Speakeysie News Desk — October 10, 2020

ATLANTA–Atlanta’s Synchronicity Theatre is pleased to announce the four works that will be produced as part of this season’s Stripped Bare Arts Incubator Project. They are: gloria and minnie and the castle on the back lot by Dani Herd (November 18, 2020), Her Last Expedition by Daphne Mintz (January 13, 2021), I’m a Motherf*#%ing Super Star: So Where Are My Babies? by Valeka J Holt (April 14, 2021), and Emmett + Trayvon + Suns of God by Sonhara Eastman (May 12, 2021). Performances are free and open to a live, socially distanced audience at Synchronicity Theatre, 1545 Peachtree St NE Atlanta, GA 30309. Reservations are required. Complete project descriptions are below. Please go to synchrotheatre.com to reserve tickets and for more information.

This year, there will be live “Viewing Parties” that will happen one-week after the live performance, and will be fully remote, via Zoom. The recording of the performance will play for anyone attending the viewing party. There will be a post-show conversation with the Stripped Bare artist(s). The “Viewing Parties” are free to attend, but require a reservation, which can also be made online at synchrotheatre.com.

Stripped Bare focuses on projects that emphasize words and ideas, with minimal technical elements, and encourages artists to think about the essentials of theatre “stripped of” intricate sets, lights, props, sound design, and costumes. The focus is on actors, words, passion, and ideas. Each selected project will get up to three days in Synchronicity Theatre’s performance space. The participants will receive a technician, producer and/or facility manager, house manager, and a box office staffer for each performance. Each project will also receive marketing support and mention on Synchronicity’s website.

Two weeks before every performance, the Synchronicity Theatre Box Office Staff will notify reservation holders if performances will be canceled. This decision will be made if the COVID-19 test positivity rate’s 7-day average is higher than 8% in the metro-Atlanta area as determined by the Georgia Department of Health’s daily COVID-19 status report. Audiences will also be informed if there are any changes that will be made to programming. All Stripped Bare ticket confirmations for the 2020-2021 season will include a link to digitally stream the performance.

Plans have been finalized to create safer spaces for audiences, artists, and staff.  These include: required masks for audiences and all staff; regular COVID-19 testing and daily safety screenings of a range of symptoms for artists and front of house staff; new cleaning procedures including sanitizer stations and shields for box office counters; detailed new physically-distanced and timed seating procedures and maps, reducing overall seating capacity by two-thirds, a venue upgrade to increase exterior air-intake, and the addition of HEPA filtration for higher air exchange rates.

Learn more about Stripped Bare experiences and projects at synchrotheatre.com.

2020-2021 STRIPPED BARE ARTS INCUBATOR PROJECTS

gloria and minnie and the castle on the back lot

By Dani Herd
Live Performance Date: November 18, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.
Online Viewing Party: November 25, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.

Description: Welcome to Galactic Studios Theme Park and Resort! Galactic Studios! When you’re here, you’re a star. Plucky ride attendant Gloria dreams of giving the World Famous Studio Backlot Tour, but there’s just one problem: Whenever she starts to describe Galactic Studios’ world-renowned contributions to the horror genre, she faints! It’s a good thing she has her best friend Minnie by her side. But wait! What about these rumors swirling around the park that changes are coming to certain beloved attractions? Who really is the mysterious new benefactor Mr. Carl Wellington? Why is Minnie suddenly acting so strangely?! How do you keep moving forward when it seems like your dreams just aren’t going to come true?

About Dani Herd: Dani Herd is an Atlanta-based writer and theatre artist. Their play Monster Girls at Sunshine Doughnuts was a recipient of the 2020 Ethel Woolson Lab with Working Title Playwrights. They are a co-producer and frequent combatant with Write Club Atlanta and a resident artist with The Come Up Show ATL. gloria and minnie and the castle on the backlot is their second full-length play and they are thrilled for the opportunity to talk about theme parks and classic monsters with this amazing team of artists. You can follow some of their nerdy ramblings at hopeisthethingwithlightsabers.com. 

Her Last Expedition

By Daphne Mintz
Live Performance Date: January 13, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.
Online Viewing Party: January 20, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.

Description:
Isolated in the brutal Arctic Zone, a scientist spends her life researching the whereabouts of Frankenstein’s monster as an expression of devotion for her delusional lover. Immersed in a world where fantasy thrives and dementia beckons, the invasion of sanity threatens to be the most fearsome monster. Her Last Expedition is a psychological thriller – haunting, horrific, and yet incredibly sweet. It is a love story.

About Daphne Mintz: Daphne Mintz is an Atlanta-based playwright, dramaturg, and producer dedicated to the mission of developing new works. As a proud supporter of the Jo Howarth Noonan Foundation, Daphne is especially supportive of works featuring protagonist roles for female-identifying actors over age 40. In addition to Her Last Expedition (Winner, 2020 Georgia Theatre Conference One-Act New Play Competition), Daphne’s works include The Cinderblock Barmaid (Finalist, Sundance Film Festival Screenplay Writing Competition, 1997), Cinnamon Girl (Honorable Mention, 78th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition in the Stage Play Script category), and In Lieu of Flowers, (Finalist, Original Works, Metro Atlanta Theatre Awards, 2011). Daphne is a proud member of the Dramatist Guild of America, the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, and Working Title Playwrights. You can learn more about her work by visiting https://newplayexchange.org/users/30000/daphne-mintz.

I’m a Motherf*#%ing Super Star: So Where Are My Babies?
By Valeka J Holt

Live Performance Date: April 14, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.
Online Viewing Party: April 21, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.

Description:
An ambitious D.C. stage actress with dreams to take over Hollywood and Broadway is finally starting to see the fruits of her labor. After several years of trying to conceive a baby with her loving husband, and blaming herself for the unsuccessful attempts, her dream of motherhood is “tick-tocking away.” But, during an exploratory appointment, one doctor makes an eye-opening, life-changing observation: “Maybe it’s not you.” Pushed to the extreme, will Valeka trust herself and choose her career, or will she have faith that God will deliver it all?

About Valeka J Holt: Valeka J Holt, affectionately known as “V,” is a critically acclaimed actress, director, professor, playwright, socialite, producer, casting director and digital content creator. “V” stars as Eileen, and is the lead casting director, in Dewey Ortiz Jr.’sThe Runaways, the award-winning short and 2019 official selection at the BronzeLens Film Festival. Her one-woman show, I’m a Motherf*#%$ing Super Star: So Where Are My Babies? is quickly becoming a fan favorite. Her workshop performance at the Barbican Center in London received seven out of five stars. The show has an upcoming staged reading this fall in Philadelphia as a part of The Bridge PHL Festival. As a recent Atlanta transplant, “V” has become a member of Working Title Playwrights, has screened her award-winning film First Love at Screening Room ATL, and has participated in workshops and readings at True Colors, Alliance and Horizon Theatre Companies. More information at @valekajholt.

Emmett + Trayvon + Suns of God
By Sonhara Eastman 
 Live Performance Date: May 12, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.Online Viewing Party: May 19, 7:30 p.m.

Description:
Emmett + Trayvon + Suns of God delves into Emmett (Till) and Trayvon (Martin’s) last moments on earth, and reexamines the unconscionable pain both endured that made their names synonymous with racial transgressions in America. Although neither realize it, both exist in the same space, craving earthly light — longing to be men, but never given a chance.

About Sonhara Eastman
Sonhara Eastman is a playwright and screenwriter with an M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her plays are known for illuminating the black experience and include Pearl and The Club. Sonhara’s plays have been workshopped at 7 Stages, The Classical Theatre of Harlem’s Playwrights Playground, Working Title Playwrights’ Ethel Woolson Lab, The Goldberg Theatre at NYU, and La Mama Theatre. She was a finalist for the National Playwright’s Center Many Voices Fellowship and a semi-finalist for the Made in New York Writer’s Room Program, and the WeScreenplay Diverse Voices Competition. She has most recently written and produced her highly talked about Web Series, Black Girls Guide to Fertility, through her own production company. With over 22,000 views on Youtube and several awards to boot, her series is creating a much-needed conversation about infertility while speaking to her voice as a writer. More information at www.sonharaeastman.com or on Instagram at @sonharaeastman.

The Stripped Bare Arts Incubator Project is sponsored by Mailchimp.ABOUT SYNCHRONICITY THEATRE
Synchronicity Theatre produces smart, gutsy, bold theatre that sparks community connections, uplifts the voices of women and girls, forges long-term and effective community partnerships, and develops new work. Synchronicity reaches nearly 14,000 patrons a year through its season of plays for adults (Bold Voices) and families (Family Series); community outreach; and educational programming, including Playmaking for Kids (PFK) and the award-winning Playmaking for Girls (PFG). An intimate theatre in the heart of midtown at Peachtree Pointe became Synchronicity’s home for its main stage productions in the summer of 2014. The theatre also serves as a rental venue for independent film, dance, theatre and other projects. The Company recently opened the Synchronicity Annex, a new office, class, event and rehearsal space in Piedmont Heights, Atlanta.

Synchronicity Theatre
Midtown’s Peachtree Pointe Complex
1545 Peachtree St NE
Atlanta, GA 30309