ROCKFORD NEW WORDS

STAGED READING | Jan 21, 2021 | 7pm
Live On Facebook

2020 was a year like none other with COVID-19 and BLM protests responding to the murders of George FLoyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others.

At the center of it all is our breath: we are breathing in a virus, we are breathing in tear gas, or we are breathing our last breath.

Rockford New Words has chosen 6 new personal and passionate written works that speak to where we are at in this moment in time.

WE. CAN’T. BREATHE.

OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

Respiratory Failure by Marcos Lara (Rockford, IL) | Poem

Drain by Scott Sickles (Forest Hills, NY) | Play

Vanessa by Diana Burbano (Long Beach, CA) | Monologue

The Cessation of the Blackstrophysicist (Black-Astrophysicist) in Space by Ascension (Aurora, IL) | Spoken Word

The Grand Jury by Devin Mainville (Loves Park, IL) | Storytelling

The Arithmetic of Memory by Gretchen Suárez-Peña (Bartow, FL) | Play

WRITERS

Marcos Lara

Marcos is a versatile comedian who has performed everywhere from Honolulu, Hawaii to the BMO Harris Bank Center.  For over a decade, he has entertained every type of crowd from headlining colleges and churches to performing at burlesque shows and festivals. With Covid preventing Marcos from performing for live audiences, he adapted his craft to the current conditions.  While preserving the themes of social justice and celebrating diversity, Marcos omitted the punchlines and replaced them with rhymes returning to his adolescent passion for poetry.  In addition to performing, he has produced comedy shows all over Illinois and Wisconsin providing platforms for performers of various ethnicities, religions, genders, and orientations.  Marcos is excited to bring  his spoken word skills to Rockford New Words.

Scott Sickles

Scott C. Sickles is an LGBTQ/biracial Korean American writer whose plays have been performed in New York City, across the U.S., and internationally in Canada, Australia, Europe, and Asia. Political plays include: Appetizers, or “On an Island Somewhere”; #Bastille; Outpost; and The Second World Trilogy comprised of Marianas Trench (O’Neill Finalist), Pangea(O’Neill Semifinalist), and The Known Universe. Nonsense and Beauty (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis) received an Edgerton New Play Award and was an ATCA Steinberg Finalist. He published Playing on the Periphery: Monologues and Scenes for Queer Kids (Amazon). Five consecutive Writers Guild of America Awards for General Hospital; eight Emmy nominations.

scottcsickles.com

Diana Burbano

Diana Burbano, a Colombian immigrant, is a   playwright, an Equity actor, and a teaching artist at South Coast Repertory and Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble. Diana’s play Ghosts of Bogota, won the Nu Voices festival at Actors Theatre of Charlotte in 2019. Ghosts was commissioned and debuted at Alter Theater in the Bay Area in Feb 2020. Sapience, was a Playground-SF 2020, Winner and was featured at Latinx Theatre Festival, San Diego Rep 2020. Fabulous Monsters, a Kilroys selection was to premiere at Playwrights Arena in 2020 (postponed). She was in Center Theatre Group’s 2018-19 Writers Workshop cohort and is in the Geffen’s Writers Lab in 20-21. She has worked on projects with South Coast Repertory, Artists Repertory Theatre, Breath of Fire Latina Theatre Ensemble and Center Theatre Group and Livermore Shakespeare Festival.Diana recently played Amalia in Jose Cruz Gonzales' American Mariachi at South Coast Repertory and Arizona Theatre Company, and Marisela in La Ruta at Artists Repertory. You can also see her as Viv the Punk in the cult musical Isle of Lesbos. She is the current Dramatists Guild Rep for Southern California.

dianaburbano.com

Ascension

A recent graduate in (social) psychology and theatre, ​Ascension​ researches intersectionality (individuals with compounding marginalized identities) and their outcomes in vulnerable situations (i.e., receiving help for sexual assault) compared to more privileged groups, specifically between Black and White women, as well as research on underprivileged (i.e., first-generation, low-income, and/or Latinx) students’ navigation through the graduate school application process. She has most recently taken on two other positions to dismantle systemic inequities as a social transformation research intern at Well-Being & Equity in the World and primary creator and food distributor for “Feed the People”, a pop-up food pantry in her community.  

Devin Mainville

Devin Mainville graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a degree in Television Writing and Producing. She has written about TV and film for PopMatters, Screenrant and The Watercooler Journal. Her short screenplays have been included in several festivals and she was recently published in The Brushfire Literary Journal. She co-hosts an Oscars podcast called For Your Reconsideration and shares her many, many book reviews on Instagram @bookishandbored. When she’s not writing, watching TV/movies or reading, she’s sleeping.

Gretchen Suárez-Peña

Gretchen Suárez-Peña is a long-time playwright and lover of the theatre. She is the Playwright-in-residence at The Thru-Line: A Theatrical Production Company. Her musical, Melina: A Steampunk Musical Tragedy was an official selection of the 2020 Atlanta Musical Theatre Festival. Other successes include winning the writer's grant and best play in the Table Read Category at the Inaugural Be Original Festival 2019 in Orlando, Florida for her play Trafficked. Also, winning best full-length play at the 2018 Tampa Bay Theatre Festival for her show Conversations in the Car and first prize for her piece Dry Spell at the 30 by Ninety Theatre in Mandeville, Louisiana in their Night of One Acts Competition in 2018. She also had success with her production and direction of Conversations in Bed, which premiered to a sold-out audience at the 2017 Tampa Bay Theatre Festival.

gretchensuarezpena.com
Facebook: Plays by Gretchen
Instagram: @playwright1987

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Joshua Patterson

Joshua Patterson is a writer and recording artist who grew up in Zion, IL, but has called Rockford home since 2011. Joshua wrote his first poem as a senior in high school for an assignment in a government class. The name of this piece is, "Why My People Perish". This assignment exposed him to the world of words, and he has been writing ever since. As an artist, Joshua has collaborated across several genres to create, perform and release art. With his independently released studio album entitled, "GONE", Joshua worked with multiple: graphic designers, audio-engineers, producers, photographers and videographers to deliver quality content within a specific timeframe. Joshua is also on the board of The Wabongo Leadership Council which uses data to identify disproportionate opportunities within the African American community around education, community and economic development, and health and wellness. The goal is to consider culture -  The way people experience the world, to mobilize and engage within communities we serve. Joshua has been a part of the RNPF family for several years, participating as a Performer, Artistic Associate and this year as the Artistic Director. His collaborative experience as an artist and passion for enhancing cross-cultural engagement are just a few reasons we are excited to have him on our team for this year's Rockford New Words.

RNW | WRITING WORKSHOP

Spoken Word Poetry
Instructor: The Poet Known As Christopher D. Sims
SAT Oct 3, 2020 | 1 - 4pm

This year, The Poet Known As Christopher D. Sims introduced students to the basic concepts of spoken word. This three hour online workshop covered RNW rules and application, a discussion of this year’s theme “WE CAN’T BREATHE,” and how writers can bring a unique perspective to writing poetry for live performance.

CHRISTOPHER D. SIMS

Christopher D. Sims is an author and a longtime writer of poetry and performer of spoken word poetry. As a former member of Rockford, Illinois' Poetic Justice League 4 America he was a trailblazer in spoken word performance art and poetry slams. He has taken his performance skills all across the country to remain at the top of his craft. An instructor, he is equipped with the tools to inform, educate, and empower writers and performance poets. He was born and raised on the West Side of Rockford, IL and is a graduate of Auburn High School.

SPONSORS

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS

ROCKFORD NEW WORDS 2021 is made possible by a generous grant from the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois.  

The mission of the Community Foundation of Northern Illinois is to serve as a catalyst for giving in order to attract, preserve, and grow an endowment for the current and future needs of the people of Northern Illinois. Since its founding in 1953, CFNIL has granted more than $65 million for charitable purposes in the region.

ROCKFORD AREA ARTS COUNCIL

ROCKFORD NEW WORDS 2021 is made possible by a generous grant from the Rockford Area Arts Council. 

The Rockford Area Arts Council supports, promotes, and develops the arts for everyone in the Northern Illinois region.

WHY THE CHANGE?

THE ROCKFORD NEW PLAY FESTIVAL is now ROCKFORD NEW WORDS!

Why the change? We expanded to include all words written for live performance, including:

Spoken Word
Poetry
Choreopoems
Plays
Zoom Scripts
Raps and Spoken Lyrics
Storytelling
Monologues

CAST

Stella Adams (Claudine in The Arithmetic of Memory)

Stella L. Adams is a native of Peoria., IL. She is a Sales Tax Auditor with the Illinois Department of Revenue. Stella enjoys singing and acting when she is not working with numbers. She was last seen in the West Side Show Room’s production of “Men on Boats.”

Intae Kim (Mark Schlessinger in Drain)

Intae is delighted to be making his debut with The West Side Show Room in this year's Rockford New Words Festival. Originally born and raised in Boston, Intae moved to California to attend UC Berkeley, where he double-majored in Theater and English. During his senior year, one of Intae's professors, playwright Philip Kan Gotanda, introduced him to Luis Valdez; Intae subsequently made his professional debut in Valdez's new play, VALLEY OF THE HEART. Other credits include FARGO (FX), HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER (ABC), Charlie Sanders and Jordan Peele's WEIRD CITY (YouTube Premium), and HBO Visionaries winner MONDAY. SAG-AFTRA. More at INTAEKIM.COM.

Christopher Palmer (ICE Officer in Drain)

Christopher began acting in school plays at a young age and even participated in Young American Theatre during his senior year of high school. Christopher has appeared onstage at Rock Valley College Studio Theatre and Pec Playhouse (playing McMurphy in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest). But Christopher has predominantly been associated with Byron Civic Theatre for the last fifteen years, serving on their Board of Directors for most of that time and as their President for the last two years. Christopher is proud to be a part of Rockford New Words and wishes to thank God, WSSR, and his wife Elizabeth for making these opportunities to perform possible.

Evandia Penix (Missy in The Arithmetic of Memory)

Evandia Penix attended high school at Guilford High School in Rockford, Illinois where she got her start in acting! She now attends Rock Valley College, where she is majoring in Human Biology for her degree in Chiropractic Studies and minoring in Musical Theater. She has done many productions at Starlight, including Shrek (2018), Joseph (2019), and in upcoming shows like The Little Mermaid and Dreamgirls. She is very excited for her future in acting and theatre and hopes to do it for a living in the near future! She thanks her friends and family for all the support and she thanks WSSR for allowing her to participate!

Ky Rankin (Reader of The Grand Jury)

Ky Rankin is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago and has been doing theater around the Midwest for decades. She was last seen in WSSR's premier of Men On Boats! And is super excited to be a part of the Rockford New Words extravaganza! Thanks to everyone for keeping theater alive!

Linda Zuba (Reader of Vanessa)

Linda Zuba was born in Bogota, Colombia. At the age of 4, Linda (known as Lucerito) her mother and sister moved to Los Angeles, California to fulfill her mother’s dream. The dream of living in the land of opportunities and freedom for her daughters.

Linda is a Rockford, Illinois attorney, community activist and human rights advocate. After traveling to Tijuana, Mexico on several occasions to help children and adults who were fleeing for their lives and trying to avail themselves of U.S. asylum laws, Linda wrote a play describing some of her experiences and sharing stories she promised to tell. The play was called Rainbow Warriors and it was one of the plays selected for The Rockford New Play Festival in 2019.

STAFF

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Joshua Patterson

ARTISTIC ASSOCIATES
Lucia Guerrero
Tissanie Simmons

PRODUCER
Mike Werckle

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Rachel León

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Sarah Renicker

ROCKFORD NEW WORDS FOUNDERS
Sharon Nesbit-Davis, Nathan Alan Davis, Mike Werckle