For immediate release
Contact:
Laura Moreno
Managing Director
laura.moreno@catastrophictheatre.com
713-522-2723×3
An exciting virtual offering that’s out of this world!
Streaming July 2nd – August 25th
The Catastrophic Theatre is proud to present the premiere of 30 Ways To Get Free, written by Candice D’Meza and directed by Nate Edwards. 30 Ways To Get Free is a series of three Afrofuturist micro-films that position abolition and liberation through the lens of science fiction. By exploring the worlds of spontaneous combustion, mermaids, trans-dimensional cell phones, and alien abductions, the films center three of an unlimited number of ways Black people may triumphantly enter a free new world of their own imagining.
Catastrophic is thrilled to be producing Candice D’Meza’s first film script and excited to collaborate with notable filmmaker Nate Edwards. The stellar cast features veteran actors Anthony August, Candice D’Meza, Byron Jacquet, Anna Maria Morris, and Jet Tettey. The film’s production crew includes director of photography Nicholas Lloyd, assistant director Jamar Hawkins, wardrobe designer Joy Cohen, and production designer Ruby Amare. The films are edited by Nate Edwards and Nicholas Lloyd, with sound and special effects by Tim Thomson.
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CANDICE D’MEZA is a mother of two, actor, writer, filmmaker, and multi-disciplinary artist whose writing and acting work has been featured in American Theatre Magazine, The Acentos Review, The Houston Chronicle, HoustoniaMag, and the Houston Press.
As an actor, Candice is a proud member of the Actor’s Equity Union and has acted with The Catastrophic Theatre, The Ensemble Theatre, Rec Room, and The Alley Theatre. She has been called a “Houston Theater Actor To Watch” and awarded four awards, including the 2018 Best Utility Player Award, by the Houston Press. Her writing– using forms of memoir, prose, and playwriting–focuses on topics of grief and joy, restorative justice, abolition, and liberation as viewed through the Black Imagination–the mixing of science fiction, African and African Diasporic folklore, and afrofuturism. Her one-woman show FATHERLAND combines Haitian Vodou spirituality and personal memoir with experimental film and ritual theater into a multimedia layered performance that is a deeply vulnerable exploration into the grief that comes from disconnection: disconnection from family, from culture, from homelands. Her ongoing work 30 WAYS TO GET FREE is a series of micro-plays that explore, via sci-fi, African folklore, afrofuturism, magical surrealism, and speculative fiction, the unlimited ways that Black people across the African Diaspora may triumphantly enter into a free world of our own imagining. To date, selected pieces have been published in The Acentos Review, produced as commissioned plays by the Latinx Playwrights Circle in New York, and produced as short films by The Catastrophic Theatre. Her newest project, a commission by DiverseWorks in Houston, TX is a community created multi-disciplinary public performance to honor the legacy of the Sugarland 95–the 95 bodies of Black convict leased inmates who died between 1897-1907, found in unmarked graves in Sugarland, Texas. To discover more about her work, visit www.candicedmeza.com
NATE EDWARDS is a Houston native and a multi-disciplinary artist whose first love is filmmaking. Nate is a graduate of Morehouse College and The Vancouver Film School. His primary focus is magical realism, specializing in short form content for projects with Tobe Nwigwe, Summer Walker, Bryson Tiller, Mereba, Jimmy Kimmel, and The Suffers. Nate’s work ranges from travel documentaries to live action samurai short films. As a genre bending artist, he finds joy in discovering new ways and tools to tell stories. Nate is currently embarking on his first feature film journey while ramping up the groundbreaking work he’s doing with local and international artists and brands.
ABOUT THE CATASTROPHIC THEATRE
Formed in 2007 by Jason Nodler and Tamarie Cooper, The Catastrophic Theatre is Houston’s premier creator and producer of new work for the theatre. The nationally acclaimed organization is dedicated to developing productions that foster a meaningful exchange between artists and audiences. A recipient of two MAP Fund commissioning grants, the theatre has gained an international reputation for its original pieces, which have attracted audiences from across the United States, Europe, and Australia. Awarded Best Season, Best Actor, and Best Artistic Director by the Houston Press Theatre Awards in 2017, The Catastrophic Theatre offers Houston audiences a repertoire of challenging, innovative work that can’t be seen anywhere else in the country.
TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets can be ordered online (catastrophictheatre.com OR matchouston.org) or by phone (713-521-4533). The Catastrophic Theatre is Houston’s only Pay-What-You-Can theatre; all tickets for every performance are Pay-What-You-Can.
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