ICYMI: "Yahoo Boys" to Open the Neurodivergent New Play Series's 2024-25 Season
New play developed by Blessing Eze & J. Corey Buckner to be directed by KM Jones as part of Piccione Arts's ongoing play series dedicated to neurodivergent empowerment
This Fall, the Neurodivergent New Play Series - an ongoing production of Piccione Arts - returns with a reading of Yahoo Boys - written by Blessing Eze with cultural consultant J. Corey Buckner & directed by KM Jones at A.R.T./New York’s South Oxford Space, located at 138 South Oxford Studio, Brooklyn, NY on September 15th at 2pm EST.
Tickets are available at www.ticketleap.events/tickets/neurodivergentplays/the-neurodivergent-new-play-series, with a minimum $10 donation for limited in-person seating & pay-what-you-can for at-home for at-home livestreaming up to two weeks after the live performance. Regular updates are available at www.linktr.ee/neurodivergentplays and on Instagram & Facebook @neurodivergentplays.
In this innovative new dramedy, wealthy conmen from Nigeria have conned their way into the theatre. They begin spinning a tale of woe designed only to pull donations from wealthy donors. But one con man goes too far and steals from what she assumed to be an easy mark. Now she's angered Gods and put the very performance of the play at risk. Can Miriam survive the deadly game she unwittingly started?
“This play comes from a time when I was scammed by a Nigerian con man. In retrospect everything was so obvious,” said Mr. Buckner on the play’s development. “I felt like such a naive fool, and I decided that I was going to make an audience feel that way one day. The history and subculture of the Nigerian conmen provided so many opportunities for telling original stories true to my original mission statement. The mythology and magical practices of the region inspired all of the magical elements within the play. I often feel as though modern audiences are capable of so much more than we ask of them, and deserving of all kinds of theatrical experiences.”
Founded in 2023 by award-winning autistic playwright and producer Anthony J. Piccione, the Neurodivergent New Play Series is dedicated to presenting matinee readings on the 3rd Sunday of every month - with seasonal breaks in December, January, July, and August - of plays written entirely by neurodivergent and disabled playwrights (i.e. autism, ADHD, dyslexia, OCD, Tourette syndrome, etc.) as part of a growing resident company of playwrights whose interests and specialties span a wide range of subjects, genres & structural approaches, with each play personally selected from a neuroinclusive resident company of directors. Learn more at www.linktr.ee/neurodivergentplays or by following @neurodivergentplays on Instagram and Facebook.
The Neurodivergent New Play Series is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council.