Plays Written by travis tate:
MOTHERWITCH
QUEEN OF THE NIGHT
SENECA
Synopses:
MotherWitch – (3W, 3 flex) Darla Belleford is just three days away from her 21st birthday. Oh, and her grandmother Sherry just let her know she’s a witch! With the help of Winston (her family cat), Sherry (her grandmother), Barb (her mother) and the all powerful goddess, will Darla complete her induction into the family coven? MOTHERWITCH tells the story of three generations of black women who share an ancestral power that helps, hinders, and brings complexity to their family dynamic.
Queen of The Night – (2M) Stephen, a recently divorced and unemployed father takes Ty, his queer, neurotic son, for a camping trip where they used to go long ago. Ty wants to fight and Stephen wants to smooth things over with his son. And only a few days before Ty’s mother’s wedding to her new husband. In the meanwhile, Stephen teaches Ty about nature, about to how to camp and be an outdoorsman. Then soon reveals to Ty the mounting issues of his own life. As the nightflowers bloom, no phone, and only their memories, Stephen and Ty must reckon with the past in this present wilderness. QUEEN OF THE NIGHT explores masculinity and queerness through the lens of multi-generational Blackness.
Seneca – (4W, 5M) SENECA follows the story of Seneca Village, a town of freed slaves and immigrants in the mid 1800s, that once stood, where now modern day Central Park stands. Bridgette, the town Governess, and her precocious children, are surprised by the mid-day arrival of Rose and Lawrence, a runaway family sent on the Underground Railroad. In present day, a attractive interracial gay couple, Jon and Todd, are headed out on their monthly date to Central Park. The music of the two worlds blend, bend, and collide with one another as the play continues. SENECA is a historical fictive play that explores blackness, freedom, and the ever rising situation of gentrification within many of our cities across America.
Bio:
travis tate (they/them) is a queer playwright, poet, and performer from Austin ,TX. They have their plays travis tate is a queer, Black playwright, poet and performer living in Brooklyn. Their poetry has appeared in Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review, Underblong, Southern Humanities Review, Vassar Review, The Broiler and Cosmonaut Avenue, among other journals. Their debut poetry collection, MAIDEN, was published on Vegetarian Alcoholic Press in June 2020. The world premiere of Queen of The Night happened at Dorset Theatre Festival in August 2021 and began its second production at Victory Gardens Theatre this January. They earned an MFA from the Michener Center for Writers. You can find more about them at travisltate.com.