Mixed Magic Theatre Presents SWEAT and GILDED SIX BITS

Pell Award Winner Ricardo Pitts-Wiley's unique approach to the adaptation of "Sweat" and "The Gilded Six Bits", two short stories by Zora Neale Hurston, is a compelling tribute to the controversial and celebrated author of "Their Eyes Were Watching God ". Hurston an American folklorist, anthropologist ,novelist, ethnographer, and short story writer is considered one of the pre-eminent writers of 20th century African American literature. Hurston was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance and her four novels, two books of folklore and her recently recovered and published ( May 8, 2018 )a masterpiece Barracoon: The Story of the Last " Black Cargo " have proven invaluable sources on the oral cultures of African America. Barracoon is hailed as " a stunning addition to several overlapping cannons of American literature."

Hurston's short story, " Sweat" , was first published in Fire Magazine in 1926.The story revolves around Delia, a washerwoman, and her unemployed, insecure husband Sykes who abuses her physically and emotionally. Sykes hatches a plan to poison Delia by planting a rattlesnake in her washing clothes. "Sweat " was written as the feminist art movements were starting to grow. Hurston wrote for black women, exposing their struggles with not only racism, but sexism as well. "Sweat " was considered Hurston's most remarkable work by one of her biographers scholar Robert Hemingway.

The " Sweat " cast includes Laurie Smalls as Delia and Raidge as Sykes, with Jeannie Carson and Jomo Peters. "The Gilded Six Bits", a short story written by Zora Neale Hurston in 1933, is a story full of love, betrayal, and forgiveness. It portrays the life of two happy newlyweds, Missie May and Joe, who both test their relationship and their love for one another when a charismatic outsider, Otis D. Slemmons , comes into their community and into their home. The story embodies Hurston's typical writing style in which it focuses on the common African American lifestyle, represented by regional dialect and metaphors, and is set in her native town of Eatonville, FL where it reflects the traditions of the community. "

Gilded Six Bits" features Charmaine Porter, Fredrick Douglas, Jeannie Carson and Jomo Peters.