Perceptions Theatre Highlights Playwrights of Color in Festival


 Perceptions Theatre Highlights Playwrights of Color in Festival
By Tia Carol Jones
Myesha-Tiara was in college when she decided she wanted to start a theater company. She was in a theater class and saw all the actors of color and thought they should have a space to perform. In 2019, she founded Perceptions Theatre. From July 10th and 11th  Perceptions Theatre hosted its second annual BIPOC Play Festival.

The mission of Perceptions Theatre is to make theater accessible to the African American community. It serves as a training ground for Black, Indigenous, People of Color artists. The theatre hosts its plays out of Studio 2226, located at 2226 E. 71st St.

Myesha met Jerlaune Jenkins, BIPOC Festival director, at a theater festival in 2018. They bonded over the lack of representation and started Perceptions to provide the resources they wanted when they were part of that festival.

Myesha and Jerlaune wanted their theater company to be located on the South side because of the amazing artists that live in the communities, who might not get the exposure they deserve. With Perceptions’ shows,  it is pay what you can, and the goal is to ensure people who want to experience theater do not have finances as a barrier.

“We want everybody to be able to see theater, no matter what their economic situation. We know a lot of times when people want extracurriculars, theater tickets can be expensive and we wanted to eliminate that barrier for Black and Brown people in South Shore,” Myesha said.

When COVID-19 hit in 2020, Perceptions had to re-evaluate how they present content. They were already holding auditions virtually, so they began to do their content virtually. One of the first performances was the monologues of seven people expressing their feelings about the riots in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.

The first BIPOC Play Festival was virtual. This year, it was in-person, with an option to view it virtually after the event.

Perceptions has been helping artists get agents and book jobs. Myesha and Jerlaune want to ensure the knowledge they have gained is shared with people who might not have the kind of access they did.

When it comes to representation of Black people and people of color, Myesha acknowledges there is a comfort to being around other Black artists and artists of color. Myesha wants people of color to feel more welcomed and feel that people care about them.

“When you’re talking to a Black playwright about their work and their experiences, it just flows so much easier and it’s so natural because you can identify with that. I’m honestly so proud to see there are so many Black playwrights out here,” Myesha said.

There are four plays in the BIPOC Play Festival, “Mess” by Carlos Zenner, “The Voice Inside My Head” by Louis Johnson, “Was It Me” by Andrea J. Fulton and “Kingdom” by Nic Bell. The plays were chosen based on whether they were a good fit with Perceptions’ mission and what they believed was needed. Jerlaune said all four plays have very strong messaging. Also, the plays were from artists of color.

Jerlaune has experienced as a Black actor, roles that were not written by people who looked like her. It was interesting to her to see people write about the Black experience without having lived it.

“For us at Perceptions, we like to have people, especially the actors and directors, to be of color, because they know what they’re directing and what they’re talking about. It speaks a lot to the piece. Black and Brown people should be allowed to write their own stories. It is something that is really missing in our scene today,” Jerlaune said. “It’s time for Black and Brown people to choose how we’re portrayed in these pieces.”

From July 11th to Aug. 14th, people are able to view the BIPOC Play Festival Virtually. For more information, visit www.perceptionstheatre.org.

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