Cast Set For MONDO TRAGIC at National Black Theatre

Mondo Tragic, Eric Micha Holmes' imaginative, satirical and arresting new play will take center stage at Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre (NBT) February 27 -- March 3. Directed by Miranda Haymon, the workshop production concludes Holmes' 18-month I AM SOUL Playwright Residency at NBT, as the institution is celebrating its 50th season, "Liberation: A Journey Beyond Walls."

The cast includes Christopher Reed Brown (Eric), Ben Chase (Poe), Jesse Reid (Holmes) and Chrystal Stone (Deidre). The creative team includes Emmie Finckel (Set Designer), Cha See (Lighting Designer), Omar Zubair (Composer) and Hanako Rodriguez (Production Stage Manager).

Mondo Tragic explores a new theatrical form being coined as "live audio-drama." The story investigates how shockumentaries (or "mondo" films) from the '60s and '70s shaped a biracial man's racial journey. When the lead character becomes captivated by the prospect of documenting the life of a public figure, he is forced to reckon with memory and fantasy, film and documentary, and Blackness and Africanness. A genre-bending, multimedia, socially conscious, experimental piece, Mondo Tragic explores the form of shockumentaries to discover the truth.

Launched in 2012, the I AM SOUL Playwright Residency is the nation's only program dedicated to Black playwrights whose work demonstrates exceptional artistic merit and excellence in the theatrical field, with a commitment to production. Coined as a dream MFA program, this eighteen-month residency also seeks to unleash the soul of a playwright on the page so that they can develop, hone and explore new ways of artistic expression in a safe, supported and transformative environment. With I AM SOUL, NBT seeks to deepen the artistic relationship between Black theatrical institutions and Black playwrights in order to re-establish Black theatrical institutions as the foremost supporters and producers of new works created by Black playwrights. Past residents include Mfoniso Udofia, Aurin Squire, Angelica Chéri, Derek Lee McPhatter, Nambi E. Kelley and Dennis A. Allen II. Current residents are Eric Micha Holmes, Lee Edward Colston II, Tracey Conyer Lee and Darrel Holnes.

Tickets for Mondo Tragic are now on sale. The workshop runs from Wednesday, February 27, to Sunday, March 3, at 4:00 p.m., with Saturday matinees at 2:00 p.m. and evening shows on February 27 - March 2 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20.00 general admission and can be purchased online at www.nationalblacktheatre.org, by calling NBT directly at (212) 722-3800 or at NBT's Box Office, open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. National Black Theatre is located at 2031 Fifth Avenue between 125th and 126th Streets in Harlem. (Take the 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 subway to 125th Street.) Follow NBT on Facebook (@NationalBlackTheatre) and Twitter/Instagram (@NatBlackTheatre).