Rattlestick Playwrights Theater Launches MTA RADIO PLAYS

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater has announced details for the world premiere of MTA Radio Plays, a series of 3-10 minute audio dramas created to honor and celebrate the people that keep New York City running. Conceived and curated by playwright Ren Dara Santiago (The Siblings Play), MTA Radio Plays features the work of 17 playwrights. Each episode is inspired by a stop along the MTA's 2 Train Line and each writer has selected a stop that reflects their own experience, in whatever style they choose. Directed by Natyna Bean, the first three episodes will debut on December 14. Tickets to the complete series are $15 and can be purchased at https://www.rattlestick.org/.

"This is a love-hate letter to our city," says MTA Radio Plays curator Ren Dara Santiago. "Real New Yorkers, coming from the epicenter of the epicenter, giving the world a moment to step into our shoes, a moment to spotlight the strangers sitting beside us every time we ride those big, old, sprawling NYC shuttles. It's a way to honor those that have no choice but to ride it now, when those death traps risk their exposure to the virus, our essential workers still keep it pushing. Our gateway to every borough, every district, every block we got."

MTA Radio Plays takes place on the 2 Train, in one straight shot from the Wakefield-241st Street in the Bronx, through Manhattan, and ending at Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn. Listeners will stay with the same conductor for the whole trip, however, each episode has its own unique style, authentic to the author.

Written by Julissa Contreras, Episode 1: Wakefield-241st Street welcomes listeners to the Wakefield neighborhood of the Bronx and to the first stop on the 2 train. The episode features the vocal talent of Contreras, Guadalís Del Carmen, Analisa Velez, and Gerald Jeter. Episode 2: Intervale Avenue, written by Alexander Lambie, takes listeners further south into the Longwood section of the Bronx and features the vocal talent of David Zheng, Nissy Aya, Adesola Osakalumi, Julissa Contreras, and Linda Labeija. One stop further south, Episode 3: Prospect Avenue (The Miseducation of Juni Rodriguez) is written by Dominic Colón and features the vocal talents of Colón, Jual Skittlez Ortiz, Analisa Velez, and Julissa Contreras.

The creative team for these first three episodes includes sound designer and editor Twi McCallum, composer Analisa Velez, script supervisor Emily J Daly, and stage manager Ludmila C. Brito.

MTA Radio Plays includes 19 episodes with the next selection of episodes set to premiere in February 2021. Additional participating playwrights Natyna Bean, Guadalís Del Carmen, Victor Cervantes Jr., Emily J Daly, Xavier Galva, Jaida Hawkins, Gerald Jeter, Robert Lee Leng, Carmen LoBue, Analisa Velez, TJ Weaver, Emily Zemba, and David Zheng.

MTA Radio Plays is made possible with the generous support of the Battin Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, and the Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation.

Please visit https://www.rattlestick.org/ for more information.