Taking A Second Look At "Desire" by Zeitgeist Stage Company - Finding An Interesting Connection

I so much enjoyed the six plays that constitute "Desire" that I returned last evening to the Boston Center for the Arts for a second look.

(See my review from last week): White Rhino Report Review of "Desire"

All of the things that I said in last week's review apply to my second visit. The performances were crisp and the storytelling compelling.

As I read through the program, I noticed a bit of synchronicity. The fifth play in the cycle, "Desire Quenched by Touch" was written by Marcus Gardley. When I saw the play last week, I was not familiar with Mr. Gardley's work. But his name keeps popping up on my radar screen. On Tuesday evening at Central Square Theatre, I attended a reading of a play. The play was presented by a new theater group that has been formed in town: The Front Porch Arts Collective. The group "is an inclusive organization which examines the interactions between race, economics, culture, gender, and sexuality from a Black and Brown perspective." Founders of The Front Porch Arts Collective are Maurice Emmanuel Parent, Dawn M. Simmons, and Keith Mascoll.

The play which they read was "Dance of the Holy Ghost: A Play on Memory" by Marcus Gardley. This reading is part of a Reading Series entitled "God's Closet." Over the next year, the Collective will present readings of five additional Gardley plays, in anticipation of mounting a full production of a Gardley play in the Fall of 2018.

For details on upcoming readings, see this website:

Front Porch Arts Collective Website

So, Boston audiences now have multiple opportunities to learn to appreciate the works of Marcus Gardley. The next opportunity is to visit the Zeitgeist production of "Desire," running through May 20.  Included in that run will be a  "Pay What You Can" (minimum of $10) performance next Wednesday evening.

Enjoy!

Al