REYNALDO PINIELLA

BLACK AND BLUE

Written and performed by Reynaldo Piniella

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Black and Blue tells the story of a light-skinned, biracial Black and Latino boy who likes to listen to the Backstreet Boys, wear hot pink and cry during feel good movies like “Air Bud.” But society doesn’t like it when our Black men show vulnerability, and this sensitive boy learns to bottle up his feelings and internalize his trauma. By tapping into the power of our ancestors, we find that their music, movement and meditations propel us collectively forward. The audience will be asked to find their own path to healing and what in their life they need to let go. And we end with a big ol’ dance party of course. We jam out to Britney Spears’ seminal album “Oops!... I Did It Again” and our biracial boy realizes that there’s no one way to be Black. Like the Backstreet Boys album, it’s ok to be Black and feel Blue.

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REYNALDO PINIELLA (Playwright/Performer) is an actor, writer and educator from East New York, Brooklyn. As an actor, he’s been seen on Broadway in Trouble in Mind and Thoughts of a Colored Man, and Off-Broadway at Signature, TFANA, Rattlestick, the Public and NYTW. His play Black Doves won the Thomas Barbour Award for Playwriting. He’s an alum of the Civilians R&D Group and has received fellowships from TCG, Weeksville Heritage Center and the All Stars Project. His work has been commissioned and developed by Baltimore Center Stage, the Public Theater’s Shakespeare Initiative, HB Studio, Single Carrot Theater, Shakesqueer Theater Company and Pioneer Theater Guild. reynaldopiniella.com