Café Utopia
Amazon and Starbucks are the behemoths of the 21st Century, much like Big Steel and Big Auto were at the beginning of the 20th Century. Now, as then, mass strikes herald a labor uprising that may shape the working person's future for decades to come. Café Utopia engages the individuals and organizations behind the current unionization movement in the creation of an original dystopian comedy that speaks to this urgent moment in America. Authored by Gwen Kingston, the play involves breakout sessions where audiences get to dialogue with one another as they enjoy a Café Utopia signature "Wheatgrass Roots Justices" smoothie.
To RSVP for the upcoming reading of the play in June 15th in NYC, please email [email protected]
Genevieve Kingston - Playwright
Gwen holds BAs in theater and linguistics from UC Berkeley, and an MFA in acting from Brown University/Trinity Repertory Theater. She is the author of four plays and three one acts. In May 2021, her essay, “She Put Her Unspent Love in a Cardboard Box,” appeared in The New York Times’s “Modern Love” column. Did I Ever Tell You? is her first book. She lives with her partner in Brooklyn, New York. Previous projects with Notch include Anna Karenina: a riff, Wild Home, DICK, and FIT. |
Bria Morgan Dinkins - Community Engagement Associate
Bria is a Black, Queer, storyteller, costume designer, and curator based in New York City. With a background in anthropology, art history, and theater, their expertise is in socially engaged and public art. Their senior thesis entitled “Conceptions of Monumental Interventions in the Age of #BLM” explored performance activism, the reclamation of monuments, and consciousness-raising in the Black Lives Matter movement. Previously, Bria worked as Public Programs Coordinator at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University. There, they were a recipient of The College of Arts & Letters Engaged Pedagogy & Programming Grant and were involved in the unionization effort for their cohort of Academic Specialists. |
SAVANNAH RITZ - Notch Associate
Savannah is a playwright, actor, and producer born and raised in Austin, TX with degrees in Theatre and Business from Southwestern University. She also studied acting and musical theatre at the National Theatre Institute where she was awarded a Lin-Manuel Miranda Family Fellowship. She served as the Communications Intern for The Actors Centre in London and the Artistic Operations Intern for the Glimmerglass Opera Festival. She is currently the Administrative Associate for Anti-Racist Theatre. Her new play, The Village, explores queer women growing up in a religious community of South Texas and opened at The Tank in fall 2022. She is represented by TCA Management and Chamber 37 Entertainment. As a proud queer Latina, she dedicates her time to uplifting underrepresented voices and exploring the intersection of art and activism.
Savannah is a playwright, actor, and producer born and raised in Austin, TX with degrees in Theatre and Business from Southwestern University. She also studied acting and musical theatre at the National Theatre Institute where she was awarded a Lin-Manuel Miranda Family Fellowship. She served as the Communications Intern for The Actors Centre in London and the Artistic Operations Intern for the Glimmerglass Opera Festival. She is currently the Administrative Associate for Anti-Racist Theatre. Her new play, The Village, explores queer women growing up in a religious community of South Texas and opened at The Tank in fall 2022. She is represented by TCA Management and Chamber 37 Entertainment. As a proud queer Latina, she dedicates her time to uplifting underrepresented voices and exploring the intersection of art and activism.
This project is made possible in part with funds from the JKW Foundation, Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation, and Creative Engagement, a regrant program(s) supported by the funding agency Howard Gilman and administered by LMCC.