Congo Square Theatre Presents Digital Show HIT 'EM ON THE BLACKSIDE

Congo Square Theatre Company (Congo Square), one of the nation's premier African American theatres, is proud to present the first full show of its Hit 'Em on the Blackside sketch comedy series, available for free online viewing starting Saturday, Dec. 19 at www.congosquaretheatre.org. A compilation of the bi-weekly webisodes posted to Congo Square's social media in the preceding months, Hit 'Em on the Blackside runs approximately 28 minutes and will be available through March 2021, when the next set of sketches launch.

Part of the company's new digital programming for the 2020-21 Season, Hit 'Em on the Blackside features Congo Square's award-winning African American ensemble in bi-weekly sketch comedy webisodes. The series is created and directed by Congo Square Ensemble Member Anthony Irons and stars Ensemble Members Ronald L. Conner, Alexis J. Roston and Kelvin Roston Jr. along with friend of Congo Square Tiffany Addison. Irons describes the series as "gut punching, thought provoking, laugh-out-loud satire, with some deep, artistic kinda stuff thrown in for good measure."

The 2021 webisodes will post biweekly on Fridays, March 19, April 2, April 16, April 30, May 14 and May 28, with the full second Hit 'Em on the Blackside show posted online Saturday, May 29.

For more information on Congo Square's 2020-21 Season, visit www.congosquaretheatre.org.

Additionally, thanks to a generous gift from the Robert & Toni Bader Charitable Foundation, Congo Square will be offering discounts for its Industry Training Institute classes in 2021, making the series more accessible to all during these difficult times. Designed for working and aspiring theatre artists, the classes feature Congo Square's award-winning Ensemble Members and Artistic Associates leading online workshops on topics including Mastering the Art of Self-Tape, Auditioning for Film and TV, Writing for Film and TV, Building your Brand as an Artist, Scriptwriting, Directing and more.

"Congo Square Theatre is deeply passionate about developing the next generation of Black voices and Black artists. As a haven for artists of color, we continue to create new opportunities to engage with and support artists. We are grateful to the Robert & Toni Bader Charitable Foundation for their generous gift, which enables us to offer many of our workshops at a deeply discounted rate. We know that in the time of COVID there are so many unknowns, and for artists, with limited resources, we want to ensure that there is an opportunity that enables them to keep sharpening their craft without financial barriers," said Executive Director Charlique C. Rolle.

Most one- and two-day Industry Training Institute workshops will be reduced from $60-$100 to just $30 for the general public, and will be offered for free to students currently enrolled in a collegiate program. More information will be posted at www.congosquaretheatre.org/citi in the coming weeks.