COLD READ SHORTs

The Syracuse Stage COLD READ series, which includes the annual COLD READ Festival of New Plays, and COLD READ World Premiere productions (Thoughts of a Colored Man, Possessing Harriet, and the upcoming salt/city/blues), now includes COLD READ SHORTs. Featuring a diverse selection of new theatrical offerings available online, COLD READ SHORTs is long on bold, relevant, and exciting new work.

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The Singing Bridge
Conceived by Beatrix Gates, Music by Anna Dembska, Libretto by Beatrix Gates

More Things in Heaven
by David Yezzi

Asylum Song
by Jeanne Marie Beaumont

The Man was Rejected, The Woman was Denied 
by Carrie Mae Weems

Created for Syracuse Stage's COLD READ SHORTs by renowned visual artist Carrie Mae Weems from her work People of a Darker Hue (2014), this work speaks powerfully to our current moment.

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Until There's a Vaccine for White Supremacy by Kyle Bass

"On May 29, 2020, I received an email from a white colleague: 'Kyle, I hope that you and Ed are well. The events in Minneapolis [the murder of George Floyd] are alarming. If you need anything, please let me know.' I understood the gesture, but given the context, really, what need could this person fulfill for me? I couldn't figure out how to respond. I supposed Until There's a Vaccine for White Supremacy is my g(r)asping for a reply to that email, this national moment, and to the unattended epidemic of white rage that ravages black bodies...black lives. - Kyle Bass, playwright, professor, and Associate Artistic Director at Syracuse Stage

(This video contains mature language.)

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Show the Way by Bill Bowers

Inspired by Pagliaci and the music of David Wilcox, American mime artist Bill Bowers offers this response to living in the time of COVID-19.

Bill Bowers was scheduled to be the 2020 COLD READ Festival Solo Act performer.