold out all of its performances for the Horizon Theatre Company production in 2016, directed by Thomas W. Jones II   Trey is the first African Canadian woman to write and produce a television show on a major prime time Canadian network.  Trey is currently adapting her hit play, How Black Mothers Say I Love You into a feature film.  She constantly champions black women through her plays and new business ventures. In 2017, Trey launched her new brand, Black Girl in love, which features the first lifestyle planner/organizer geared at professional black women and also includes merchandise, workshops and retreats. Trey is a sought-after professional speaker and delivers hundreds of keynotes per year, using humor, personal insight and vulnerability.   She is a crowd favorite and is known to receive standing ovations everywhere she goes.  She also delivered a popular TED talk which continues to inspire thousands of people everywhere.  She is a writer for Huffington Post and a contributing writer for the Toronto Star. Trey, has also been featured in numerous magazines and publications and is a popular guest on daytime television in Canada, where she has appeared on City TV, Global Television, CTV, Rogers Television and more.

The International Centre for Women Playwrights (ICWP) announced that Horizon Theatre Company is a recipient of a 2018 50/50 Applause Awards, honoring theaters that produce plays written in equal measure by women and men. The awards honor theaters at least half of whose productions in their July 2017- June 2018 seasons are written by women. Further, a theater must have staged three or more productions during the season and have plays authored by both male and female in their season. The recipients of this year’s awards are found throughout Australia, Canada, Finland, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, United States, and Wales.

For the 2017-2018 season, approximately 60% of the qualifying theaters are repeat recipients. “We are pleased to see that there are some theaters that, year after year, provide opportunities for women playwrights. We salute their efforts,” said 50/50 Applause Award Co-Chair Patricia L. Morin.

The 2018 50/50 Applause Awards come in the wake of a momentous year for women’s struggle for equality in many different arenas. The #metoo movement that began in October 2017 rocked the film, media and theater industries across the world. The movement has shown how a bullying and sexually abusive environment limits the participation and career success of women. A majority of theater artistic directors do not stage the work of female and male playwrights in an equal proportion, and this has repercussions for society by suppressing women’s stories and filling the theater stages with the male imagination. The male presence not only dominates artistic directors, it dominates the theater boards, governing boards, and public funding institutions throughout the world. The bravery of those speaking out in the #metoo movement is echoed in the words of Millicent Fawcett, the early 20th century British suffragist who campaigned for women’s rights throughout her life, and whose motto was “Courage calls to courage everywhere.”

Horizon Theatre Company is honored to once again be receiving this honor and promises to stick to its commitment to equality.

ABOUT ICWP

ICWP started in 1988 with a mission to support women playwrights worldwide and bring attention to their work. The ICWP 50/50 Applause Awards were founded in 2012 to increase awareness and applaud theaters that produced a season with an equal or greater number of plays written by female playwrights. 

 

This play is a very special to me because I wrote it as sort of an ode to my parents. If it weren’t for my parents, in general, I wouldn’t have been born. And if it weren’t for them, in specific, I would not have written this play.  I am a first generation American.  I am the child of immigrants. My father, who died in 2009, was from Liberia, West Africa. My mother is Brazilian. They spoke different languages, had different cultural practices, different ethnicities, they were also different races. My father was a diplomat, and I grew up living, and going to schools in the countries where he was stationed. Not only am I the child of immigrants. I know what it is to be an immigrant myself.

One day, I was in the supermarket on the upper west side in New York City, standing on a line waiting to be checked out, where a new employee was being trained. As I stood waiting my turn, watching her hands shake from nerves and fear, my mind flashed to my parents. My mother, in particular, arriving in New York City, as a young woman from Brazil, barely speaking a word of English. I thought about how brave she was to go to an unfamiliar land. How resilient and tolerant she was to have been willing to try to forge a new path where the food, the weather, the rhythm, the music, the language, the people, your life is not at all what she once knew. And how lonely she must have felt without her friends, her family, her community. And then I thought about how, in time, that “newness” disappeared, and the ways of the new land became as familiar to her as if she had been here forever.

These days her accent remains, but she doesn’t clutch a dictionary as if it is her lifeline.  America became and has been her home for a long time now. I’ve learned from her and my father, that we all have something to offer each other and to take from each other. That is what I wrote this play wanting to express. It is my hope that you will leave this theater agreeing with me that I was lucky to have had parents whose existence is proof that we can all co-exist. I hope you walk out of this theater realizing that an America where everyone is not welcome to try to walk and work and live alongside those already here, is not America.

Cori Thomas

 

Dedicated to my mother, Zuleika Ivelone Santos Vaz Andrade Thomas

For Horizon Theatre’s next production Citizens Market, we need to create a small grocery store onstage! That’s a challenge – and an opportunity. We can stock our shelves and benefit the community, too, through the STOCK OUR SHELVES FOOD DRIVE for the Atlanta Community Food Bank!

We are asking for you to donate food items to help Stock Our Shelves AND the shelves of the Atlanta Community Food Bank. During the production your donations will be featured on the set of Citizens Market (designed by Moriah and Isabel Curley-Clay), but after the production closes, every single item collected will go to the Atlanta Community Food Bank https://edaslav.com/ru/ to support our community.

We will need a lot of items to fill our set’s shelves and the more we collect, the more goes to our community in need.
If you’d like to donate simply sign up for a donation with THIS FORM.
Then before May 8th, purchase 6-12 of your donation item (same label and style item) at a local store and drop off your contribution at Horizon Theatre. Examples of what would be good to bring are below!

If you want to contribute, but won’t have the time to deliver items yourself, you can help by donating money instead through our completely secure and tax deductible PayPal Giving Fund.

A donation of just $10 allows us to buy 6-10 cans of vegetables. A donation of $25 or more allows us to purchase a set of highly needed items for the Atlanta Community Food Bank, like canned Tuna, Natural Peanut Butters and Whole Grain items. Every dollar will make a difference.

Food Items are needed starting immediately, and we are collecting through Tuesday, May 8, 2018. You can drop off your items at Horizon Mon-Fri 9am to 11:30pm, Sat, 10am-11:30pm, Sun 11am-11:30pm. If you have any questions, or need to drop off your donation at another date or time, please reach out by contacting us at 404-523-1477 x100 or emailing: christina@horizontheatre.com and we can make special arrangements.

Together, we can stock the shelves for our friends, neighbors and those in Atlanta who may need a little extra help from time to time.

Sample Items for Stock Our Shelves:

Dry Goods:

Barilla brand Pasta:
16 ounce packages:
elbows
rotini
fettuccine
spaghetti
12 boxes each type

Ronzoni brand pasta 16 ounce packages:
spaghetti
rigatoni
elbows
12 boxes each type

Mueller’s brand pasta:
16 ounce packages:
corkscrew pasta
penne pasta
100% whole-grain penne pasta
12 boxes each type

Zataran’s rice boxes
12oz boxes
Dirty rice
black beans and rice
jambalaya
8 boxes each

Minute brand rice boxes:
Brown rice 14 ounce box
white rice 20 ounce box
premium rice 14 ounce box
12 boxes each type

Near East brand rice:
5.25-5.5 oz boxes
Tabouli
original couscous
rice pilaf
Eight boxes each 

Kraft macaroni and cheese boxes 15 ounces:
whole grain
original
extra cheesy
12 boxes each

Idahoan brand boxed potatoes:
cheesy scalloped potatoes 4.94 ounce box
loaded baked home style casserole 5.11 ounce box
10 boxes of each

Stove top brand stuffing mix 6 ounce boxes:
chicken
lower sodium chicken
corn bread
8 boxes each

Quaker oatmeal canisters:
Old-fashioned
Five minute quick cook
Oats with raisins
12 cans each

Pop tart eight count boxes:
strawberry
blueberry
Smore’s
6 boxes each

Carnation brand dry milk:
9.6 ounce packages
12 packages

Hungry Jack boxed mashed potatoes instant 26.7ounce:
10 boxes

Quaker oats instant oatmeal boxes:
apple cinnamon 10 count (15.1 ounces )
original 12 count ( 11.8 ounces)
10 boxes of each

Cereal:
Cheerios, 18 ounce box
honey nut Cheerios, 17 ounce box
Lucky charms, 16 ounce box
frosted flakes 15 ounce box
shredded wheat 15 ounce box
6-8 boxes of each

Canned Goods:

Bush’s brand beans:
Best black beans 26.5 ounce can
garbanzo beans 15 ounce can
reduced sodium garbanzo beans 15 ounce can
12 cans of each 

Green giant canned vegetables:
corn cream style sweet corn 14.75 ounces
kitchen sliced green beans 14.5 ounces
8 cans of each

Libby’s brand canned vegetables:
Cream style sweet corn 15 ounces
cut green beans 15 ounces
whole kernel sweet corn lightly seasoned 4cup pack
diced carrots 4 cup pack
sweet peas 4 cup pack
10 of each can
8 of each – 4 count package 

Delmonte brand canned vegetables:
Fresh cut green and wax bean blend 14.5 ounce
fresh cut Italian green bean 14.5 ounce
fresh cut fiesta corn with red and green peppers 15.25 ounce
fresh cut white corn 15.25 ounce
8 cans of each

Del Monte brand canned fruit in 100% fruit juice, 15oz cans:
pear halves
pineapple chunks
fruit cocktail
sliced peaches
12 cans of each

Market pantry brand canned fruit, 15 ounce cans:
Mandarin oranges
no sugar Mandarin oranges
sliced pears
6-8 cans of each

OTHER:

Scott brand toilet paper:
12 pack 1000 sheet rolls – 6 packs
24 pack 1000 sheet rolls – 6 packages

Angel soft brand toilet paper:
pack of 12=24 regular rolls – 6 packages

Charmin brand toilet paper:
pack of 12=24 ultra soft rolls – 6 packages

Viva brand paper towels:
six roll packs  – 6 packages

Bounty brand paper towels:
eight roll packs, white – 6 packages

Sparkle brand paper towels:
eight roll packs, white – 6 packages

Bounty brand paper towels:
400 count paper napkins, white – 6 packages

Friskies brand of cat food 5.5 ounce cans:
Beef and gravy with meaty bits
shreds with turkey and giblets in gravy
tasty treasures with chicken and cheese and gravy
pate turkey and giblets dinner
12 cans of each

Friskies brand cat food 3.15 oz bag
Indoor delights – 6 bags

Nine Lives canned cat food, wrapped 4pack packages:
Chicken and tuna
meaty favorites
Tender morsels with real flaked tuna and sauce
6 packages of each

Purina beneful dog food, 3.5 pound bags:
Original with real beef
healthy weight with real chicken
8 bags of each

Lacroix brand sparkling water 12 pack of cans:
tangerine flavor
berry flavor
peach Pear flavor
3 boxes of each

SYFO brand sparkling water 1L bottles:
tangerine orange flavor – six bottles
wild cherry flavor – six bottles

Ritz brand seltzer water 1 L bottle:
6 – bottles of plain flavor
6 – bottles of lemon lime flavor

Bottled drink multi pack:
Mountain Dew bottles, eight count pack
6 packages

12 pack cans of soda:
Coke
Diet Coke
Sprite
mug root beer
4 of each

Coffees:
Folgers classic dark roast coffee 30.5 ounce canister. – 6 canisters
Maxwell house original ground coffee 30.6 ounce canister – 6 canisters
Café bustelo espresso vacuum pack coffee 10 ounce brick – 12 bricks
Folgers classic instant single serve box, 7 count – 20 boxes

Celestial seasoning boxed tea bags:
fruit tea sampler 18 count
Jammin  lemon ginger 20 count
Peppermint 20 count
Honey vanilla chamomile 20 count
8 boxes each flavor

Lipton teabags:
black teabags 100 count
green teabags 40 count, matcha ginger tea 15 count, matcha mint tea 15 count
6 boxes of each flavor