Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park Seeking 8-Minute-and-46-Second Works for The Breath Project

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Photo: YouTube screengrab

Gamal Abdel Chasten in "08:46" for The Breath Project

The Breath Project is a new theater initiative with the stated mission of selecting, curating and archiving "work from multidisciplinary theater artists of color who are responding to our current moment in history, and to build relationships between artists of color and producers of live theater."

Cincinnati's Playhouse in the Park is one of 17 partner theaters from across the country seeking submissions to be included in a virtual fall 2020 festival, with a goal of creating a national archive of these works. Each work must be 8 minutes and 46 seconds in length, the amount of time it was reported that Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the neck of unarmed, handcuffed Black citizen George Floyd before he died.

The Breath Project was co-founded by Gamal Abdel Chasten, a founding member of New York Based-collective Universes Theater Ensemble, who debuted americUS at the Playhouse in February; and Marieke Gaboury, a theatre specialist for the City of Palo Alto, California.

Watch "08:46" below, written and performed by Chasten and directed by Gaboury.

The Playhouse is currently accepting submissions for The Breath Project to be considered for the fall 2020 festival. The submission deadline is Aug. 31, 2020.

Here are the entry guidelines from The Breath Project:​

• Submissions must be a recording of a live performance of original work, and must be 8 minutes and 46 seconds in length;
• Submissions will be accepted from artists of color who reside in the United States (work submitted by artists under the age of 18 will be considered in a youth category);
• Submissions must include a link to your video submission, artist bio and photo.
• Deadline for submissions for consideration for the 2020 Virtual Festival will be August 31, 2020, 5:00 PST.  At this time, there is no deadline for submissions to the archive.
• We strongly recommend that you read the Frequently Asked Questions, and check thelist of Partner Theatersto see which theaters are able to offer space and other resources. 
• This submission comes from an artist of color.
• This submission is a digital recording of a live performance that is 8-minutes-and-46-seconds in length.
• This submission contains all (unproduced) original work (and/or work that is in the public domain).

For more information, visit thebreathproject2020.com