FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF
ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY
Dear Friend,
Welcome to the second year of The Refocus Project, Roundabout’s ongoing commitment to broadening the canon of classics in the American theatre. After last year’s inaugural reading series, held virtually and spotlighting 20th century plays by Black American playwrights, I am proud to welcome you in person.
This year, we are celebrating the work of Latinx playwrights in partnership with Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater (PRTT). During the lengthy selection process, we considered over 110 scripts that demonstrate the wide breadth of style and story that Latinx writers have explored over the last century. In addition to three plays from the 20th century, we are delighted to feature a concert reading of a musical from Pregones/PRTT’s repertoire, Harlem Hellfighters on a Latin Beat, a story that celebrates the 16 Puerto Rican musicians recruited to join the all-Black regiment of the 369th Infantry during World War I.
It is our hope that these readings, along with the supplemental research and further reading we’ve compiled and prepared for you on our website, will contribute to adding each of these plays into a national repertoire. Pregones/PRTT will produce a full staging of Harlem Hellfighters this fall, and we will record our readings of the other three plays for use by educational institutions and the public from September 20 to October 16. It has been such a joy to partner with Pregones/PRTT on this project, and I encourage you to continue to support their season and to visit their two theatres in Hell’s Kitchen and The Bronx.
As always, I ask you to share your thoughts on this play reading, The Refocus Project, and our season by emailing me at ArtisticOffice@roundabouttheatre.org.
Thank you again for joining us, and I hope you enjoy tonight’s reading.
Sincerely,
Todd Haimes
Artistic Director/CEO Roundabout Theatre Company
FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF
PREGONES/PUERTO RICAN TRAVELING THEATER
Dear Friend,
When I first received the invitation to partner in The Refocus Project, the idea of
shining a spotlight on the ever abundant, imaginative output of works created by Latinx playwrights and ensembles struck me as familiar and necessary. The very writers and theater makers held at bay from U.S. Regional and Broadway stages have said as much for decades, and not without endeavoring to build up our own creative sectors.
I welcomed the opportunity to survey that long and labored history to map a Latinx program for season two.
In our work, the artists of Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater engage wide ranging conversations on race, class, language, migration, and other salient factors of American cultures and identities. We do this from the conviction that the storytelling that animates our Latinx communities has universal appeal and lessons of value for all in this country and beyond. In agreeing to co-curate and participate in The Refocus Project,
I also strive to impress this understanding upon partners, colleagues, and audiences.
I am proud of the process leading up to this year’s readings. Our theater is energized to expand the reach of dynamic, relevant plays that have enjoyed great success, staged by companies throughout the U.S. and in Puerto Rico over many decades. These works are again taking center stage for the enjoyment of persons near and far.
Deep gratitude to every professional who contributed their labor in the making of Year 2 of The Refocus Project. Special thanks to Luis Miranda, Jr. for recommending the partnership, and to Todd Haimes and Julia Levy for embracing what we hope will be a long and fruitful relationship between Roundabout and Pregones/PRTT.
Warmly,
Rosalba Rolón
Artistic Director
Pregones/ Puerto Rican Traveling Theater