Play Reading & Discussion
May 6th, 2023 @ 7:30PM

After Nina’s father’s unexpected death in a car accident, she and her mother move in with her maternal grandmother in Texas, where Nina is reintroduced to her ancestry and introduced to the world of slam poetry. As Nina struggles to connect with her late father through his handwritten journal of lyrics, she begins to come to terms with her loss and grief, express herself in words and verses, and find her own beautiful sound.

For Scoundrels ages 12+

Showtime:
Saturday, May 6, 2023, @ 7:30 PM

Audience: Best enjoyed by Scoundrels ages 12+ 

Ticket Prices
$15 suggested donation; Flexible Pricing

Questions? Call our Box Office at +1 520-448-3300. 

This event is supported by the David S. & Norma R. Lewis Foundation
and the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona.

2022-23 Emerging Playwrights Fellow

Cris eli blak

Cris Eli Blak is an emerging Black playwright whose work has garnered him recognition from The Negro Ensemble Company, Kairos Italy Theater, Austin Film Festival, Barrington Stage Company, TEDxBroadway, and Ignition Arts.

His work has been performed Off-Broadway and around the country; on university stages; as well as in London, Australia, Ireland, and Canada. His work has been published by the Black Theatre Review, Smith & Kraus Inc., New World Theatre Company, Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble and YouthPlays (upcoming), among others.

He was a resident playwright with Fosters Theatrical Artists Residency, Paterson Performing Arts Development Council, and La Lengua Teatro en Español/AlterTheater Ensemble; the recipient of the Michael Bradford Residency from Quick Silver Theatre Company; and was in the inaugural class of fellows for the Black Theatre Coalition.

Emerging Playwrights Mentor

Elaine Romero

Award-winning playwright Elaine Romero has had her plays presented at the Alley Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the Kennedy Center, across the U.S. and abroad. Her war tetralogy includes Revoluciones (Latino Theatre Company with Foro Shakespeare/Mexico), Graveyard of Empires (Blue Ink Playwriting Award, 16th St. Theatre/World Premiere), A Work of Art (Chicago Dramatists/Goodman Theatre, World Premiere), and When Reason Sleeps. Recent commissions: Ford’s Theatre (Modern Slave), Arizona Theatre Company (Title IX), Goodman Theatre (Playwright’s Unit, A Work of Art). This past season included Revoluciones, Like Heaven (Arizona Repertory Theatre), Undocumented (Cal State Dominguez Hills), and Bloody River (Union College). Title IX was featured at the 2017 Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. Romero is a member of the Latinx Theatre Commons Steering Committee, a Playwright-in-Residence at ATC, and an Associate Professor at the University of Arizona. 

The Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre, in collaboration with the Arizona Theatre Company and Winding Road Theater Ensemble, was a founding member of RomeroFest, a digital project that included the collaboration of 17 companies in the U.S. and Mexico presenting 20 of Romero's work.

Her war pentalogy includes Graveyard of Empires (Blue Ink Playwriting Award), A Work of Art, developed as part of the Goodman Theatre Playwright’s Unit, and the upcoming Rain of Ruin. Graveyard of Empires (16th Street Theatre) and A Work of Art (Chicago Dramatists/Goodman Theatre) premiered in Chicago, and Revoluciones (LATC). At Headlands Center for the Arts, Martinez in Taos (Arizona Theatre Company), Elaine began the final play of the project, When Reason Sleeps. 

Modern Slave was featured at the 2017 Seven Devils Playwrights Conference. It received readings at ACT (Seattle), Victory Gardens (Chicago) and the Road Theatre (LA). 

Publishers: Samuel French, Playscripts, Smith & Kraus, Simon and Schuster, and Vintage Books. Barrio Hollywood was the first play, in Samuel French’s 175-year history, published in both English and Spanish acting editions. 

Elaine is an Affiliate Writer at the Playwrights’ Center and a long-time member of the Dramatists Guild for which she serves as Southwest Regional Rep. She holds her MFA from UC Davis. She previously taught at Northwestern University UW-Madison. Elaine is Playwright-in-Residence at Arizona Theatre Company and a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists. Her pilot, Killing Beauty, was a finalist for the Orchard Project’s TV Episodic Lab. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Arizona in the School of Theatre, Film, and Television.