Author Archives: robbucher

A new play by James Ijames
“I remember…the age I learned I was scary.”

 We begin in a space you can’t quite place – is it a skate park? Is it a wave crashing?

In this mysterious location, we meet, one by one, a series of young black men. We don’t know, any more than they do, why they’re here – but over the next 90 minutes, we will discover much that we thought we didn’t know.

Described by Philadelphia-based playwright James Ijames as “an expressionistic buzzsaw through the contemporary myth that ‘all lives matter,’” Kill Move Paradise takes an unflinching look at the collateral damage of our biases and our assumptions about young black men.

Audacious, often funny, and totally uncompromising, Ijames’ writing holds a mirror to the ways we rewrite the narrative of the slain – and gives us a chance to see the dead not as degenerates who deserved death, but as heroes who demand that we see them for who they are.

Longtime Know Theatre actor Piper N. Davis takes on a new role as the director of this poetic and powerful new script. And she has assembled a cast of both Know Theatre veterans and newcomers that bring vibrant life to these characters.

Returning to the Know Stage as Isa is local favorite Darnell Pierre Benjamin, currently on stage in Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and last seen at the Know in 2017’s Listen for the Light. Joining him as Grif is Landon Horton, who made his Know debut in 2016’s BlackTop Sky and starred as the Minotaur in 2017’s Heavier Than…

Two fantastic young actors make their Know Theatre debut with us on Kill Move Paradise: Elliott Young as Daz, and Cincy Shakes company member Crystian Wiltshire as Tiny.

As these four very different men find themselves thrust into this mysterious space, we discover along with them what circumstances dropped them here – and what future lies ahead for the ones cut down too early.

Kill Move Paradise is a love letter to black men, an elegy for the dead, and a call to action for all of us to examine what role we play in the carnage.

Kill Move Paradise is made possible with the generous support of the Mitchell S. & Jacqueline P. Meyers Foundation 

Cast

• Darnell Pierre Benjamin* as Isa
• Landon Horton as Grif
• Elliott Young as Daz
• Crystian Wiltshire as Tiny
  *Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States, appearing under a Special Appearance Contract.

Production Team

• Director – Piper N. Davis
• Scenic & Lighting Designer – Andrew J. Hungerford
• Scenic Charge & Prop Designer – Sarah Beth Hall
• Costume Designer – Noelle Johnston
• Sound Designer – Douglas Borntrager

Calendar Listing

Production:   Kill Move Paradise by James Ijames

When:

• 8pm  March 2, 3; 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24
• 3pm  March 4, 11*, 18
  *A pre-show brunch is available on this date with purchase of $35 “Brunch + Show” tickets in advance. Deadline for brunch reservation is March 5. Brunch provided by Water Tower Fine Wines

Where:
Know Theatre of Cincinnati. 1120 Jackson Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202. In historic Over-the-Rhine.

 Tickets:

• $25 regular Price
• $15 Rush tickets at the door 10 minutes prior to curtain (when available)
• FREE walk-up tickets are available on Wednesdays^, as part of Know’s Welcome Experiment initiative. Advance reservations to Welcome Experiment performances are $5.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting knowtheatre.com or calling                              513.300.5669 (KNOW).

Know Theatre is Cincinnati’s Theatrical Playground. The Know showcases unexpected voices, new works, and plays that embrace the inherent theatricality of the live experience. Know Theatre seeks to be a place where artists and audiences feel welcome to take artistic risks, creating work that is cutting edge and accessible. 

Know Theatre’s work is made possible, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign.  

The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Know Theatre with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. 

Know Theatre is also supported by The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, helping to change our communities for the better through collaboration and innovation, and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, which provides a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving. 

 Know Theatre is a member of Theatre Communications Group and an Associate Member of the National New Play Network. 

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