New Manifest Theater Company Celebrates Dramatic Writing with Third Annual Short-Piece Festival, MANIFEST MINIFEST

The new Manifest theater company will be back with the third annual Manifest Minifest short piece festival October 13-16, 2021. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s event will be streamed for free on YouTube. Donations are accepted.

This year’s event highlights the work of four playwrights and features two new panel discussions. The festival kicks off on October 13 with Ezequiel González Camaño’s play, Freshwater Grass. Immediately afterwards, artists Ang Bey and Toni Robinson will host “Curating Inclusive Creative Spaces”, a panel discussion on the importance of diversity in theater.

On October 14, New Manifest will feature Sandy Lam’s drama, Twitter Feed. Afterwards, the actors Oktavea LaToi and Taji Senior will host “Solo Show: Page To Stage”, a panel on the creation of individual shows.

The New Manifest Theater Company will also present Principal’s Office by Cris Eli Blak and Love is a Rollercoarster by Rita Anderson. Participants have the opportunity to watch reruns of two previous panels of the Minifest: the early-career production workshop of Rudy Ramierez and Iyvon Edebiri and the playwriting discussion of Idris Goodwin and Kristiana Rae Colón.

All four plays were professionally filmed at the Ground Floor Theater in Austin, Texas. Although actors often miss the thrill of a live audience, Simone Alexander champions the importance of virtual performances.

“I hope we can continue to take advantage of this accessibility even when it is safe to meet in large groups,” Alexander said.

Supported by the Ensemble Theaters Network, Manifest Minifest continues to strengthen the mission of the company as a whole. And even though theater has stalled across the country, Alexander believes inspiration and community are always close at hand.

“Through our panels, we are able to bring together regional artists to share their experiences in cultivating artistic communities and creating works during a pandemic,” said Alexander.