Inspired by Paula Vogel’s Bake-Offs, Black women focused Two Strikes Theatre Collective announces the Brown Sugar Bake-Off, a celebration of Black women creatives and the stories they have to tell. In its second year, the Brown Sugar Bake-Off will focus on a new theme: BODY. Misogynoir, colorism, objectification, and body-shaming are a part of the Black woman’s experience. Brown Sugar Bake-Off 2021 will focus on what it means to take ownership after an undeniable history of policing Black and Brown bodies. “This year’s festival will be better than ever. We continue to showcase new talent in writing, acting and directing. It’s great to see new faces show up to our annual event each year”, says Rachel Wilson, Two Strikes Theatre Collective board member.
Two Strikes Theatre Collective is searching for Black women and non-binary playwrights to write ten-minute performance pieces using the following ingredients (physical, literal or symbolic): shapewear, peach/peach emoji, a mirror, colorism, fitting room, BMI and brown sugar. A panel of readers will select several plays for the virtual production in October 2021. Stipends will be provided to all Festival participants.
On August 7th, Two Strikes Theatre Collective will offer a free writing workshop hosted by educator and Playwriting Development Director Christen Cromwell. This free workshop is designed for those who would like to participate in the Festival but may not know where to begin or need a refresher on how to write a short play. Interested in joining the workshop? Email [email protected] to sign up.
Submissions will be accepted by midnight September 3rd via Google Forms. Information on how to submit, festival guidelines, and production dates can be found at www.twostrikescollective.com/brown-sugar-bake-off-2021. This project is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council (msac.org).
ABOUT TWO STRIKES
Two Strikes Theatre Collective is an independent Baltimore theatre company founded in July 2019 to celebrate, promote, and encourage the intersectional voice of Black women and how it can be used for social change through art and community engagement. Created as a direct response to a lack of diversity and representation in theater spaces and propelled forward by the #sayhername movement, our mission is to create art that is unapologetically Black femme-centric, to upset the White patriarchal status quo, and to provide creative outlets for Black women in the Baltimore community to express themselves through art. We were born with Two Strikes against us: Being a woman and being Black. We choose both. We are the match to ignite the revolution of Black women.
