From 5 Plays To See In San Diego In October (KPBS feature): In a note in the event program, executive artistic director Matt Morrow wrote, "One night during the pandemic I woke up with these words resonating in my mind clear as a bell: 'one in two must be our first show back.' This is the west coast premiere of 2019's "one in two," by Donja R. Love, who identifies as an Afro-Queer playwright and filmmaker. The work is inspired by a 2017 CDC report that revealed one in every two Black gay or bisexual men would be diagnosed as HIV-positive. Directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, the cast is just three actors, Kevane La'Marr Coleman, Durwood Murray and Carter Piggee. The roles are identified only by their position on stage ("Person on Left," "Person in Middle," and "Person on Right"), and the play promises to be intimate and revelatory. This isn't just the return from the pandemic shutdown for Diversionary — it's also a debut of their newly renovated theater space. COVID information: Proof of vaccination required. Masks required in the theater. No unvaccinated guests, including children under the age of 12. For unvaccinated ticketholders, livestreams will be available. --Julia Dixon Evans, KPBS From the theater: one in two By Donja R. Love Directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg Produced in collaboration with Common Ground Theatre, this revolutionary new play echoes Diversionary’s founding 36 years ago in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by calling us in to raise awareness about how this epidemic relentlessly persists within our queer Black community. Three men wait. When one is chosen, the trio must embark on telling a story of life inside a long-ignored epidemic. With joy, humor, and unbridled truth, Donja Love’s urgent and spontaneous new work drills through the statistics to give voice to what it means to be black, queer, and HIV positive in a way only a live theatrical experience can deliver. September 23-October 24, 2021 Performances run Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. More information can be obtained by calling our box office at 619-220-0097.
