Useni Eugene Perkins

Jackie Taylor announced the Black Ensemble Theater will present the Second Annual Black Playwrights Festival, November 13-20, 2006. The Black Playwrights Festival, produced by Black Ensemble Theater Founder and Executive Director Jackie Taylor and award-winning actor and writer David Barr III, promises to be an exciting week of new works by up-and-coming as well as established African American writers. The Black Playwrights Festival will include a celebration of the works of Useni Perkins, several works commissioned as part of the Black Ensemble Theater’s Black Playwright’s Initiative, as well as new offerings from established artists in the city.

Several of the world premiere performances appearing in the 2006 Black Playwrights Festival will move on to productions at The Black Ensemble in the near future. They were developed in part through the Black Playwright’s Initiative workshops, classes, table readings, symposia, private dramaturgy, and Black Ensemble commissions. These works were chosen from the hundreds of plays that the Black Ensemble receives and develops each year by its company of artists.

Each staged reading of a play-in-progress will be followed by a moderated audiences discussion.

The 2006 schedule for the Black Playwrights Festival is as follows:

Monday, November 13- 7:00pm
Opening dedication and celebration of the works of Useni Perkins
Useni Eugene Perkins is a distinguished poet, playwright and youth worker. Born in Chicago, he is the son of Marion Perkins, a sculptor, and Eva Perkins. In 1966, Perkins became the executive director of the Better Boys Foundation of Chicago, a social agency involved in community, social, educational and cultural development. Raised in the housing projects of Chicago, and having established a distinguished career as a sociogist dealing with troubled youth, he authored the 1976 book "Home Is a Dirty Street: The Social Oppresion of Black Children." Upon leaving his post with the Better Boys Foundation in 1982, Perkins became very active in penning several sociological books on Black youth, as well as publishing books of poetry and authoring various plays that were produced in theaters across Chicago.

Tuesday, November 14- 7:30pm
A play reading by M. Shelly Conner of her new work, “E’rybody Got Their Own Lives”
"E'rybody Got Theat Own Lives" is a humorous glimpse at relationships gone awry. When friends, neighbors, and lovers are thrown together, it's clear that everyone has their own lives and it best that they are the one who live them.

Wednesday, November 15- 7:30pm
A preview of a new musical written by Joe Plummer and David Barr III, "I Gotcha!"
"I Gotcha!" centers around popular soul singer Joe Tex. Joe enjoys his premature retirement from show business as he quietly celebrates a birthday. But it is a bittersweet celebration. He is still mourning the death of his religious mentor and spiritual advisor when several of Joe's musical 'friends' join the party for the sole purpose of trying to coax Joe out of retirement for a reunion concert of their old group...the legendary 'Soul Clan'.

Thursday, November 16- 11:00pm
A play reading by Christopher Benson and David Barr III of their new work, an adaptation of Benson’s novel, “A Death of Innocence.”
There are many heroes of the civil rights movement. Each has a unique story, a path that led to a role of activism. "Death of Innocence" is the heartbreaking and ultimately inspirational story of one such hero; Mamie Till-Mobley, the mother of Emmett Till- a 14 year old African American boy who, during a visit with relatives in Money, Mississippi, was kidnapped and murdered. His crime: allegedly whistling at a local white women in a convenience store in the Jim Crow south.

Friday, November 17- 11:00pm
"Backstage Late Night No Props
Few rehearsed lines and lots of laughs all combine for a night of comedy sketches produced by M. Shelly Conner.

Saturday, November 18- 3:00pm
A play reading by Wendell Etherly of his new work, “The Red Summer”
The Red Summer is based on the infamous race riot that took place on the south side of Chicago in the summer of 1919. This story surrounds a working poor Black family who hosts an engaging, but naive distant relative who escapes the oppressive Jim Crow south and migrates north in pursuit of a career as an artist.

Saturday, November 18- 11:00pm
Poetry Night
A mixture of poets, free lancing and free styling in all different kinds of styles touching upon all different kinds of subject matter.

Sunday, November 19- 7:00pm
The Cabarets of Bronzeville: Then & Now, produced by Joe Plummer and David Barr III
In a cabaret setting, five singers will perform excerpts from original and new compositions that explorer the grandeur of classic, early 20th century south Chicago...Grand Boulevard or Bronzeville.

All Black Playwrights Festival events will take place at the Black Ensemble Theater, 4520 N. Beacon, in Chicago. Tickets, which are currently on sale, are priced at $10-$15 per event or $40 for an All Festival Pass. Tickets are available by calling 773-769-4451 or by visiting the Black Ensemble Box Office at 4520 N. Beacon.