By Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The People's Theatre Project is launching a Spring Reading Festival that focuses on the uptown community's rich history by tying the company's plays thematically to the area's local landmarks.
The festival, which starts May 7, will bring 50 actors to five Washington Heights and Inwood landmarks.
The program includes "The Lords of Wye," a play based on autobiographical narratives of Frederick Douglass, to be shown at The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. The Shabazz Center, which houses multimedia kiosks of images and lectures by African American-rights activists Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz, is a fitting location for the play because it honors the tradition of Douglass, who was an American reformer, orator, writer and leader of the abolitionist movement.
"Le Roy, Le Roy, Le Roy," a play that examines the intersection of journalism and literature, found a complementary home at the uptown news publication, The Manhattan Times.
This years' other plays focus on themes of education, gentrification, civil rights and the role of art in the community, including "24 Hours at Le Tiempo," "Man In Boat" and "The Chalkboard Trilogy."
Other Inwood and Washington Heights locations include the Irish pub Coogan's Restaurant and the Inwood Public Library.
Each of the plays will be followed by a dialogue with an established member of the community, the company told the Manhattan Times.
"The core work we do with community members in our public programs is all about developing pieces that address issues affecting our community and the playwrights unit is just an extension of that idea on a professional level," Bob Braswell, co-executive and managing director of People's Theatre Project, told the paper.
