Playreading: Play On! by Quinn D. Eli
Thursday, February 8th
Play begins 7:30 PM
$15
Synopsis of the Play
In a strange, unknown future, Pearl is exactly as her name might suggest—a Black woman well-aware that she’s a gem. By contrast, her husband Griffin is less assured, suffering in silence as his old girlfriend, a white chanteuse named Autumn, attempts to take credit for a popular song that Griffin wrote long ago. It's the ugly, familiar tale of a white musician taking credit for a Black artist's work, and Pearl refuses to let it stand. Enter Cambridge—a chatty A.I. device straight out of A Space Odyssey—who entices Pearl to confront Autumn, no matter the cost. But Cambridge’s motives are anyone’s guess in a world where technology, not music, is the food of love, leaving Pearl all alone to balance the scales and seize a little justice not only for Griffin, but for every Black artist that's ever been wronged.
About the Playwright
Quinn D. Eli is a playwright, dramaturg, and educator, originally from the Bronx, NY. His short plays have appeared in Best American Ten-Minute Plays and been produced throughout the country. Longer works can be found on NPX, including Hot Black/Asian Action, a satire about sexual and racial stereotypes, and In Common, an interracial ghost story, produced by Purple Rose Theater. He is a cofounder of Jouska PlayWorks, a Philadelphia-based initiative for playwrights of the African Diaspora. A proud member the Black Theatre Network, and a two-time recipient of Fellowships in Literature from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Eli heads the Theatre program at the Community College of Philadelphia
The Media Arts Council (MAC) Play Reading Series was created by playwrights Julie Zaffarano, Dave Ebersole, and Keenya Jackson, in partnership with the MAC to create a space for local playwrights to hear their work read by talented actors and receive feedback from a public audience. The only regular new play reading series in in the area, it brings exciting new stories to Delaware County.
Playwrights, actors, and directors who are interested in being involved in the series should contact Julie Zaffarano, juliezaffarano.gmail.com. Due to the limited budget for this project, we are unable to offer actors or directors a stipend through the MAC.