Submitted by Dic Wheeler
(April 5, 2024) — ARTFARM, Oddfellows Playhouse and HartBeat Ensemble will present a reading of Baltimore by Kirsten Greenidge on Sunday, April 14, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. at Oddfellows Playhouse in Middletown, 128 Washington Street in Middletown. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted.
The third and final reading in the “Black Presencing: Reading Plays in the Community” series, Baltimore is a 2016 play exploring racism on a New England College campus. When a racially-charged incident divides her first-year students, reluctant resident advisor Shelby finds herself in the middle of a conversation she does not want to have. As pressure to address the controversy mounts from residents, the new dean, and even her best friend, Shelby must decide if she will enter the fray or watch her community come apart at the seams. Sharp, funny, and searing, Baltimore is a timely drama about racism on college campuses.
Kirsten Greenidge, a 2010 graduate of Wesleyan University, teaches Theater at Boston University and was recently named the new director of the Theater Department at the BU College of Fine Arts. Her plays are known for their realistic language and focus on social issues such as the intersectionality of race, gender and class.
Baltimore is directed by Janelle Robinson and will feature actors from throughout central Connecticut. There will be a short post-performance discussion moderated by HartBeat Ensemble Artistic Director Godfrey Simmons.
For more information, contact Oddfellows Playhouse at (860) 347-6143 or email info@oddfellows.org.
“Black Presencing: Reading Plays in the Community” is supported by a generous grant from CT Humanities, and brings Middletown theater companies ARTFARM and Oddfellows Playhouse together with Hartford-based HartBeat Ensemble to bring the work of modern African-American playwrights to the local community.
Photo courtesy of Oddfellows Playhouse: March 3, 2024 reading of James Baldwin’s “The Amen Corner.”
