THE MEAD THEATRE LAB AT FLASHPOINT PRESENTS SOUTHSIDE

DreamCity Theatre Group's unique look at youth violence in Washington, DC

 

Washington, DC – The Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint is pleased to present the first-ever staged reading of DreamCity Theatre Group's SOUTHSIDE, an inside-out street thesis that uses organic theatre to explore the American condition of youth violence by following one child's journey from naïve student to convicted killer. 

 

SOUTHSIDE runs February 21 - 24, 2008, Thursday – Sunday at 7:30pm. Tickets can be reserved by calling 202.315.1340 or by emailing southside.dreamcity@gmail.com.  Members of the press are invited to attend on February 21 at 7:30pm.

 

Based on an actual event in Washington, DC, SOUTHSIDE was crafted with the aid of community members, document-based research, interviews and letters. In SOUTHSIDE, Rondell, a 17 year-old student confronts the intimidating reality of spending the rest of his life in jail after he shoots and kills the neighborhood bully. Rondell comes across a vivid group of characters who embody the complexities and repercussions of growing up in a violent environment. SOUTHSIDE gives voice to DC's younger generation and poses the question to the audience: "Can we, as a community, stop violence?" SOUTHSIDE offers the portrait of a forgotten community struggling for forgiveness in the wake of tragedy with the hope of improving the collective quality of life.

 

"This play has the potential to uplift my community and the way we think about young people and violence.  Most of us are just trying to stay safe and go to school, but then we also have to be mindful of the negativity that can happen.  This play shows that there is hope and you have options available, if you look, to improve yourself and your community," remarked DreamCity cast member, Tiana Bennett, a college-bound senior at Hyde Leadership Public Charter School.

 

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR AND PLAYWRIGHT

SOUTHSIDE is directed by Michael Baron, Associate Director of Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia.  Baron's recent directing credits include: Nice Jewish Girls Gone Bad (Off-Broadway, Zipper Theatre); Julia Nixon: Live in Concert (Lincoln Theatre); December Divas, The Lost Songs of Broadway, Ricky, Joe, and Michael John and The Sex Habits of American Women  (Signature Theatre); Songs for a New World (Signature at the Music Center at Strathmore); Meet John Doe (Goodspeed Musicals); Stuart Little (Adventure Theatre); Modern Living (La Mama, E.T.C.); The Whore of Sheridan Square (La Mama E.T.C-also playwright); and The School for Scandal and A Christmas Carol (Trinity Repertory Company). Playwright John Muller is the co-founder and Executive/Artistic Director of DreamCity Theatre Group. He has previously worked with Sol & Soul, Young Playwright's Theatre, El Barrio Street Theater, Ward 7 Higher Achievement Center and the DC Youth Advisory Council. His activism in the theatre and arts community of the Washington DC Metro area began in the summer of 2003 as the assistant stage manager for a production of Anna Deavere Smith's Fires in the Mirror.

 

ABOUT DREAMCITY THEATRE GROUP

Founded in 2004 by John Muller and Justin McNeil, DreamCity Theatre Group aims to return the performing arts to the community and bring attention to the rich heritage and untold folklore of the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Previous works, including The 70 and Mayor 4 Life, have been featured at the 2006 DC Hip Hop Theatre Festival, 2007 Page-to-Stage Festival, 34th Annual Washington Studies Conference, American University, Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library. In 2007, DreamCity Theatre Group was a Mayor's Arts Award Finalist for Outstanding Contribution to Arts Education.

 

ABOUT THE MEAD THEATRE LAB PROGRAM

CuDC's Mead Theatre Lab program is an intensive mentorship program for performing artists and independent theatre companies. Inaugurated in January 2006 with 'Capers, the program provides theatre space, technical production support and production mentoring. A panel of noted DC theatre professionals selects the projects and provides guidance to the chosen producers. The result is an eclectic group of innovative, edgy productions and an environment in which emerging performing artists can grow.

 

ABOUT FLASHPOINT

Flashpoint, a Cultural Development Corporation project, is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary arts space dedicated to nurturing emerging artists and cultural organizations in order to build their professional capacity. Flashpoint provides services and training for cultural organizations to help strengthen their management capacity and offers exhibit and performance spaces that enable arts groups to focus on their artistic goals and expand their visibility. Flashpoint includes a contemporary art gallery, the 75-seat Mead Theatre Lab, the Coors Dance Studio and shared office space for arts organizations.

 

Where: The Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint, 916 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001
Dates: February 21 – 24, 2008

Press Night: Thursday, February 21, 2008, 7:30pm (RSVP to karyn@culturaldc.org)

Performances: Thursday – Sunday at 7:30pm

Tickets: $10 suggestion donation (cash or check only)

 

More information is available at flashpointdc.org & dreamcitytg.org

 

Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint • 916 G Street, NW • Washington, DC 20001

A CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION PROJECT

General : 202-315-1305  Press: 202-315-1310  Fax: 202-315-1303
E-mail: karyn@culturaldc.org

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