Theatre Of Arts Presents LIGHT IT UP
Light It Up was originally a 1999 film written and directed by Craig Bolotin, with exclusive rights given to Theater of Arts to be adapted and directed into a stage production by Jorge-Luis Pallo (Co-adapted by Gerald Waters Jr). The play will premiere in November, 2019 at The Arena Theater on Las Palmas.
The story follows The Lincoln Six, a motley crew of "at risk" high school seniors who during a frigid New York Winter, hold a wounded police officer hostage while barricading themselves inside the school library. Located in a non-affluent district of the city, Lincoln High School, has suffered many budget cuts resulting in a crumbling infrastructure, out dated text books, freezing classrooms, broken windows and a faculty that is stretched thin. On his first day of the job, Officer Dante Jackson (Joshua "Lyric" Johnson) is brought onto campus to serve as a criminal deterrent for the restless students. But during an altercation with Zacharias 'Ziggy' Malone (Gerald Water's Jr) Lester Dewitt (Reece Cross), Stephanie Williams (Kathleen Benetiz), Rivers Tremont (Christopher Granlund) Rodney J Templeton (Thyrshon Battle) and Lynn Sabatini (Kalaiya Ramsey) The officer's gun accidentally goes off and wounds him in the leg. The students are immediately branded as "gangsters" by law enforcement and the media, as they struggle to make meaning out of a situation they were all caught up in by happenstance. The day begins with an expectation of basic educational rights and teenage dreams, but ends with a stand off against the NYPD, fighting to stay alive. Will the Lincoln Six be heard? Will their list of demands for better school conditions be granted? Will the system give them a chance? Will they survive day?
The stage version of Light it Up, is a cautionary tale of profiling and violence. With subplots of teenage angst, fitting in, pregnancy and father/son relationships.
An immersive on "the edge of your seat" multi-media experience as told by a talented group of inclusive multi-cultural actors.
Audiences will be entertained while made to feel an abundance of emotions.
For more information visit toa.edu
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