United Colours of Arizona Theatre Brings a Summer of Love to Scottsdale

United Colours of Arizona Theatre (UCAT) will bring a summer of love to Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts in August.

Founded in 2016, UCAT began as a Facebook group to create space for Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) within the fine arts, theater and film communities in Arizona. The members of United Colours of Arizona Theatre make theater accessible for everyone by providing opportunities for workshops, dance classes and audition preparation. The organization's initiative normalizes BIPOC creatives on stage to create a theater that truly reflects the community.

In August, UCAT will present the United Colors of Arizona Theatre Summer Series - The Summer of Love. These performances will explore love in all its forms, from readings of classic stories retold with a BIPOC perspective to musical explorations and cabarets. There is something different and new in each presentation.

"For the second summer in a row, we are excited to welcome United Colours of Arizona Theatre to Stage 2 at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts," said Meribeth Reeves, managing director for the center. "The mission of UCAT is to strengthen Arizona's fine arts community by advocating for diversity, inclusion, access to opportunity and global awareness. A long-term dream is the development of a BIPOC summer stock program, and I believe, this year, United Colours of Arizona Theatre has a program audiences will not want to miss."

Starting off this summer of love is an evening of readings, including two new works all tied into a Shakespearean theme. The first is a bi-lingual (Spanis and English) abridged version of "Romeo and Juliet," created in collaboration with Pima Community College. The second reading of the evening is Andrew Rincon's "I Wanna F*** Like Romeo & Juliet" - a queer love story of epic proportions that investigates God and mortals, realism and fantasy, and the shame and joy within queer love of color.

On August 6 and 14, Alyssa Chiarello, a singer/actor who performs all over the Valley, offers "Yours Truly." Her first solo cabaret is a personal performance through the songs of musical theater that brought Chiarello strength, love and an outlet to find and use her voice.

"'Yours Truly' is a personal performance sharing the memories and experiences that enabled me to find my voice through music, specifically musical theater," Chiarello said. "United Colours of Arizona Theatre has always been an encouraging compassionate organization advocating artists of color to showcase who they are and their talents they have to share. I'm honored they have chosen and recognized me for this opportunity, and I am beyond grateful to share this project of love with the Phoenix community."

Also performing in his first solo cabaret, Damon J Bolling presents "Taking the Wheel," a journey of love and determination through the decades. Bolling explains that "Taking the Wheel" is about controlling your own destiny and not being a passenger in life. This performance will explore love, love lost and finding love all over again through some of his favorite songs.

"It took me a long time to realize that things don't "happen" unless you make them happen. I'm not entitled to anything. You have to be brave and sometimes a little "fearless" to engage in the first steps in making that happen," Bolling said. "You might miss an opportunity if you don't "try." I'm still on that journey, and I hope this performance can help other people who can relate find some comfort knowing we are all on that journey together."

Audience members can join The Summer of Love at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, 7380 E. 2nd St., Scottsdale, Arizona. Tickets for each performance start at $29, or audiences can purchase tickets for all three shows for $64. For information, visit ScottsdalePerformingArts.org/events or call 480-499-TKTS (8587).

Through its partnership with the city of Scottsdale, the nonprofit Scottsdale Arts creates diverse, inspired arts experiences and educational opportunities that foster active, lifelong community engagement with the arts. Since its founding in 1987, Scottsdale Arts has grown into a regionally and nationally significant, multi-disciplinary arts organization offering an exceptional variety of programs through four acclaimed branches - Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA), Scottsdale Public Art and Scottsdale Arts Learning & Innovation - serving more than 600,000 participants annually. In conjunction with the city of Scottsdale, we also host more than 200,000 people annually on our campus through a robust rentals program.

Since 1975, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts has provided a stage for a wide range of artists and genres, creating shared, inspiring experiences for the community that celebrate artistic excellence and cultural awareness. Today one of the premier performing arts halls in the western United States, the Center presents a diverse season of music, dance, theater, comedy and film from around the world.

Photo Courtesy of United Colours of Arizona Theatre