Join us for a one-day-only virtual staged reading of can i touch it?, a new play-in-process by Francisca Da Silveira, which we're developing toward an in-person production in summer 2022 at the Strand Theatre!
>> ABOUT THE PLAY
can i touch it?
a new play-in-process by Francisca Da Silveira
directed by Summer L. Williams
dramaturgy by Ilana M. Brownstein
Shay is many things – a business owner, a single mom, a community leader – but there’s one thing she’s definitely not: a pawn in United Bank’s efforts to buy up foreclosed real estate in the heart of Boston’s black community. At risk of losing her own store to the bank, she is forced to choose between a personal fight for her family’s livelihood and a moral fight against gentrification. When pushed to her limits, Shay finds herself in the fantastical peaceful place where women of color have to recede into when they get asked stupid ass questions. can i touch it? examines themes of black hair politics, social exclusion and the racial inequity black owned businesses face every day.
One of WBUR's fall theater picks!
>> ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Francisca Da Silveira is a Cape Verdean-American playwright and Boston native who holds a BFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and an MSc in Playwriting from the University of Edinburgh. She has been featured in ArtsBoston, The LA Times and American Theatre Magazine. Her plays have been developed with Theatre503 (London), The Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh), Company One Theatre (Boston), Fresh Ink Theatre Company (Boston), The Fire This Time Festival (New York), The Playwrights Realm (New York), The Public Theater (New York) and La Jolla Playhouse (San Diego). Fran's play CAN I TOUCH IT? was featured in the National New Play Network’s 2020 National Showcase of New Plays in November 2020. Her play NOT-FOR-PROFIT (OR THE EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION PLAY) was featured in The Playwrights’ Realm’s INK’D Festival in April 2021 and in La Jolla Playhouse’s DNA New Works Series in July 2021.
In addition to writing, Fran also identifies as a dramaturg. She was a company dramaturg and Literary Manager at Company One Theatre from 2016-2018 and the Assistant Literary Director at Geva Theatre Center from 2019-2021. Fran serves as an At-Large Ambassador and Affiliated Artist with the National New Play Network and has dramaturged for NNPN, The Kennedy Center, The Playwrights’ Center, Salt Lake Acting Company and Barrington Stage Company.
She is currently a 2020-2021 Playwrights Realm Writing Fellow, a member of The Public Theater’s 2020-2022 Emerging Writers Group and is under commission from Colt Coeur Theatre in Brooklyn.
>> MEET THE CAST
Sabine Jacques is an actor, theater practitioner, and social justice facilitator. She earned her M.Ed, BA in African-American Studies, certificates in Multicultural Theater and Social Justice Education from the University of Massachusetts. In her free time, Sabine loves to love on her community, play sudoku, laugh, and experience the fullness of life.
Beyoncé Martinez is a current sophomore at Emerson college majoring in theater and performance. Beyoncé recently played the role of Reya in her school’s premier production of The trial of Errors. Other roles consist of Twelfth Night (Mariah), Love's Labour's Lost (Rosaline) with Actors Shakespeare Project. She was a finalist of the August Wilson Monologue Competition in New York back in 2018. Beyoncé can be seen in the upcoming premiere of Black Girl Joy and Temporary with Teatro Chelsea.
Glen Moore is thrilled to be working with Company One on this new work. He is an Artistic Associate with Liars and Believers. As a LAB company member, Glen played Poodge in Yellow Bird Chase, performed in Irresistible, and was Saul in Who Would Be King. His Boston area credits include: Gene in the New England Regional Premiere of The Last Schwartz (Gloucester Stage Company); BLINDERS (Flat Earth Theatre); The Importance of Being Ernest(Moonbox Productions); Of Mice and Men (Boston Children’s Theatre); CLOSER (Bad Habit Productions); Of Mice and Men (Moonbox); The Time of My Life (Zeitgeist Stage Company); And Neither Had I Wings to Fly(BHP); Arcadia (BHP); Eurydice (Independent Drama Society) Regional Theatre; Speech And Debate (Curious Theatre Company). He holds a B.A. in acting from The University of Northern Colorado and also studied briefly at The National Theatre Conservatory. Glen has worked as an acting coach in Boston and Denver both privately and with Model and Talent Management Agency. He would like to thank his friends and family for all their support.
Kaili Y. Turner is a Black Indigenous (Natick Nipmuc), comedian, actress, writer, producer, and puppeteer. Kaili received her MFA from the Actors Studio Drama School and has studied at Upright Citizens Brigade NYC, the Labyrinth (summer intensive 2014), and Second City. Kaili’s pilot Fk’d Up & Fabulous is currently streaming on the Tenoir TV app, and is an official selection of the Hip Hop Film Festival and nominated for Best Web Series. Her play Indian Country was a semifinalist for the Eugene O'Neill playwrights conference, as well as Native Voices at the Autry. She’s the creator of Rock the Bells Comedy, a member of To Karen with Love (Brooklyn) and Grown Ass Women (formally the first all-female maude group at UCBNY) sketch groups, as well as a cast member of Diversity U. She was a participant of the Walt Disney/ABC Pilot Prep Program for Native Americans, and a recent recipient of the SNL/Second City Scholarship. Recently, Kaili performed in the off-broadway play The Nosebleed, the New York Times Critics Choice. Kaili is very excited to be performing with Company One again out of her hometown after all these years. To keep up with all things Kaili feel free to follow her on social media and check out her website. IG: @mdamstarlight, @fkdup_n_Fabulous, @ComedyGoldenGirls, @IamQueenOnika, @ToKarenwithLove @GrownAssWomen KailiYTurner.com