Julian X Launches WORKLIGHTS, a New Play Reading Series Hosted by The Pass

Director and multidisciplinary artist Julian X, currently Associate Director of The Pass at La MaMa and recently Assistant Director on Broadway's Tony Award-winning CATS: The Jellicle Ball, will launch WORKLIGHTS, a new play reading series featuring works by Mya Ison, Jaden Hatim Bridges, and Valentina Ma'Kaylah Johnson.

WORKLIGHTS transforms dark Tuesdays at The Pass into a temporary home for new work at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre. Across three evenings, audiences are invited into the theatre to encounter plays still in development, hear the language aloud, and become part of a work's life.

The series begins Tuesday, August 18 with LAURE by Mya Ison, followed by 3 SNEAKERZ ON THA' LINE by Jaden Hatim Bridges on Tuesday, September 1, and LOUD: A GHETTO ASS RAP MUSICAL by Valentina Ma'Kaylah Johnson on Tuesday, September 15. All readings begin at 7:00 PM and are free and open to the public. WORKLIGHTS attendees will also receive a promotional code for 20% off tickets to The Pass.

WORKLIGHTS LINEUP

August 18 at 7:00 PM

LAURE by Mya Ison
Directed by Julian X

In response to Édouard Manet's 1865 painting Olympia and in conversation with Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, Laure places the Black woman positioned at the edge of Manet's famous painting at the center of her own story, exploring agency, gaze, and the power of the erotic.

September 1 at 7:00 PM

3 SNEAKERZ ON THA' LINE by Jaden Hatim Bridges
Directed by Julian X

Set in the Malibu Grove Projects in Orlando, Florida, 3 Sneakerz On Tha' Line follows best friends Lucretia and Shenita as they attempt to build lives beyond the circumstances surrounding them while a clock counts down on their promise to escape within a year.

September 15 at 7:00 PM

LOUD: A GHETTO ASS RAP MUSICAL by Valentina Ma'Kaylah Johnson
Directed by Julian X

Back home for the summer, Judah's got bars, baggage, and a dream too loud to ignore. Set in Atlanta and stitched with original rap, dance, and raw honesty, LOUD: A Ghetto Ass Rap Musical is a new kind of coming-of-age musical from Valentina Johnson. Bold. Funny. Tender. And very, very real.

All WORKLIGHTS readings take place at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre, 66 East 4th Street, New York, NY. Admission is free. RSVPS are encouraged at https://partiful.com/e/lzoqesN4M8YlPsSzagYQ?c=_LbhlU4H. Information about THE PASS can be found at www.thepassplay.com.