Stages Presents Collaborative Juneteenth Reading

Stages is offering a virtual reading of Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids by Vincent Terrell Durham. It is part of a national effort to amplify the voices of black artists and celebrate Juneteenth. It will be available for streaming on Friday, June 19.

A group of San Francisco Bay theaters approached Stages a few days ago to take part in the Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project, which brings together theater artists from around the country in response to the current movement surrounding systemic racism and police brutality. Participants are offering simultaneous and free online readings of Polar Bears, Black Boys and Prairie Fringed Orchids for Juneteenth, a national holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States.

For Stages' reading, it is co-directed by Eboni Bell and Tevyn Washington, and Houston artists Candice D’Meza, Blake Jackson, David Matranga, Emily Neves, Brianna Odo-Boms and Jarred Tettey are featured.

The reading will be shared on Stages' YouTube channel from 12 pm-11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 19.

Though the reading is free, people are encouraged to donate to specific organizations including the Southern Poverty Law Center, the NAACP, Black Lives Matter, and a new national fund for Black American Theater.