SHOTS! Comes to Palm Beach Institute for the Entertainment Arts Next Month

Palm Beach Institute for the Entertainment Arts (PBIEA) presents SHOTS! This original play, written by Christina Karabiyik and PBIEA’s Executive Director Donna Carbone is a daring and provocative work that touches on sensitive societal issues of the day.

Performance dates for SHOTS! are Friday – October 20th and 27th – and Saturday – October 21st and October 28th at 7:00 pm. There will be two Sunday Matinee performances on October 23rd and October 29th at 2:00 pm. PBIEA is a small, intimate venue. Seats sell out quickly. Reservations are required. Tickets are available by phone. Call 561 743-9955.

In a recent interview, Carbone said, “Where SHOTS stands apart from other plays on the same subject is that it focuses on the feelings of people caught in the crossfire. Told through the thoughts of seven coffee shop patrons… people whose private lives are vastly different, and yet, oddly the same… the audience is forced to consider how they might react in a similar situation.

Karabiyik, who was only 18 when she came up with the concept for the play, is what Carbone called “… a deep thinker able to see the world with exceptional peripheral vision.” Her reason for writing SHOTS! was personal. She once lived directly across the street from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The shooting at that school taught her to be more aware of everything she sees and hears… to pay attention to the people around her and to speak up should she be wary or concerned about a situation. Since the play was originally performed in 2018, Carbone, who is an author and playwright, has added an additional character and updated the information to reflect what we now know about gun violence and mental health. As the producer, Carbone cast a retired police officer (Steven Murley) in one of the roles. Murley will lead a discussion on gun control at the end of each production.

Joining Murley in the cast will be Bryan Medina, Hailey Dye, Rhonda Stearns, Harry Miller, Marta Perez, Pamella Forrest and Marcia Foster. The play will be directed by C. Todd Vittum who is an experienced actor, director and improvisational artist.

SHOTS is neither pro-gun control nor pro-Second Amendment. The authors took no stand, choosing instead to allow all sides of the issue to be represented. The door is left open for everyone in the audience, no matter their personal beliefs, to see this octopus’ many arms. There is no overt or graphic violence in the play. The audience is left to determine the outcome for themselves.

Carbone suggests that ticket holders not use GPS to find the theater’s location. She will send directions by email once tickets are purchased. Since the theater is small, audience members are expected to arrive no later than 15 minutes before show time. There is no admittance once the show begins.

At PBIEA, you are never going to see the ordinary. Our goal is to bring unique, original writings by Florida authors to our stage. Sometimes you will laugh. Sometimes you will cry. Never will you be bored. Always will you leave remembering what you saw and heard. Our goal is for you to leave the Institute wiser than when you arrived.