About the Series:

Braata Productions team of collaborating research-writers have used true stories as the catalyst for an original series of plays: “Caribbean in Queens: a Borough, a People, a Vibe, in a Time of COVID 19.” The characters and situations we bring to life in each radio play will focus on a different Caribbean-American household, how they are threaded together by living in a 21st America. How people play and work, cook and clean, assimilate or not, raise children, practice religious beliefs, rituals and rites: marriage and intimacy, birth and death. How people struggle, fight, and reconcile, are all here in these five plays for audiences to experience.

 

The podcast was supported in part by the Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation. Any findings, opinions, or conclusions contained herein are not necessarily those of the funders. Support this podcast:

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Show #2 : “WILL WE MAKE IT?”

Written by Nyanda Cammock

Directed by Teisha Duncan

 

Featured Voices:

KATRINA: Lydia Eku

MERYL : Julene Robinson

TONEY : Michael Sean Harris

LOCAL NEWS REPORTER : Teisha Duncan

Music & Production by Joel Edwards

Music Composition by Mijanne Webster

Narration by Julene Robinson 

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Episode 1:  A Jamaican-American in London… and COVID hits!

 

Katrina Holgate is away from her home in Queens, NY working in London; this is her first time being so far away, which at times takes its toll as she is very close with her Jamaican parents: Meryl and Toney Holgate. While in London, there is an outbreak of the Coronavirus. Katrina and a male coworker find themselves stuck in London after being left behind out of a group of seven people. The race is on to make it home in time before the lockdown starts in London. Will they be able to make it?   

Episode 2: Far from Queens, keeping together when being kept apart

 

Katrina and her co-worker are still trying to make it back to the United States from London; this is proving more difficult than expected. Back in Queens her parents, Meryl and Toney, are praying for her safe return. With the Coronavirus on the rise across the world, it is stressful for this Jamaican family to be apart at such a crucial time and it is also taking its toll individually. Will the world make it through Covid19?

Episode 3: Homecoming, but coming home looks different in a pandemic

 

The lockdown. After returning to Queens from London, Katrina finds herself in a precarious position as her return has prompted a different emotion from what both she and her parents expected. To cope, Katrina is doing what she feels is best for her: therapy. For old-fashioned Jamaican father Toney, therapy isn’t his first option for his daughter. As Meryl tries to keep the peace, a lot is exposed when an argument erupts between father and daughter. Will the family make it through quarantine closer or will they be ripped apart?

Show #1 : FLOR

In a time where Social Media and Zoom are the only thing keeping us connected, Flor Aponte has decided she will bloom again. How? Pues, the only way a Boricua knows how, pa'lante. Flor is an audio diary of a Puerto Rican family's hustle as they navigate a doomed world and find ways to become the better out of it.

 

CREATIVE TEAM 

Directed by Gineiris Garcia 

Inspired by Interviews with Rosa Mendez 

Voice Actors:

FLOR: Jessica Carmona

VALENTINA: Jennica Carmona

DJ/CHEO: Leonardo Gonzalez Dominguez

HECTOR: Cedric Leiba Jr. 

TITO/ROB: Rigoberto Vindiola 

MARIANNA/ENSEMBLE: Michelle Reiss

 

Assistants: Leonardo Gonzalez Dominguez and Rigoberto Vindiola 

Episode 1: Meeting Flor & her family

As she starts to enjoy life again, the whole world shuts down, leaving Flor without her groove back, and worse, without her Karaoke. What does a recently retired Puerto Rican woman do when everything seems to keep changing on her?

Episode 2: The weight of the pandemic and the BLM protests set in...

After helping his mother Flor find purpose, Hector finds himself in the midst of a cultural awakening he doesn't understand. Questions about culture, love, and communication plague him as a promotion in his job looms and the world gets angrier.

Episode 3: In the final episode of ‘Flor’ it’s an unexpected family member who turns things around.

Tito was always the simple boy. The family man. The working class hero, until his jobs dry up, and the world took all his plans away. So what did he do? Become a Tik Tok Star!