“There is something terribly radical about believing that one’s own experience and images are important enough to speak about, much less to write about and to perform ” -James Baldwin

The African American experience is not represented solely by one voice or one style. Horse Trade Theater Group will present THE FIRE THIS TIME FESTIVAL, a platform for talented early-career playwrights of African and African American descent to explore new voices, styles and challenging new directions for 21st century performing arts, and move beyond common ideas of what’s possible in “black theater.”

Pride by Tanya Everett

Relationships are intimate organisms. Twenty somethings Joe and Nefertiti are embarking on a milestone in their lives: moving in together. As they move deeper into their partnership, their vulnerabilities are exposed. How does pride inhibit our ability to connect?

Time in the Penn by Keelay Gipson

With nothing to do on a Saturday night but Netflix and chill with himself, a writer picks a documentary he wouldn’t normally watch.  What happens when a world you know little about – a NCAA football dynasty – becomes the mirror for the harrowing times of a supposedly post-racial America? Time in the Penn is a meditation on the mob mentality and how the media frames an uproar.

God Will Know The Difference by Jiréh Breon Holder

A young man is on the hunt for his biological parents. A young woman is forced with the biggest decision of her life. A man must face his past for the first time ever. These three worlds collide and shatter in a play about family, love, and identity.  

Hard Palate by Roger Q. Mason

In the age of dating apps and PrEP, Quentin battles old stigmas about gay sex that thwart Clayton’s courtship of him.  

Slavesperience by Stacey Rose

Paris and Franny, two professional slaves, have been charged with providing Jenny, a progressive White female, with a Slavesperience for her 30th birthday that she might better understand life in Black America. Though progressive, Jenny is apprehensive to take on this experience. Jenny, however, doesn’t have a choice.

clarity by Korde Arrington Tuttle

Cameron likes rough sex. Which is fine. However, in the final moments leading up to his picturesque wedding on the Georgia state coastline, one particular encounter with his fiancé demands that he question his marriage, attraction, and sexual preferences altogether.

You Mine by Nia O. Witherspoon

Something terrible has happened at Treadwell Gardens, the senior-living facility where Sayida works  as a caregiver.  It all starts when Mrs. Anderson, a resident with Alzheimer’s, believes Sayida to be her slave.  At first it’s like a game.  But history is a dangerous game to play.

**PLEASE NOTE: Includes adult content and situations. Recommended for ages 16+.** 

Visit www.firethistimefestival.com for more info!