Riant Theatre to Host Strawberry One-Act Festival 25th Season Launch Party, 2/9

The Riant Theatre invites the public to the Strawberry One-Act Festival 25th Season Launch Party on Sunday, February 9 for a free, fun cultural day for youngsters and adults filled with theatre, film, book, music, poetry dance, award programs and creative workshops from 12noon to 9:00pm at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1040 Grand Concourse, between 165th & 166th Street in the Bronx.

"The Riant Theatre is proud to kick-off our 25th season of the Strawberry One-Act Festival at the Bronx Museum of the Arts. We're a diverse and multicultural arts organization. This open house launch party showcases the talent at Riant Theatre," said Van Dirk Fisher, founder of the Riant Theatre and artistic director Strawberry One-Act Festival. "The Strawberry One-Act Festival has presented over 2,500 one-act plays since our inception. We take pride in providing a nurturing environment to develop new plays with outstanding artists."

Opening the event will be a special book signing of "Volume 8 of the Best Plays from the Strawberry One-Act Festival" hosted by Fisher and featuring several award-winning playwrights.

The day is jam-packed with interactive arts. The Riant Theatre's Video Diaries Project will have a screening of several short films."Cold April," short film based on John P. McEneny's 2008 Best Play at the Strawberry One-Act Festival about schoolgirls who stood together against hatred and intolerance during the 1994 Rwandan genocide will be screened. It's written by Kelly Anne Burns and Michael Smith Rivera, directed by Rivera and has an original score by Grammy-nominated composer Enrique 'Hank' Feldman."The Brothers Texas," the Riant Youth Empowerment Award film by Ashton Pina, the winner of a college $2,500 scholarship for this thesis film," will be screened.

Kory French's drama "Abramovi?" about Midwestern twenty-year olds and fine art will be performed by Jon McCormick, Michael Hauschild and Ash Straw and directed by Noah Gray.

Onstage will be dazzling performances. In addition to spoken word artists and poets, there's the electrifying dance troupe Sharon Zaslaw & The Belly Jazz Dolls. Also, song stylist Boncellia Lewis will be singing with her trio. There will be a reading by Tandra-Zawadi from her book "Bubbles: One Conscious Breath Poets Wear Prada." Laura Bowman will present excerpts from her book"Mirrors: Reflections of a Woman's Soul" and conduct a playwright and theatre workshop. Storyteller Veona Thomas will read excerpts from her book "A Special Sound Of Freedom" and host a creative writing workshop. All participants in the writer's workshops will have the opportunity to present their work to an evening audience.

The Pioneer of the Arts Awards will be presented to Broadway producers Stephen C. Byrd and Alia Jones-Harvey ("Romeo and Juliet," "Trip To Bountiful," "Street Car Named Desire" and "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof"); Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's singer Lloyd Price ("Lawdy Miss Clawdy" and "Stagger Lee") and B. Jeffrey Madoff', film and commercial producer and director (Victoria's Secret producer). There's a panel discussion on "Living The Dream" with Ellyn Long Marshall, Maria E. Nelson and Orpheus Group Casting directors. A special VIP awards buffet reception is available for $50.

To reserve a seat in the writer's workshop email RiantTheatre@gmail.com. The Riant Theatre's 25th Season Strawberry One-Act Festival will be held at the Theatre at St. Clement's at 423 West 46th St., New York from February 12- 23. For more information:www.therianttheatre.com.