A Case Study of People with Labels

CAST: Tracey Remarais, Robert Maisonett, Jake Phillips, Pascal Arquimedes, Patrick Shore, Ajinkya Desai*
DIRECTOR: Suzelle Palacios* (MFA, The Old Globe/USD Shiley Graduate Theater)
STAGE MANAGER: Brant Sennett (Trailer created by Brant Sennett)

*Members of Actors' Equity Association

Hi! My name is Ajinkya Desai (www.ajinkya-desai.com). Born + raised in India, I am an international actor-playwright-producer in the USA, my Alma Mater being the Old Globe/USD Shiley Graduate Theater (www.graduateacting.com). As an MFA candidate there, I had the fortune of being trained by some of the very best, not just in Acting, but also in writing coherent dialogue! I have the fortune of working with a like-minded friend and MFA colleague, Suzelle Palacios, a very talented artist, who obtained her BFA from the University of Houston.  

A Case Study of People with Labels: Meeks and Minorities is a product of my training + past experiences! It will be proudly presented by Theater for the New City  (http://theaterforthenewcity.net/), as part of their 9th Annual Dream-Up Festival  (http://www.dreamupfestival.org/shows.html):

I wholeheartedly request your support, moral and monetary. Donations will be used to offset expenses for
(i) Rehearsal /audition space
(ii) Requiting my hard-working Director/Cast/Technician
(iii) Volunteer Accident Insurance for Cast
(iv) Participation Fee
(v) Securing props/set pieces
(vi) Publicity, including photography and press.

$20 Helps us procure a Prop
$50 Helps us obtain 3 hours of rehearsal space
$150 Helps me Pay ONE Cast member their Stipend for the entire commitment
$250 Helps me Pay my Director or Stage Manager for the entire commitment
$500 Helps me Pay back the Theater for Participation

More about the Play.........
A (hopefully) more-than-stereotypical examination of the lives of two kinds of people: MEEKS and MINORITIES, the play is an amalgamation of two one-acts, presented as part of a social scientist's research, " What's that thing you've wanted from someone you like, to the effect of your own disempowerment? "

With a justified proportion of disbelief, a Black actress, named Morowa (meaning 'Queen'), points to the contract and asks her talent agent, "After being a slave all along in the history book, must I also pretend to be one?" While, in another world, an affable, self-sacrificing college student struggles to refuse doing a major favor to his all-popular-but-slacking college buddy, despite all the emotional bullying!

I write plays that spark a discussion; that provide food for thought, so that my audience has something to feel + talk about when they step out of the theatre. Sometimes, in the fear of talking about certain things, nothing gets said! And really, none of the problems, which we read posts about on social media, will resolve until we talk about them! 

Thank you so much for your support! We promise to make it worth the contribution. I would also love to requite you with a special shout out on social media and any help I can provide if you should need it from me for YOUR future fundraising endeavors. 

Sincerely. 
Ajinkya Desai

More to come: Photo stills from the production