Ground Floor Theatre Announces World Premiere Of Florinda Bryant's Black Do Crack

Ground Floor Theatre is proud to announce the world premiere of black do crack running February 14 - March 2, 2019. Directed by Matrex Kilgore and written and performed by Florinda Bryant, black do crack is an exploration of the mythology of the strong black woman. The mother who is not allowed to crack but is dying under the pressure of that fiction. Drugs and food. Escaping. Stuck. Moving slow. Moving too fast. We wail. In secret. Hiding our discomposure. Black bends and do crack.

Playing with language, song and movement, black do crack is an exploration of the curse and the blessing of being a strong Woman. What happens when the bough breaks? How does time move if seasons change but we don't? black do crack is an invitation to be honest with our struggles, and to truly see and make space for the struggle in one another. How do we check on each other? How do we make space for our daughters to use their wail to help them transform?

Written and performed by Florinda Bryant, Matrex Kilgore directs with lighting design by Amberly Whatley, sound design by Priestess Qi, dramaturgy by Sharon Bridgeforth and Angelica Chesney as Stage Manager.

"I am beyond excited to be working with Florinda Bryant on black do crack. I remember the first time that I saw Flo perform as a Guest Artist at The University of Texas when I was a freshman. I sat in the audience watching in amazement, while all of my concepts of what theatre was and how one-person shows should be done. For the past decade, I have been given the blessing of watching, learning, and asking myself "what would Flo do?," Kilgore says. "Florinda is an elder of my theatrical family, holding space and giving guidance to the next generation of artists. She left a long impression on me as artist and as whole person. I cannot wait to share the truth of black do crack with an Austin audience."

Performances run February 14 - March 2, 2019 at Ground Floor Theatre, 979 Springdale Road, Austin, TX at the corner of Springdale and Airport. Performances are Thursday through Saturday nights at 8:00PM and Sundays at 5:00PM. The "First Friday" performance on February 15 includes a champagne reception. Suggested ticket price is $20; Ground Floor Theatre believes in "theatre for everyone" regardless of ability to pay, so tickets are always "Pay What You Can". Tickets can be purchased at groundfloortheatre.org

Florinda is an interdisciplinary artist and arts educator who calls Austin home. As a performer and director, she is no stranger to many stages in Austin, having worked with Salvage Vanguard Theater, the Rude Mechs, the Vortex, Paper Chairs and Teatro Vivo. Florinda enjoys engaging audiences in explorations around identity, body and community. Her award-winning one-woman show Half-Breed Southern Fried was produced as part of the Performing Blackness Series at UT and was directed by Laurie Carlos. As a facilitator and arts educator, Florinda has worked with at risk communities, young men and women, and adults - using performance as a social justice tool for empowerment and change for over 18 years. Named Best Power Forward in the Arts by the Austin Chronicle 2018, Florinda is a poet singer, actor, dancer whose work exists in demand of community healing and social justice. Having recently retired from arts administration with Creative Action and Salvage Vanguard Theater, Bryant is focusing on performance, so get ready!

Ground Floor Theatre concentrates on works by and for underrepresented communities. It serves as an incubator to foster and grow new and groundbreaking works that shine a light on groups that are often overlooked. It is also a home for the Austin theatre community to come together and learn from one another in order to help Austin continue to excel as a leader in the National Theatre community. For more information visit www.groundfloortheatre.org.