Luminous Streets World Premiere To Take Place In Highland Park This September
Site-specific theatrical tour will run September 19–28 across multiple York Boulevard venues.
By: A.A. Cristi Aug. 21, 2025
The Roots and Wings Project (Executive Producer Jesse Bliss, Producer Roger Q. Mason) will present the world premiere of Luminous Streets, a site-specific theatrical tour of 50th and York in Highland Park, running September 19–28, 2025. The production will feature new short plays by Roger Q. Mason, Tyree Marshall, Ligiah Villalbos, Melissa Lugo, and Jesse Bliss.
Luminous Streets will center on women’s survival and pursuit of justice, with plays written specifically for unique Highland Park venues by a lineup of powerful femme playwrights. The cast will feature Morgan Danielle Day, Sophia Hernández, Liv Jones, Melissa Lugo, Blanca Melchor, Ryan Nebreja, Marlaina Owens, Celia Mandela Rivera, Rufino Romero, Joshua Nicholas Moreno, and John C. Sweet with Music by Violinist Alma Cielo Violinist, Harpist Radha Botofasina, and Music Maker Romanowski. Audiences will travel from site to site, with performances staged at PopHop Books, Café de Leche, MorYork Art Gallery, Be Nice, Have Fun, and Johnny’s Bar.
Performances will run across two weekends with evening shows on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 4 p.m., beginning Friday, September 19 and continuing through Sunday, September 28. The performance will run approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, concluding with drinks at Johnny’s Bar. Audiences must be 21+ to attend.
“Luminous Streets is a powerful testament to women’s voices and stories of survival, staged in the very heart of Highland Park,” said Jesse Bliss, Creator, Director, and Producer. “By bringing these plays into community spaces, we aim to transform both the art and the audience experience.”
TICKETS
Tickets are $25 and must be purchased in advance at luminousstreetshp.eventbrite.com.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Jesse Bliss (Creator/Director/Producer) is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Roots and Wings Project. Her work has been presented at the United Nations, featured in an Emmy-nominated segment of Spotlight Arts: Standup for the Arts, and produced internationally. She has collaborated with institutions such as Center Theatre Group at the Mark Taper Forum, The Geffen Playhouse, and the California Arts Council. Bliss is also a playwright, director, actress, poet, and arts educator.
Roger Q. Mason (Playwright/Producer) is an award-winning writer, performer, and educator whose work has been seen on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally. Their world premiere Lavender Men was praised by the Los Angeles Times as “evoking the mingled visions of Suzan-Lori Parks, Jeremy O. Harris and Michael R. Jackson.” Mason has received the Playwrights’ Center McKnight National Playwright Commission, a Lucille Lortel commission, and the inaugural Dramatists Guild Foundation Catalyst Grant Award. They currently serve on faculty at CalArts.
ABOUT THE ROOTS AND WINGS PROJECT
The Roots and Wings Project is a femme-charged, socially transformative theatre company that has created groundbreaking work for over 20 years. The company provides stage and space for voices of the unnamed, unknown, and misunderstood, producing plays in both traditional and site-specific spaces. With a collaborative process that unites artists and audiences across race, class, and discipline, the company’s work challenges biased narratives and brings critical, globally recognized stories to the forefront.
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9.2% of votes
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