Senior Kaia Lyons' play "Like Hyacinth Flowers" is one of three plays chosen by the Black Box Project Cycle 2: FEMME to be presented as a semi-staged reading in New York City Feb. 4-5, 2019.
The Black Box Project is an accessible platform for emerging Black playwrights to develop new work and provide quality, culturally relevant theatre to the Black community. Their goal is to "ensure the growth and vitality of theatre by Black dramatists for generations to come. Lyon's play, Like Hyacinth Flowers, will be directed by Dominique J. Rider and features actors, Hunter Dunn, Gina Crandell, Geoff Can Wyck, and Christen Deckie.
The staged readings will take place at The TANK a non-profit arts presenter and producer whose mission is to remove economic barriers from the creation of new work for artists launching their careers and experimenting within their art form, and to do so in an environment that is inclusive and accessible.
"Kudos and several hip-hip-hooray's to Kaia Lyons who is having a big weekend," says Carter Lewis, Senior Lecturer and Playwright-in-Residence with the Performing Arts Department. "Kaia is the author of Black Anthology which runs on the Edison stage Friday, February 1 & 2, and she is then flying to NYC the following Monday for the staged-reading. of Like Hycinth Flowers. All of WashU is with you!"
Moving between a Pennsylvania flower shop, an abandoned community garden, the sky, and all the space between, Like Hyacinth Flowers finds four divine beings struggling to maintain harmony with their powers. While Iphigenia works to control the everlasting spring and Hestia tries to reconcile her fourteen-year-old consciousness with her thousand-year-old one, Persephone finds herself falling for a man, Hades, who soon reveals himself to be abusive. As his violence causes her to lose her plant-growing abilities, she must find her power in order to regain them.
