the Are We Free Yet? project at Philly Theatre Week (virtual)
The original video recording of the elevated stage reading, 'The Are We Free Yet Project' (that was based on my book!) will be available to the public on April 7!
It’s Here!
It is with great joy that I share with you this announcement from Angel Pirate Productions! The Are We Free Yet Project, written and directed by TS Hawkins, based on MY BOOK, will make its video debut on April 7!
Don’t miss this! And a very special thank you to Gabi and Angel Pirate Productions, who are the reasons that this beautiful project for the love and the liberation of the people came to be. Please donate generously if you are able at any of the links below!
~~ Gather with us virtually on April 7th!! ~~
THANK YOU to everyone who joined us for the elevated staged reading of the Are We Free Yet? project by TS Hawkins at Theatre Exile this past October. We continue to bask in the glow of your support and your standing O!
Or perhaps you caught us shimmering at AZUKAFEST earlier in March.
But there’s more!
As part of Philly Theatre Week, the Are We Free Yet? project elevated stage reading will be presented virtually for 24 hours on April 7th!
Tickets are Pay What You Can.
Grab your virtual seat,
beverage & snack of choice
to the table where decisions
become delicacies for the soul
"dance, drink, dream with Antiquity & Destineè"
the Are We Free Yet? project
written & directed by TS Hawkins
originally commissioned by AngelPirate Productions
based on the book by Tina Strawn
April 7th
(a 24hr virtual presentation of an elevated stage reading)
approximate show runtime: 55 minutes
click here for PAY WHAT YOU CAN tickets
ABOUT THE PLAY/CHOREOPOEM
Commissioned by AngelPirate Productions,
the Are We Free Yet? project by TS Hawkins
weaves wonder from the textured text of Tina's Strawn's book
Are We Free Yet? The Black Queer Guide to Divorcing America.
Through sound and verse, sojourn in an afro-future encapsulated within a Sunday dinner
unpacking decades and dynasties of epigenetic memories.
Will the future ever progress against the past?
Sauté and serenade with ANTIQUITY and DESTINEÉ
they prepare a table of life, love, and a longing to still be free.
CAST
Cynda Purnell as ANTIQUITY
Maria Genao Beltre as DESTINEÉ
Jordan Simone reading stage directions
CREATIVE & CREW
TS Hawkins - playwright, director & dramaturg
Tina Strawn - author of Are We Free Yet?:
The Black Queer Guide to Divorcing America (Row House Publishing)
AngelPirate Productions - producer
Gabrielle Corsaro - assistant stage manager
Ella Namour - light & sound operator
NaBrayah Jones - still photography
Prime Act Media LLC - videography
Arthur Lafrentz Bacon - special musical composition
LISTEN TO THE MOODLIST
PRESS
tune into "the beauty of theatre" on Youtube!
BEHIND THE SCENES STORY w/ TS HAWKINS
REEL LOVE by Gary M. Kramer ft. TS Hawkins et al
TESTIMONIALS
“Intergenerational healing is happening here.
Thank you for walking us on a path of liberation!”
— Maribeth
"Shange would be proud!"
— Zuhairah M.
“The elevated stage reading was awesome.
The actors were dynamic, polished, and prepared to breathe life into the production.
Honored to be invited to Antiquity and Destineè's dinner table!”
— Frank L.
"Your words and writing deserve a second serving!"
— Amy A.
“Beautiful, loving and meaningful production.
Thank you for inviting our ever present ancestors!”
— Stacey
"...loved your reading.
It was so refreshing to see something so different
from the typical formats and structure in American Theatre.
Thank you for inviting me to your table!"
— Priyanka S.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT/DIRECTOR
TS Hawkins (they/them) is an international author, performance poet, art activist, playwright, trauma-informed & award winning educator, and member of the Dramatists Guild. Plays, short works, and books include Seeking Silence, sweet bread peaches (formerly, Cartons of Ultrasounds), Too Late to Apologize, In Their Silence (formerly, They’ll Neglect to Tell You), #RM2B, The Secret Life of Wonder: a prologue in G, AGAIN, #SuiteReality, “don’t wanna dance with ghosts...”, #SuiteTea, the Are We Free Yet? project, Sugar Lumps & Black Eye Blues, Confectionately Yours, Mahogany Nectar, Lil Blaek Book: all the long stories short, The Hotel Haikus, and Becoming Saturn: a collection of rhymes, roses, and resistance.
Hawkins’ plays, short works, and powerful performances have been praised by the PGN - 48 Most Influential LGBTQ+ Leaders Honoree, UPenn LGBT Center as a Scholar-in-Residence, the Barrymore Awards - Victory Foundation for Excellence in Theatre Education recipient, Philadelphia Magazine - Best of Philly, BroadwayWorld, Philly Voice, NPR, WHYY, WURD Radio, Philadelphia Weekly, Chicago Tribune, The Dramatist, and dosageMagazine.
Featured playwriting opportunities include Frank Moffett Mosier Fellowship for Works in Heightened Language Semifinalist & Dramatists Guild Foundation National Fellowship Finalist for 2024-25.
Ongoing interactive projects: TrailOff, Community Capital: an Afrofuturism South Philly Walking Experience, and Becoming Saturn;
Hawkins’s first studio poetry album with HawkHatt Music.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK
Tina Strawn (she/they) is a joy and liberation advocate, activist, author of Are We Free Yet? The Black Queer Guide to Divorcing America, and the owner and host of the Speaking of Racism podcast. The heart of her work is leading Legacy Trips; immersive antiracism experiences where participants visit historical locations such as Montgomery and Selma, AL, and utilize spiritual practices as tools to affect personal and collective change. Tina has three adult children, an ex-husband, an ex-wife, and an ex-country. She has been a full-time minimalist nomad since February 2020. Tina travels the globe speaking, writing, teaching, and exploring where on the planet she can feel safe and free in her/their queer, Black, woman-identifying body.
ABOUT PHILLY THEATRE WEEK
Theatre Philadelphia hosts Philly Theatre Week: the 8th annual celebration of the artists, organizations, and audiences that have made Greater Philadelphia one of the most vibrant theatre regions in the nation. Audiences will have an opportunity to try something new from our theatre community through a series of productions, readings, interactive events, and much more! Support theatre in the region and try something new.
click here for PAY WHAT YOU CAN tickets
[To read about how I experienced that weekend in Philly watching my book come to life in a new way, click here: Community Will Save Us]