Nuyorican Poets Cafe Presents the 2021 Online Short Play and Monologue Festival | APR 30th - MAY 15th
The 13 works listed below will be presented via Zoom on the following dates:
April 30, May 1, May 7, May 8, May 14 & May 15.
Tickets will be available at www.nuyorican.org later this month.
Nuyorican Poets Cafe are currently seeking applications for actors and directors for some of these works.
WORKS FEATURED
Pro Tips by Eunice "LuLu" Alicea
A teenage boy on an errand for his mother visits his uncle and a friend. Through the course of the visit, he gets an unexpected lesson on confidence and what happens when one dares to be themselves.
Papi by Ashley L. Calderón
With his father in critical condition at a nursing home, Hector Jr. must find a way to get along with his judgmental family and make peace with his father while remaining true to himself.
Spell It by Michelle de la Rosa
Taking your frustrations out on a customer service call that leads to defending who you are and what matters most.
Fair Play by Shaquille Edwards
Inside the home of young couple, they argue about selfishness in the bedroom.
Tokens by reg.e.gaines
A poetic monologue based on the 1968 murder of poet Henry Dumas on the platform of an NYC subway station by a transit cop for no apparent reason. The imaginary scenario updates the incident by addressing the insanity of police shootings running rampant today.
Dinner Date 2020 by Helene Galek
Two 50 something people dating in the new normal.
Pronounced by Khalif J. Gillett
A satirical spoken word response to police brutality and the profiling of Black and Brown bodies--specifically following the Jacob Blake shooting. The playwright explores the thought that if one day, something like this were to happen and they were pronounced dead on the news, would they even pronounce his name right.
Nosotras by Isa Guzman
The depiction of the struggle of a Latinx transwoman, early in her transition, processing her life, her traumas, her cultura, y her changing body.
By Chance by Vincent Marano
Secret lovers reconnect at the twilight of their lives. What was once forbidden is now commonplace, but does time truly heal wounds of the heart?
Adulting by Amira Mustapha
A 30- something "muslim" woman who recently experienced a loss, uses every arsenal in her bag to help her cope while she waits for her mother to arrive. How will she navigate this loss? Will her mother ever arrive? and most importantly, how the hell do you put on a hijab?!
Make La Diaspora Great Again: An Homage To Our Bodies by Jossie Ortiz
A testament and homage to the minorities in our communities conditioned to live in a society of systematic racism, while lives are being stolen by misogyny, sexism, and the belief of entitlement by their oppressor.
American Slavery 101 by Nia Akilah Robinson
Three teenage Harlemite's are forced to attend a Slavery 101 class at one of the "blackety-blackest" places in upper Manhattan, the Jackie Robinson Recreation Center. The class is taught by two college-aged students and the teenagers realize that this is the most important course they have ever taken.
Blue by Caridad Svich
A swimmer in the midst of a marathon swim, this story is about endurance, pushing the limits, letting go, and finding your strength where you least expect.
The 2021 Online Short Play and Monologue Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
Follow Nuyorican Poets Cafe on Facebook for updates on the performance schedule!
ABOUT NUYORICAN POETS CAFE
Over the last 40 years, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe has served as a home for groundbreaking works of poetry, music, theater and visual arts. A multicultural and multi-arts institution, the Cafe gives voice to a diverse group of rising poets, actors, filmmakers and musicians. The Cafe champions the use of poetry, jazz, theater, hip-hop and spoken word as means of social empowerment for minority and underprivileged artists. Our community of spectators, artists and students is a reflection of New York City’s diverse population; Allen Ginsberg called the Cafe “the most integrated place on the planet.”
Founded in 1973, the Nuyorican Poets Cafe began as a living room salon in the East Village apartment of writer and poet Miguel Algarin along with other playwrights, poets, and musicians of color whose work was not accepted by the mainstream academic, entertainment or publishing industries. By 1975, the performance poetry scene had started to become a vital element of urban Latino and African-American culture marked by the release of a “Nuyorican Poetry” anthology, and Miguel Piñero’s “Short Eyes,” which was a hit on Broadway. By 1981, the overflow of audience and artists led the Cafe to purchase a former tenement building at 236 East 3rd Street, and to expand its activities and programs from the original space on East 6th Street.
Over the past several decades, the Cafe has emerged as one of the country’s most highly respected arts organizations. Our programming includes poetry slams, open mics, Latin Jazz and Hip-Hop concerts, theatrical performances, educational programs, and visual art exhibits. Our weekly poetry slams draw thousands of spectators each year and have popularized competitive performance poetry. Our educational programs (which are funded in part by the city and state of New York and the NEA) provide literacy and public speaking to thousands of students and many school groups each year. Our theater program has been awarded over 30 Audelco Awards and was honored with an OBIE Grant for Excellence in Theater.
Our Latin Jazz Jams on Thursday nights fill the space with stellar tunes by celebrated musicians. Our Hip Hop events include open mics and competitions for poets, freestylers and emcees, as well as collaborations for storytellers and jazz musicians. We are proud that our ongoing efforts to provide affordable support for the creative life of underprivileged artists have given the Cafe a crucial role in the artistic life of New York City.