Fricatives

Description

Fricatives , the second anthology of Short Plays to Nourish the Mind & Soul has positioned Cesi Davidson as a champion of brevity and depth in playmaking. Her years of listening to the collective us, her unconstrained imagination, and her linguistic flexibility result in unusual interpretations of the complexities of American life. Fricatives follows her first book, Articulation , with an eclectic mix of storytelling providing challenges to performing artists and a roller coaster ride of entertainment for the reader. “Don’t be deceived by what may appear to be delightful, soft spoken ‘playlets’ which could easily be developed into full length plays. The Fricatives anthology. dives deep and extends wide into complex dilemmas of race, class, gender, and spirituality. Cesi Davidson crafts this inquiry with characters ranging from inanimate objects, to food, to animals. When her characters are human, their authentic dialogue is flavored with magical realism that entrances the reader and spirits them to the end of the tale. Actors are challenged to live the truth of a Green Pea. Directors must create an ensemble which can ferret in and out of time, transporting the audience beyond their wildest imaginings. Designers are invited to build worlds both minimalist, or whimsical, and every way in between. Don’t be afraid to surrender your soul, naked to the depth in these plays. Whether read or performed, it’s an unforgettable trip.” —Tonya Pinkins, Tony Award Winning Actor and Award winning filmmaker of RED PILL "Cesi Davidson's creativity knows no bounds. Wildly imaginative in style, hilarious, moving, and often disturbing, her plays illuminate a wide range of real-life experiences—human, vegetable, and beyond. Whether seen in production “or read in the privacy of your home, Davidson’s plays will introduce you to voices you’ve never heard, make you think about the world in ways you’ve never considered, and stir up emotions you never knew you had. What more can you ask of this wonderful writer?” —Zachary Sklar, Oscar-nominated screenwriter for JFK (with Oliver Stone) “Cesi Davidson’s words are musical notes on paper. She creates stories with a composer’s tools: rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre, dynamics, texture, and form. Some plays in her anthology Fricatives , have the emotional feel of a familiar ballad. Others are complex symphonies. Still others jump off the page with the energy of boogie woogie. Cesi has found a way to be guided in her writing by the universality of music and language, and the marriage is beautiful.” —John ‘JT’ Thomas, musician and composer “The words come through me,” says a character in one of Cesi Davidson‘s marvelous new plays. “I don’t own them… or do I?” This character is channeling the spirit of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, and, in turn, being channeled by the author. Such moments abound here, moments of wonder and wondering. The human voice – that most rich and varied of instruments – breaks through again and again, riffing on our shared reservoir of bliss and heartache and hilarity. These little plays are big.” —John Gould, author of The End of Me