FIU Theatre is participating in After Orlando, an evening of short plays in response to the shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. After Orlando is an international theatre action including over fifty playwrights from around the world.
The event is being hosted by Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. FIU Theatre is joining six other local theatre companies. FIU Associate Professor Michael Yawney is coordinating the event and was responsible for selecting the plays and gathering the local theatre companies.
Although the plays remember the victims of the tragic shooting last June, it is not a somber memorial. “After Orlando is a celebration of everyone’s right to be who they are,” says Professor Yawney. “The victims of the shooting lived as they were. At Pulse, they found a community that accepted them and our theatrical community is honoring that.”
FIU Theatre students and alumni are heavily involved in the evening, both backstage and on stage. Professor Yawney and alumnus Peter Mir are among the evening’s directors. Current FIU performance majors Ernesto Gonzalez, JC Gutierrez, Carlos Jara, and Nora Pantoja along with alumnus Adam Ramos are acting in some of the plays. The backstage crew includes students Vanessa Mings, Marydennis Mavarez, Shana Goldman and alumni Patricia Morales and Lisset Riera.
The performance takes place on November 7, 2016 and is free to the public. Lobby doors open at 7pm with art and poetry installations by O, Miami and Project [theatre]. The evening will then continue inside the theatre at 8pm where the short plays will be performed. After the readings, the audience will be invited to dance onstage.
Colony Theatre is located at 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, Florida 33139. For tickets and information please visit colonymb.org.
