MIXED MAGIC THEATRE PRODUCES TWO ZORA NEALE HURSTON SHORT STORIES ADAPTED FOR BACK TO BACK PERFORMANCES

SWEAT and THE GILDED SIX BITS By ZORA NEALE HURSTON
ADAPTED & DIRECTED By RICARDO PITTS-WILEY

Mixed Magic Theatre (MMT) is thrilled to present Pell Award Winner Ricardo Pitts-Wiley’s adaptation of “Sweat” and “The Gilded Six Bits”, two short stories by Zora Neale Hurston, the celebrated author of “Their Eyes Were Watching God “. Raised in Eatonville, Florida the first all black town to incorporate in the United States, Hurston’s first love was African American folklore. She was an American folklorist, anthropologist ,novelist, ethnographer, and short story writer . Hurston is considered one of the pre-eminent writers of twentieth century African- American literature. She was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance and has influenced such prominent writers as Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, Gayle Jones , Alice Walker, and Toni Cade Bambara. In 1975, Ms. Magazine published Alice Walker’s essay, “In Search of Zora Neale Hurston ” reviving interest in the author. Hurston’s four novels and two books of folklore resulted from extensive anthropological research and have proven invaluable sources on the oral cultures of African America. Through her writings, Robert Hemenway wrote in The Harlem Renaissance Remembered, Hurston” helped to remind the Renaissance – especially its more bourgeois members – of the richness in racial heritage.”