Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) announces the World Premiere of HOOPS adapted by Eliana Pipes with original music by B~Free from the HOOPS Project portrait series by Nicole Acosta. Directed by San Diego’s Patrice Amon, HOOPS features Milwaukee-based actors Paulina Lule and Ashley Oviedo, and Los Angeles-based Celia Mandela Rivera. All are making their Milwaukee Chamber Theatre debuts.
MCT’s fourth production of the 2022-2023 season opens Saturday, March 11th at 8pm. Preview night is set for Friday, March 10 at 7:30pm. Tickets can be purchased via the MCT website, milwaukeechambertheatre.org/tickets or by calling 414-291-7800.
Dating back nearly 5,000 years, hoop earrings are powerful symbols telling stories of home, love, resistance, protection, and freedom across a multitude of cultures and communities. Based on intimate interviews that bring to life the portrait subjects of Milwaukee multidisciplinary artist Nicole Acosta’s internationally acclaimed HOOPS Project--and with a vibe-worthy get-up-and-groove tailor-made score from Milwaukee’s own B~Free--HOOPS celebrates the journey to self-discovery and belonging, identity and culture, and so much more.
Part of World Premiere Wisconsin, a statewide festival celebrating new plays and musicals, HOOPS is a new play birthed from Acosta’s HOOPS Project portrait series. “It’s been a beautiful journey to witness my art transform from a small portrait project to a solo photography exhibition and now a stage play,” said Acosta. “HOOPS is a labor of love. It is a communal experience that holds space for the humanity of my subjects. It is a tremendous honor to be able to share these stories and voices via the art of theatre.”
“We are so excited for audiences to get to experience this world premiere play,” said Amon. “HOOPS invites audiences to join in the celebration of this iconic jewelry and find the empowerment that comes with hoops. These earrings are a way for Black, Brown, and Indigenous folks to find pride in themselves and their cultures. We hope that audiences will see themselves in the personal stories and collectivism of the experience.”
Through a collaboration with the Milwaukee Artist Resource Network (MARN), the HOOPS Project portraits are on display for the first time as a solo photography exhibition now through April 3, 2023, at the MARN ART + CULTURE HUB. The HOOPS exhibition at MARN coincides with MCT’s stage production. View more about the exhibition at https://marnarts.org/
“Our focus at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre is local—supporting and developing our local professional artist community, and telling stories from unique voices grounded in excellent text that are relevant to, about, or developed in Milwaukee,” said Artistic Director Brent Hazelton. “A theater adaptation by a wonderfully imaginative and quickly emerging national voice in Eliana Pipes of a locally born and internationally celebrated portrait series that focuses on hoop earrings and the stories of the humans who wear them and the cultures in which they are so deeply rooted checks literally every single box on the list of ways we hope to serve and reflect our community with our new plays. As for HOOPS itself, it’s an energetic celebration of people and stories and cultures who are not celebrated nearly enough on our stages—either in our own community or the mainstream American theater community writ large. I cannot wait to share it with Milwaukee.”
A ticket to HOOPS supports local theatre artists across all disciplines. Rounding out the creative team are notable Milwaukee creatives Britney "B~Free" Freeman-Farr (Composer), Peter Clare (Sound Design) Kyndal Johnson (Costume Design), Ellie Rabinowitz (Lighting Design), Sydney Smith (Assistant Stage Manager), Emily Marie Wilke (Stage Manager), and Madelyn Yee (Scenic and Properties Design).
“I was honored to interview 12 of the portrait participants and weave threads of their stories into the tapestry of this play - along with a few inventions of my own,” said Pipes. “As the playwright, my work is to elaborate, elevate and create a framework to put these stories in dialogue with each other, and with our world today. Hoops are a celebration of culture, and this play brings everybody along for the party. I was so moved by the stories I witnessed through this process, and I'm proud to bring them to the stage.”
HOOPS is supported by Associate Producers Julie Anding and Lisa Kornetsky. HOOPS is also supported by Milwaukee Artist Resource Network and World Premiere Wisconsin.
TICKET INFORMATION
HOOPS runs March 10-April 2, 2023, in The Studio Theatre located inside the Broadway Theatre Center. To purchase tickets, go to www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/tickets, call 414-291-7800, or visit the ticket office in person at 158 N. Broadway St. in the Historic Third Ward.
More information about MCT, the 22/23 season, how to purchase tickets, and how to donate can be found at www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org.
TALKS AND EVENTS
Pay What You Choose Night: Mon, March 13 at 7:30pm
ASL Performance: Fri, March 31 at 7:30pm
SIPSTUDIO: Fri, March 24 at 6:30pm pre-show, 5th floor rehearsal hall
Artist Appreciation Night: Fri, March 24 at 7:30pm all tickets $15
TalkBacks: March 16, March 23, March 30, Post performances
For more information on talks go to https://www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/continuing-the-conversation.
