Killing Me Softly: A New Play By Willie Holmes

...a beautifully choreographed drama marinated in jazz and sexuality that challenges your moral foundation. --- W.Holmes

Her father was a baritone sax bellowing out the music that haunted his insides. Her mother was a sweet clarinet trying to accompany his dark Melody. Eve danced through the turbulence of sexual abuse and forbidden love. Killing Me Softly is a beautiful tragedy of love and forgiveness. The production blends jazz, dance and drama. A multi-racial cast will tell the universal struggles of love, hope and death. The production is consistent with Blacken Blues Theater mission of promoting cultural diversity through the arts. FOR MATURE AUDIENCES.

Killing Me Softly TheaterSaturday,

July 11, 2009, Starts at 8:00 PM

Carpenter Performance Hall

3333 North MacArthur Blvd, Irving, TX 75062

$15.00 to $25.00Buy tickets online! Box Office: (972)252

Laterras is CHANGING OUR YOUTH with NEW PLAY “unseen teens: keepin’ it 100”

I’ve taken a break from touring nationwide, so I can focus on our teens. They’re in deep trouble. Lost. Hurt. Broken. Looking for love in all the wrong places. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, I’ve jumped in the trenches. I’ve been spending time in area high schools, become a trained volunteer at the Dallas Juvenile Detention Center, began teaching a theater apprenticeship program for youth, and have recently joined forces with a Dallas inner-city high school to host a fundraiser production entitled, “unseen teens: keepin’ it 100 (a one act play).” This show will be one of the most powerful plays you’ve seen! It’s a cutting-edge one hour, one act play of creatively interwoven monologues with a splash of hip-hop.

THE CAST
I’ve assembled some of the most talented group of individuals to bring this production to life: Danielle Moore, Rhianna Mack, Sametria Ewunes, Karnisha Simmons, Celeste Collins, Ja'Vay Dawn, Robert Hayes, Rodney Miller (not shown), Ramses Paul, Cedric Hughes, James Levels, & Joshua Reed.
This "Broadway-esque" event will raise the consciousness of all in attendence. It's my hope to duplicate the vision of this show in other cities. If you have connections with schools in your cities, shoot me an email so we can make something happen. If you have relationships with any sponsors or donors, let me know. We definately need funding!

We’ve made the tickets very affordable ---

Only $10! Purchase your tickets by March 20, 2009, and receive a 20% discount. (Click on flyer below or follow the “Buy Tickets” link on http://www.lwhitfield.com/.)20% OFF DISCOUNT CODE: HOPE
Dallas, we need you to come out and support.

The show is
April 3, 2009 @ 8pm and April 4, 2009 @ 2pm, 5pm, & 7:30pm.

The show will be at Lincoln Humanities/Communications Magnet

2826 Hatcher Street, Dallas, TX 75215.

If you need more info, feel free to call (214) 855-5585.

We're looking for sponsors for the following: lighting & sound rental, scenic design, and video production services.CLICK IMAGE TO PURCHASE TICKETS AND/OR MAKE A DONATION

Thanks in advance for your much needed support. Help me save our teens... ONE LIFE AT A TIME.
B. Blessed.
Laterras R. Whitfield
Issue 4 March 10, 2009
2004 - 2009 Laterras R. Whitfield.

All Rights Reservedhttp://www.laterrasrwhitfield.com/ mailto:info@laterrasrwhitfield.com

Winner Announced in TeCo’s New Play Competition

Art&Seek Blog for North Texas and beyond
Posted on March 2009

by Betsy Lewis

On the night of her 40th birthday, Paula J. Sanders was named the winner of TeCo Theatrical Productions’ 7th Annual New Play Competition. Like Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer prize winning Wit, Ms. Sanders’ play The Valiant Never Taste of Death focuses on the individual’s fight for life in the face of a cancer diagnosis. As Grand Prize Winner, she receives a $1,000 cash prize and two roundtrip tickets on American Airlines, the competition’s corporate sponsor. The winner was decided by audience members from six one-act plays staged over three weekends.

Interview - Timely excellence in TeCo Theater’s one act winners

by Alexandra Bonifield

March 1, 9:23 PM ·

And the winner is….
The results are in from the 7th Annual New Play Competition: The Best of Political Theater, sponsored by TeCo Theatrical Productions at the Bishop Arts Theater Center in Oak Cliff. By popular acclaim, Paula J. Sanders, local author, teacher, performer and UT Arlington graduate won for her entry "The Valiant Never Taste of Death But Once", in a tough field of six diverse, competitive one act plays. The play puts a chillingly human face on the killer disease cancer. “Winning came as a total shock,” says Ms. Sanders, a four time previous competitor. “The play is very personal. During 2008 I lost five wonderful people in my life all from very different circumstances. However, the most devastating was the illness of my best friend’s mother, to whom I dedicated the play. She fought a hard battle with cancer and lost it in the spring.” Ms. Sanders feels the strong performances of Brandon Christle and JuNene K. brought her one act vividly to life. “JuNene K. symbolized the strength that we have all seen in our loved ones whether they are fighting cancer, AIDS or drug addiction.” What does she plan to do with her winnings -- cash and two roundtrip airplane tickets? She laughs, “More than likely it will involve a creative endeavor or maybe a trip to Disney World with my four year old son. I do plan to put the final touches on that romance novel that I am self publishing….” Stay tuned in for Sanders’ continued success.

* * *
There’s more winning news. Each year, the playwright who receives the most points from TeCo’s Reading Committee wins the Literary Prize Award. This year’s prize with a round-trip airfare ticket goes to award-winning playwright, Richland College professor and Blacken Blues Theater founder Willie Holmes. His one act Change is part of a full play comprised of three one acts called Love Changes. Fast-paced and sophisticated, funny yet thought provoking, Change explores the challenges faced by Americans dealing with racial bias and stereotypes in developing inter-racial romantic connections. Holmes says he is honored to be recognized a winner in a political play writing contest as his favorite playwrights are August Wilson and Arthur Miller. “They blend social commentary, thoughtful humor, and provocative story telling. I try to fulfill these goals with each play that I develop.” He may head to New York, the Caribbean Islands, or Bermuda with his winning ticket.
TeCo Theatrical Productions founder and artistic director Teresa Wash glows with pride as she talks about the diversity of this year’s event. “I was particularly excited to receive an entry about immigration issues from an artist right here in District 1 (Phillip Morales) where 90% of the residents are Latino. And Paula Sanders is only the second woman to win the New Play Competition in the history of the event – I believe in encouraging women writers, there are so few of us.” Having a strong artistic success in her sparkling new performance space mattered a great deal, too. “I really wanted to raise the bar on the quality of the performances. This year, we broke box office records with over 600 people in attendance. This community has embraced us in a way I never imagined.” Next year’s competition will build on the diverse, multicultural success of this year’s thanks to Wash’s dedication and artistic vision.

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For more of Alexandra Bonifield’s reviews, check out http://sjamaanka.wordpress.com and keep clicking on www.examiner.com.

Theater Review: TeCo's play competition has political edge...

February 12, 2009
By LAWSON TAITTE / The Dallas Morning News ltaitte@dallasnews.com

Politics in the Obama era on stage already: Talk about scripts that are hot off the press.
TeCo Theatrical Productions opened its seventh annual New Play Competition Thursday in its snazzy new quarters in Oak Cliff. Six short works by local playwrights constitute the bill. Audience members will vote for a winner over the course of the run.
Most of the contestants this year are established writers, and all their pieces have a political edge. The scripts aren't polished, the productions frequently rudimentary. Fortunately, an ad hoc repertory ensemble of talented actors helps the audience overlook the problems.
Not only does our new President's name come up frequently over the course of the evening, he's actually a character in one entry, Richard Carter's I Only Need a Few – a failed attempt at a Saturday Night Live skit in which Dallas women try to persuade the President and Hillary Clinton to lend them some Marines. It's not good, but it works better than it ought to because of Selma Pinkard's zesty portrait of the feisty older Dallasite.
Lynuslynell's The Assassination of Nathaniel Isaiah Gary Gamarcus Anderson also barely rises above the level of improv in depicting the slapstick funeral of a symbolic figure – but the actors' shenanigans turn it into a real crowd pleaser. Barbara Macchia's The Special Schedule and Paula J. Sanders' The Valiant Never Taste of Death But Once are equally schematic and tendentious, but purposefully no fun at all. Sanders' play, though, benefits from two of the strongest performances of the evening, from JuNene K as a young woman in a doctor's office and Brandon Christle as a mysterious predator.
The most effective writing is in Willie Holmes' Change and Philip Morales' Son of a Immigrant. Morales shapes his story around a confrontation between an activist son and his formerly illegal father. An experienced filmmaker, he uses video effectively here and as director gets lovely line readings from his actors – but they look clunky because he doesn't block them well.
Change can get overly talky, but Holmes' dialogue frequently proves entertaining anyway. Once again, the playwright himself directed and got forceful, charming performances from Akron Watson as a black man with scruples about dating white women and Heather Pratt as a co-worker who wants to overcome them.
An oddity running through many of these plays is that characters break into unaccompanied song at odd moments and without provocation. Maybe next year TeCo should hire a pianist and make it a musical theater contest.

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Through Feb. 28 at Bishop Arts Theater Center. Runs 115 mins. $15 in advance, $20 at door. 214-948-0716, www.tecotheater.org.

Theater Review: TeCo Theater’s New Play Competition mix of plays make for entertaining evening at Bishop Arts Theater Center

Written By: Shawn Williams
Feb 16, 2009


For the last four year’s I’ve promised TeCo Theater’s Executive Director Teresa Coleman Wash that I would visit their annual new play competition. I finally had a chance to make good on that promise over the weekend when I was able to take in the 7th Edition of the event.
The 2009 New Play Competition will run Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights through February 28th at the beautiful Bishop Arts Theater Center which was listed #10 on Dallas South’s most recent Top 10 Places to go in Dallas. I wish I’d had a chance to recommend the competition as a Valentine’s Weekend destination, but since everyday should be Valentine’s Day then consider the six remaining show as date night opportunities.
This year’s competition features six one-act plays under the theme “The Best of Political Theater.” Mrs. Wash has invited six local playwrights to battle it out for a chance to win two roundtrip American Airline tickets and $1,000 cash. Audience members vote for their favorite one-act play each night and on closing night, votes will be tallied and cash and prizes awarded.
The plays featured in the competition offer varying views on the theme, from the hilarious Assassination of Nathaniel Isaiah Gary Gamarcus Anderson to the slightly morbid The Special Schedule. There are obvious political entries in I Only Need a Few -with a send up on President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton- as well as Son of A Immigrant (not misspelled) which of deals in the subject of illegal immigration.
Then there is The Valiant Never Tastes of Death But Once and Change which touch the political theme but tackle broader issues in entertaining and insightful fashion.
I have to say the production, lead by Stage Manager/Videographer David Kelting is flawless. Even set changes performed by the cast from the previous play seem choreographed and an integral part of the show. Each play is proceeded by a video clip which also make set changes move quickly.
Because of the brevity of the plays, it was nice to see some of the players appear in multiple acts. Some of the plays end just as you start to get into the characters, but the reappearance of a few of the actors make up for the loss.
Going in, I thought that two hours may be a stretch for the hodgepodge of productions, but the evening flowed seamlessly and I would have been down for Act Two of a couple of entries.
The Bishop Arts Theater is a shining new jewel buried in the heart of Oak Cliff and the 2008 New Play Competition is a great chance to get acquainted with the new venue.Bishop Arts Theater Center - 2009 New Play Competition


Buy Tickets Now!
215 South Tyler StreetGeneral Admission, 8PM Nightly
All Seats $15 in advance, $20 at the door (plus service fee)(Thursday, Friday & Saturday performances only)
Call the box office at 214-948-0716 for more information
All sales final. No refunds or exchanges.

All the world’s a political stage: TeCo Productions plays one-acts

by Alexandra Bonifield
February 27, 1:27 AM ·


Political theatre. Didn’t we just barely survive a year and a half’s worth of non-stop lunacy at operatic pitch? For those who just can’t get enough political soul-bathing, hustle over to TeCo Theatrical Productions (www.tecotheater.org) at the Bishop Arts Theater Center to catch the 7th Annual New Play Competition: The Best of Political Theater. Artistic Director and energizing force at TeCo, Teresa Wash, put out the call last year for Dallas regional playwrights to submit their finest-honed political one-acts to compete in this festival: winner to be chosen, appropriately, by popular vote. From nineteen submissions, six were selected for performance in this year’s festival competition. Each offers thought-provoking, poignant and often humorous commentary on major issues that affect all on a scale from the intensely personal to grandly universal.

“If America can elect a black man, I can sleep with one” declares a white character in Richland College professor and founder of Blacken Blues Theater Willie Holmes’ opening one-act Change, dealing with inter-racial issues and tolerance. Holmes deftly mixes humor with serious exploration of a timely subject. Barbara Macchia received a Jerome Foundation Fellowship through The Playwrights Center in Minneapolis, MN, and is a longtime member of the New York Dramatist Guild. The death penalty and a grisly birthday party in celebration of its enactment sober the audience resoundingly in her The Special Schedule. Oak Cliff homeboy, playwright and film and photographic artist Phillip Morales takes on the subject of illegal immigration through the voice and heart of a US citizen in The Son of A Immigrant, a man who brings his solo protest to the steps of Dallas City Hall. lynuslynell returns to the New Play Competition for the 5th time with the hyper-energized The Assassination of Nathaniel Gary Gamarcus Anderson, in which a revved up revival-style pastor admonishes the Rev.’s Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton as if they sat among the house audience and rouses the dead. Novelist and accidental playwright Richard Carter brings us a whimsical “what if” play set in the Oval Office with President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton faced with a most unusual request from a undeterred middle –aged constituent, in I Only Need a Few. Rounding out the evening of hot button entertainment is local author, teacher, performer and UT Arlington graduate Paula J. Sanders. In her play, The Valiant Never Taste of Death But Once, a smooth talking, well-dressed African American man personifies a deadly worldwide scourge with such terrifying immediacy it’s hard not to avert the eyes.

No shy performances in the acting ensemble; several appear throughout the evening. Keep watching JuNene K, Heather Pratt, Selma Pinkard, Akron Watson and Brandon Christle, as they glide effortlessly from one well-defined character to another. Aubrey Stephenson’s sonorous singing voice in Holmes’ Change sets the tone of the evening with its melodious soulfulness. We do indeed live in interesting times, as reflected by the depth and scope of these productions.

Who will win the competition’s $1000 and airline tickets? I cast my vote, and I’m not telling. I promise it wasn’t as easy a choice to make as last November’s presidential election. The one-act performances end this Saturday the 28th. Dallas’ Bishop Arts District is the place to go and TeCo Theatrical Production’s The Best of Political Theater is the scene to make. Time for real change….