SALT LAKE CITY — On Thursday October 24 Plan-B Theater is kicking off their 34th season with a new production, "Full Color." Bijan Hosseini is one of the writers of the new production, " Just come, like any other piece of good theater and hopefully you'll walk away thinking and feeling something."
An over-arching theme of the playwrights and performers, most of whom are people of color, is basically; "Try and see the world through my eyes and my experiences." They're hoping the intimate setting of the production will resonate with audiences.
Alec Kalled is one of the actors who will be bringing to life the words of eight, different playwrights in "Full Color." "It's going to be very intimate, it's going to be very raw in places, it's gonna make you laugh, it's gonna make you cry."
Jerry Rapier is artistic director of Plan-B Theater, "The goal with Full Color is simply to represent BIPOC points of view. What it means to be a person of color living here, now."
For those who don't know, BIPOC is an acronym for Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Folks like Utah playwright and actor Bijan Hosseini.
Raised in a Salt Lake suburb, Hosseini attended school at a time when he was one of the only persons of color. His piece is based on things he experienced growing up, which he attributes to ignorance. That is why he says art can be a powerful way to enlighten and educate.
"And that's the idea, hey if you can come and sit in my shoes, you haven't had my lived experience, but if you can come feel it and see it and really feel it, like it's in your bones, you're much more likely to walk away with that understanding," Bijan explained.
Alec Kalled agrees, " It's important for people to get exposed to this kind of theater. And it's important for people to hear other peoples experiences."
Bijan Hosseini hopes those in the audience take away something very basic, " At the end of the day we are all just people, and it should be much, a much easier task to just be kind to one another. And I think that's how you get it a lot, through the arts and just that empathy."
For 34 years now, Plan-B remains one of the only, locally run, small theater companies in the U.S. producing full season of new work by local writers, often focusing on works by queer & BIPOC artists.
"Full Color" premieres this Thursday, October 24 and runs through November 10th. It's an intimate setting, just 41 seats so if you're interested, get tickets as soon as you can.
