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Marcus Scott

Marcus Scott is a New York City-based playwright, musical writer, opera librettist, and journalist. He has contributed to Time Out New York, American Theatre, Elle, Essence, Out, Uptown, Trace, Hello Beautiful, Madame Noire, and Playbill, among other publications.

“We Can’t Lose the Funk”: Roger Q. Mason’s Mission to Protect Black TGNC Playwrights When Commercial Theaters Come Calling

By Marcus Scott

Playwright Roger Q. Mason, with the National Queer Theater and the Dramatists Guild, has started the revolutionary New Visions Fellowship, which uplifts and supports Black TGNC playwrights in umpteen ways. As these historically underrepresented playwrights slowly gain commercial appeal, Mason toggles two truths: these vital works are commercially viable, and yet they must also be shared in a way that does not dull their craft, queerness, and jagged edges.

Roger Q. Mason. Photo: Abdullah Helwani.

NEW Black Mutual Aid Carves a Path for What Support Can Be in a Revolution

By Marcus Scott

The brainchild of activist Nzinga Williams, NEW Black Mutual Aid Fund (NBMA) strives “to create the safety net and financial support for Black Theater Professionals through a time of revolution and pandemic,” per the Google doc Williams created where Black theatre folx can privately request funds.1 Those funds support everything from protest supplies, bail, and lawyer fees (for protesters) to dinner, rent support, plant care, and more.

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DEC 22–JAN 23

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