Sankofa Evening of Theatre and Jazz Fest 2016

There's a lot of excitement in the Theatre Community in the ROC as September looms and everyone preps for the annual First Niagara Fringe Fest. Auditions, hiring, volunteers and revisions take shape for over 500 hundred events from Sept. 15-24.

Meanwhile in August, though -- there's another Arts Festival in the works -- the Sankofa Evening of Theatre & Jazz Fest 2016, which starts next week on Thursday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m.

What makes this festival unique (it's the 9th annual) is its roots. Sankofa showcases a cross section of theatrical talent from the greater Rochester community. And, it features original works by established and emerging African American playwrights.

Founder and Artistic Director, Curtis K. Rivers describes it this way: "The plays are totally different, providing keen insight to the playwright, actor and theater artists," he said.

All performances are at the MuCCC (Multi-Use Community Cultural Center), 142 Atlantic Avenue, in Rochester's Neighborhood of the Arts.

Here's a run-down of the performances:

"Four Men On a Couch," a full length production by Anne Thompson-Scretching kicks off the festival on the last weekend in August on Thursday, the 25th. An opening night reception for the play accompanies the performance at 7 p.m. There are also performances on Friday, Aug. 26 and Saturday, Aug. 27, also at 7 p.m.

The festival continues the second weekend with one-act plays starting Thursday, Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m. with "My People Perish" by Jahaka Mindstorm.

At 7:30 p.m. pm Friday, Sept. 2, the productions are "Spectrum" by David Taylor; "Now and Then" by Grace Flores; and "Snitch" by Karen Cully. The Festival concludes on Saturday, Sept. 3 with "Enough is Enough" by Jacquetta A. Harris; "Far From Grace" by Laura A. Thomas and "Dancer: The Cholly Atkins Story" by Michael Avent.

You can get tickets or more information about the festival by calling Mood Makers Books at (585) 271-7010 or go to www.muccc.org.

The festival is produced by the MMBTheatre 1 Project, which was established in 2006 by Mood Maker Books. They describe the foundation of the festival and its mission this way:

"MMB is a project oriented theatrical organization dedicated to developing original dramatic works by local playwrights, with a focus on enhancing writing, directing and acting skills. Each year, MMB Theatre 1 Project invites local playwrights to submit full-length and one-act plays to be considered for staging. Once all entries and scripts are submitted, they are reviewed and plays are selected. One full length play is chosen for the opening night performance and reception."

The festival is always held the fourth weekend of August and has expanded this year into the first weekend in September.

This is a chance to "add some sizzle to your summer" by taking in any or all of Sankofa's seven outstanding plays along with enjoying musical interludes of jazz each evening at the MuCCC.

Note:

The information here is a combination of my own observations and news passed on to me by Kevin Hicks. Thanks to him for his help to get this all together.