From top left: Playwrights Sheri D. Bradford, Yide Cai, Lisa McCree, Justin P. Lopez and Yasmine Lancaster. (Courtesy photos)This fall the Momentary will host a one-act play festival featuring BIPOC playwrights from across the nation.
The inaugural KaniniFest will take place Oct. 11-13 and will include plays, immersive performances, dance workshops, drum circles, and art installations.
The festival aims to provide a platform for undiscovered and underserved playwrights, and is named after the Indigenous Australian word “Kanyini,” which means “oneness.”
During the event, five playwrights from across the country will showcase their one-act plays, which will be directed and performed by actors from Northwest Arkansas. The event will partner with local organizations like TheatreSquared, INTERFORM, The Medium, and the University of Arkansas.
The featured playwrights include:
- Yide Cai, an award-winning playwright from Shenzhen, China, pursuing an MFA in Playwriting at Boston University.
- Yasmine Lancaster, a published poet, writer, playwright, and award-winning filmmaker.
- Sheri D. Bradford, a Los Angeles-based writer, producer, and performer.
- Lisa McCree, a playwright from Bridgeport, CT, with works performed at various theaters.
- Justin P. Lopez, a mixed-race Indigenous, Latino, and Asian artist and theater-maker.
KaniniFest was created by actors and artists Christopher Alexander Chukwueke and Tenisi Davis, the current artists-in-residence at the Momentary, under Moja Productions.
More information about the plays, schedule, and ticketing will soon be available at themomentary.org.
