HartBeat Ensemble will present the fourth season of it's popular outdoor summer play series, "Plays In The Parks", this July in five Hartford parks.  Admission is free.

Emceed by Hartford's legendary poet MIRA, each "Plays In The Parks" performance consists of three short plays interspersed with performances by Hartford's best musicians and spoken word artists.  This year’s plays come from interviews conducted with residents in Connecticut who are faced with the shifting economy.  The series, called “The Economy Hits Home,” tells the stories of people in Greater Hartford who have had to confront issues of housing, job loss, job creation, rising energy costs, maintaining small businesses and much more.

This years performance schedule is:

July 11 - Elizabeth Park

July 12 - Sigourney Square

July 18 - Pope Park

July 19 - Goodwin Park

July 25 - Keney Park

Family activities begin at 4:30 and performances begin at 5:00pm. 

“We are bringing theater to audiences in the comfort of their home communities,” says HartBeat Ensemble co-founder Gregory Tate. The free summer theater series is a continuation of HartBeat’s mission to create plays about citizens of Greater Hartford.

  

HartBeat Ensemble co-founder Julia Rosenblatt says, “Outdoor theater must be provocative, relevant and broadly entertaining or else people will just wander away.” “We believe great humor comes with great truth,” adds HartBeat’s Steve Ginsburg. “Our park shows are family friendly and offer a wide range of theatrical styles.”

Emcee MIRA is inspired by poetry, spoken word and Hip Hop greats like Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, The Last Poets, Talib Kweli and Lauryn Hill. MIRA writes from the truth of what he sees in his community. He calls his works SOAPBOX Poetry because he envisions himself on the corner standing on a soapbox spitting his message to anyone who will listen like the great community activists of the sixties.