Mariama Lockington & Sapphire Heights auditions

August 2, 2019
Some of the most eye opening literature on family comes from authors raised in a nontraditional configuration that sheds new light on the meaning of kinfolk. Transracial adoption is one of those configurations, and we’ll hear more about that at KyWomenWriters2019 from our keynote speaker, Nicole Chung, author of the award-winning memoir, All You Can Ever Know. For another perspective on this topic, I encourage you to come out to the The Wild Fig bookstore this weekend to meet Lexington author Mariama Lockington, whose debut middle-grade novel was published this week to rave reviews, including from Nicole Chung herself, who said,
Mariama Lockington’s novel For Black Girls Like Me is a revelation and a gift, brimming with beauty, honesty, heartbreak, and―most of all―love. It is a story in which so many young people, especially transracial adoptees, will be able to catch glimpses of their own complicated realities. This book is one I dearly wish I'd had, growing up adopted―I am so grateful that it exists now. Mariama’s is a voice we need, and this gorgeous debut novel is destined to be read, shared, and treasured by readers of all ages.
―Nicole Chung, author of All You Can Ever Know
For Black Girls Like Me has its launch party this Sunday, August 4, 3:30 to 5 p.m., including a question and answer session, book signing, and sweets. At The Wild Fig, 726 N. Limestone. Come on out, and bring your wallet to buy Mariama's book!
We’re excited to announce that auditions for Sapphire Heights, winner of this year’s Prize for Women Playwrights, will be held as follows:
August 11 at 12 noon
August 12 at 6 p.m.
Smiley Pete Publishing
434 Old Vine Street in Lexington
Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script. Performance dates are November 7-9 at The Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center. Actors receive a stipend. For information contact producer Eric Seale at ericseale@me.com subject: Sapphire Heights.
Roles available are:
1 women (mid-twenties to early thirties)
1 woman (late forty and up)
1 man (mid- to late twenties)
1 man (fifty and up)
Sapphire Heights was selected by our guest judge Ifa Bayeza, whose trilogy for the stage, The Drama of Emmett Till, is the subject of her Sonia Sanchez Series talk on Sept. 19. Bayeza is also teaching a 2-day workshop on “The Drama of History.” Slots are still available in that workshop and most others.
           Finally, a bit of housekeeping: I have begun archiving these letters on our website under the "Director's Blog," where you can find every edition since January 2019 (with those from 2008 through 2018 awaiting another day of more ambitious housekeeping).
Sincerely,
Julie Wrinn
Director