New Release! FSWW's Play Reading: Yazoo, Miss'ssippi & Upcoming Podcast news!

Jean Ciampi's Yazoo, Miss'ssippi!

In case you missed this live, we're excited to release Yazoo, Miss'ssippi by Jean Ciampi, directed by Byron C. Saunders and featuring Jon Hayden, Adrienne Carlotta, Odysseus Bailer, Greta Glenn, Amy Hui and Theophania Darnice. This reading was produced by Kimberly S. Gunn and Garland Thompson Jr.

SYNOPSIS:

Yazoo, Mississippi, is an actual town located on the Yazoo River. Its name comes from a Choctaw Indian word meaning "River of Death." This is a fact. No one can make that up. It's begging to be a comedy.

Alex Halldorson arrives in the middle of Newt-a-Yazoo-la, the annual festival celebrating the local winged newts. He's there to build relationships between his company and the local community, but the relationships he discovers are not the ones he expects. Family lies, broken ties, and why won't those Yazoo -- who zoo -- Yazoo winged newts fly?

About the Playwright:

Jean Ciampi is a playwright, humorist, and corporate communicator based outside of Houston, Texas. Mentored by highly decorated Canadian playwright Sharon Pollock, she wrote her first full-length play, Potato Gumbo, while living in Saudi Arabia. It is currently available through Next Stage Press.

Jean is the winner of the 2024 Robert J. Pickering/JR Colbeck Award for Playwriting Excellence for her latest farce, Yazoo, Miss’ssippi, and she is a recipient of Veterans Repertory Theatre Writers Grants in 2024 and 2025.

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Calling All Playwrights!

The Frank Silvera Writers' Workshop, in partnership with Zoomcatchers, is accepting new plays for consideration for our virtual play reading series!

Do you have a story to tell?

FSWW wants you!

We're on the hunt for the gem, piece de resistance, your story!

To learn more, click here!

What's Coming!

Conversations on Aging: The Podcast

Join Zoomcatchers' host Kimberly S. Gunn for the season opener of Conversations on Aging!

She'll be talking with Professor Vera J. Katz, about her career and life and how she still does it and continues to inspire and educate!

Vera J. Katz, Professor Emerita from Howard University’s Department of Theatre Arts, where she taught acting and directing for over 30 years. With decades of experience shaping the talents of notable stars like Debbie Allen, Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Anderson, and Taraji P. Henson, to name a few, Professor Katz brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to this immersive exploration of playwriting and storytelling.

Get caught up with previous episodes here.

Life & Anth

Lily Forrester is back and we're bringing more life to the podcast!

Life & Anth is all about Anthropology!

Everyday life can start to feel a little well...routine, but every once in a while, maybe you notice something small that makes you wonder why are things the way they are? Why can you buy CDs at coffee shops? These moments are called ruptures, and they're a gateway to thinking about larger cultural norms that impact our everyday lives.

Join us as we continue to mystify the ordinary and discuss how anthropology impacts our everyday lives!

Get caught up on previous episodes here.

Stay tuned for much more to come, including FSWW's upcoming online workshops on acting, screenplay writing and playwrighting, all powered by Zoomcatchers!

Thanks for watching, listening to, reading, and sharing our content!

PEACE