AM I DEAD? Food:Soul Pics and Thoughts

(Photo by Kevin R. Free. Post by August Schulenburg.)

On Monday, December 14, Flux gathered for the Food:Soul reading of Kevin R. Free’s FluxForward play, AM I DEAD? The Untrue Narrative of Anatomical Lewis, The Slave. Learn more about Flux’s development history of this play here. While we’re late to posting these photos, we’re making up for our tardiness by sharing thoughts about the reading from key FluxForward team members. It’s ensemble style, y’all.

There’s no better way to begin then with Chinaza’s take on the night:

CHINAZA UCHE: Highlight- the Flux community won this round. The ever-beautiful, ultra talented, and super-strong Sol Crespo was stricken minutes before the reading and the audience waited patiently as Flux tried to figure out our next move. It was such a room full of love and patience and support- and that was the highlight for me. And, of course, the Tough As Nails bad ass they call Anna Rahn stepping in to save the day!

Here’s that beautiful Flux community eating home-cooked food before things got started.

(Photo by August Schulenburg of the food part of Food:Soul.)

It was a night of people stepping up, and one example was Jodi Witherell, who was not only a rock while we navigated the last-minute acting uncertainty, but took some photos of the reading, as well. Check out the gallery below, and then read on for more thoughts from some FluxForward peeps!

Fellow FluxForward playwright CHISA HUTCHINSON: “Kevin R. Free’s AM I DEAD? raised some challenging questions about race and gender that, weeks later, are still a tangle in my brain. I think I’ll probably still be trying to untangle them when I’m ninety. THAT’S engaging theater.”

AUGUST SCHULENBURG: I’m still working through the conflicting emotions that Chinaza’s shapeshifting performance stirred up for me. It was virtuosic to see him jump so nimbly between the characters, but also painful to see him carry the tragic ends of the many moving characters Kevin has written for him.

Fellow FluxForward playwright NANDITA SHENOY: Honestly, I’m still getting over Anna jumping into a part of a play that she had never seen or read. I left the play thinking about how much as humans we want to be liked, warts and all, as demonstrated by every character. And Chinaza’s shape-shifting was amazing.

KEVIN R. FREE: At the end of AM I DEAD? I felt like I had dumped the contents of my pocketbook for all to see. The play was more embarrassingly personal than I expected. And, yes, Anna was incredible, but the rest of the ensemble was astonishing, especially under the circumstances.

Thanks to everyone for an amazing night, and stay tuned for more FluxForward news soon!