InterAct Theatre Company

One year ago, we had our last in-person rehearsal before cancelling the show. Last week, we held our second first rehearsal for this play. Today registration opens for our free virtual production. THE NICETIES streams April 13 - May 9, 2021. https://www.interacttheatre.org/the-niceties

We're thrilled to be participating in Arizona Theatre Company's RomeroFest, a month-long festival celebrating the impactful works of Elaine Romero. Our offering? A free reading of Romero's gorgeous play REVOLUTIONS, directed by Philly's own Erlina Ortiz. Presented over Zoom, availability is limited--register today! And be sure to check out the rest of RomeroFest's digital performances from across the U.S. and Mexico: arizonatheatre.org/romerofest

Today's the last day to see STEAL HER BONES! Our ticketing system has closed registrations, but you can still get the link by emailing [email protected]. Hurry--STEAL HER BONES is only available until 10 PM Eastern today! Learn more about the show: https://www.interacttheatre.org/steal-her-bones/

Avoiding the cold this weekend? Stay in and stream Thomas Gibbons' STEAL HER BONES, free with registration, available until March 7: https://www.interacttheatre.org/steal-her-bones

A Free Virtual Production from InterAct, playing through March 7.

If you can. consider a donation to get our beloved Philly actors their flu shots this year!

InterAct mourns the loss of Catherine "Kaki" Marshall. Her early support of Seth Rozin, first as his college mentor and then as Board President and Literary Manager at InterAct, was instrumental in building our theatre company. She received many awards for her work, and we all knew her as a staunch advocate of theatre, especially children's theatre, but what stands out in our memories most clearly is her energy and warmth as a human being. Thank you for everything, Kaki. We will miss you. https://www.interacttheatre.org/

Congratulations to LaNeshe Miller-White on her new position as Executive Director of Theatre Philadelphia! #theatrephilly

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88299515515 Tomorrow at 7:00pm - Screenside Chat with Peter Whinnery! [Pictured: THE ELABORATE ENTRANCE OF CHAD DEITY by Kristoffer Diaz (2009)]

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88299515515 Tomorrow at 7:00pm - Screenside Chat with designer Peter Whinnery! Peter is InterAct’s resident designer, having designed over 50 productions in InterAct’s history. Memorable designs include EUREKA DAY, THE GREAT LEAP, YOU FOR ME FOR YOU, CAUGHT and PERMANENT COLLECTION. Click the above link tomorrow to tune in!

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82435453766 Wednesday, June 24th at 7:00pm - our Screenside Chat with Justin Jain goes live! (Pictured: Justin Jain in THE GREAT LEAP by Lauren Yee)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82435453766 Our next guest on Screenside Chat is the one and only Justin Jain! Most recently seen in InterAct’s production of MAN OF GOD, Justin has also appeared in InterAct’s productions of CAUGHT, YOU FOR ME FOR YOU and THE GREAT LEAP, for which he won the Barrymore Award for Outstanding Lead Performance. See Justin live on Zoom, Wednesday June 24th at 7:00pm: click the zoom link to join in!

Happy Juneteenth All! We organized this showcase to culminate on Juneteenth. Juneteenth is the holiday that marks the anniversary not of the Emancipation Proclamation, enacted in 1863, but of Major General George Granger's arrival in Texas two and a half years later, delivering the belated news that the slaves there were already freed. As of 2019, 46 states recognize Juneteenth as either a holiday or day of observance. Since amplifying Black artists and voices is the central ...purpose of our showcase, it's essential to us to highlight, celebrate, and remember the occasion of Juneteenth and what it means for us today. Juneteenth is a day of celebrating Black history as American history and Black voices as American Voices. Readings and lectures by Black speakers are common, as well as community cookouts. Juneteenth Celebrations in the city: The African American Museum in Philadelphia is hosting a day-after, virtual festival: https://www.facebook.com/events/596040077712342/ , Black Lives Matter Philly is hosting Jawnteenth, a Black-only Juneteenth celebration of food, music, marching, dancing & more. :https://phillyprotest.com//jawnteenth-black-lives-matter-/ Theatre in the X is partnering with Iron Age Theatre to release a 12-part virtual series Freedom Under Threat : http://www.ironagetheatre.org/juneteenth-virtual-tour-2020 To close out our showcase, join us in supporting: -Black Lives Matter Philly, the Philadelphia chapter of the national #BlackLivesMatter organization fighting for self determination for Black communities. Learn More & Donate at blmphilly.com -The Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project (PA ILP), providing free civil legal assistance to low-income people incarcerated or institutionalized in Pennsylvania whose civil constitutional rights have been violated. Learn More & Donate at pailp.org

On the fourth day of Apprentice Showcase, we are excited to share I Braided My Hair for the First Time Today, a spoken word poem by Briana Gause! (cw: mentions of police brutality) Briana’s mission is to create opportunities for love and education to thrive through art. Because of this she encourages people to donate to The Colored Girls Museum, located in Germantown. The Colored Girls Museum is a memoir museum, which honors the stories, experiences, and history of ordinar...y Colored Girls. Help preserve the stories, and artifacts of Black Women, and whenever you get a chance, go visit. Click here to donate to The Colored Girls Museum: https://www.paypal.com/donate/ Click here to learn more about The Colored Girls Museum: http://www.thecoloredgirlsmuseum.com/ About the Artist: Briana is blessed to be a Philadelphia based multidisciplinary artist who recently received her BFA in Directing, Playwriting and Production from The University of the Arts. She is currently the Artistic Associate at The Wilma Theatre where she also serves as a teaching artist. Recently, Briana produced a Black Philly Film Fest, Fade to Black, where her short DISCOVERING BLACKHOLES: A TRAILER showed. She’s also the co-creator and producer of the Black Cloud Festival. Recently she’s directed a reading of FAT HAM by James Ijames, and was the Assistant Director of STEM FEMMES: Credit Re-edited. Briana’s had a reading of her short play OH WE GON SLAY, A VAMPIRE, SLAVE, DRAMA; at PlayPenn, during her time as an Intern. Her play SUMMER premiered at Equinox: A New Play Festival. She’s starred in the short film ITS TIME TO GET LOST, and has had her painting GO AWAY featured in the One Love Sexual Assault awareness month Exhibition. For more about Briana, you can visit her website, Ohmygause.com or follow her on Instagram @OMG_Presents

Welcome to Day 3 of the Apprentice Showcase! Today we are highlighting a nationwide organization called The Okra Project. The Okra Project is a "collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans people wherever we can reach them". Named for Black Diasporic cooking traditions, the collective aims to bring free meals to people in need, regardless of their ho...using status. Based upon individual donations, the project hires Black Trans chefs to visit recipients free of charge. One session costs just $90, and that includes groceries and chef payment. The Project also works to provide cooking workshops to Black Trans individuals, donate micro-grants to Black Trans people around the world for grocery shopping needs, create affinity spaces with their By Okra series, and more. If possible, please consider joining the Apprentice Organization Showcase in making a donation to The Okra Project and supporting the health and wellbeing of Black Trans individuals. Click here to donate: https://www.paypal.me/theokraproject Click here to explore their website: https://www.theokraproject.com/ IG: @theokraproject

Have you heard about the Oshun Family Center's recent effort to provide mental healthcare to Black people and POC in Philadelphia? The Oshun Family Center is a Jenkintown-based nonprofit focused on providing therapy services to women, children, and families from communities of color. They also aim to lower the Black maternal mortality rate in Philadelphia Between COVID-19, which has disproportionally affected Black Americans, and the recent murders of George Floyd and Breonna... Taylor as part of our long history of systemic racism and police brutality, the "African American community is facing a mental health crisis. When you pile direct trauma with vicarious trauma, seeing the images on social media, seeing the injustices in the court systemit is just the hurt that I see in my community, Saleemah McNeil said, founder of Oshun Family Center. That is why McNeil is teaming up with Valerie Braunstein from Philly Psychology, to raise money to provide free mental health services to the Black community. The goal is to provide up to 8 free sessions to those in need - and you can help! If you are able to, please consider joining the Apprentice Organization Showcase in making a donation to support the Oshun Family Center's effort to helping Black and minority communities heal. Click here to donate: https://www.paypal.me/oshunfamctr Click here to learn more about Oshun Family Center's mental health initiative: https://whyy.org//black-philly-therapists-are-raising-15k/ IG: oshun_family_center Click here to learn more about Oshun Family Center: https://www.oshunfamilycenter.org

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82298504389 Tomorrow at 7:00pm - our Screenside Chat with Frank X goes live! (Pictured Left to Right: Vaneik Echeverria & Frank X in KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN by Manuel Puig)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82298504389 Tomorrow at 7:00pm - join us for the next Screenside Chat with actor Frank X! Frank is a stalwart of InterAct’s stages. Most recently seen in UNCANNY VALLEY, Frank has also been seen in PERMANENT COLLECTION, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, BLACK RUSSIAN and his Barrymore-winning turn in LONELY PLANET. To tune in, register with the link above!

For the first day of the Apprentice Organization Showcase, we’re featuring The Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project (YASP)! YASP is building a youth-led movement to end the practice of trying and incarcerating young people as adults. They work in Philadelphia jails to provide space for incarcerated young people to express themselves creatively and to develop as leaders both within and beyond the prison walls. Recently, YASP had a win on June 8th when DA Larry Krasner decl...ared that his office will no longer require that youth charged as adults plead guilty as a condition of transfer to juvenile court. They tweeted: we have been fighting for this for years. We are making a $20 donation to support this crucial work in keeping our youth out of adult prisons, and to support YASP in employing and training formerly incarcerated young people as organizers. We hope you join us with a donation of any size! Click here to donate to YASP: http://www.yasproject.com Photo from: https://www.facebook.com/Yasproject/