Tree of Fire

TREE OF FIRE Synopsis

When a Magnolia tree catches fire in an aged and ominous women’s prison, three female inmates forgotten and left to perish are jolted as their lives are threatened, into memories of their past that inform the truth of their souls and the urgent need to expose the inhumanity of the prison to the world.

We are so incredibly happy to announce there will be a Staged Reading of TREE OF FIRE on Thursday April 11, 2013 at Occidental College in honor of their Incarceration Awareness Week.

We have our cast for the March 2013 production at Inner City Arts' The Rosenthal Theater! TREE OF FIRE has the most phenomenal cast we could have dreamed of!

Romi Dias

Miriam F. Glover

Julanne Chidi Hill

Lizzie Peet

Hansford Prince

TREE OF FIRE: On the Move and in Production!

Our staged reading on Sunday, October 14, 2012 at Inner City Arts' Rosenthal Theater was a truly extraordinary evening. The actors were on fire, the audience was electric, and the wonderful staff of Inner City Arts were present including Dolores Chavez, Theater Director and Joseph Collins, CEO.

We now move into full production mode and are using the crowdfunding agent IndieGoGo to help reach our production budget. We need over $30,000 to bring this play to life, moving all those who experience it. We are asking for $10,000 as a base start to get us going. We are excited to open up an amazing opportunity for you to be a direct part of bringing this story to life. We offer a powerful play and some incredible rewards for your support of “Tree of Fire.”

The Impact

This project is extremely valuable to you and to the world. By helping bring this story to life, you are directly contributing to the critical conversation of The Prison Industrial Complex. Never before in history, here in the U.S. or in any other part of the world, have there been more incarcerated people. Many of these inmates are youth. Light needs to be brought to this emergency of mass incarceration. Tree of Fire does just that, using strong storytelling that weaves humor, magic and music to help tell the tale.

Click here to view video on TREE OF FIRE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2KNwGfhdN4c

The Roots and Wings Project has an extraordinary track record having sold-out our last site-specific play, A Record of Light, that ran in Los Angeles' treasured 18,000 sq. ft. cultural hub, The Last Bookstore in Fall 2011. We also sold-out the 99 artist Occupy This! event at the new Casa 0101 Theater in Boyle Heights in 2012. All of our events in support of Tree of Fire have garnished enormous support, drawing large audiences and stellar artists.

After a four-year journey, we are excited to see Tree of Fire bloom into full production allowing artists and audiences to experience the powerful transmutation this play offers.

The Roots and Wings Project Proudly Presents...

A Staged Reading and Fundraiser Launch of

TREE OF FIRE

A Play by Jesse Bliss Woods

Sunday October 14, 2012 @ 7 PM

Inner City Arts’ Rosenthal Theater

720 Kohler Street Los Angeles, CA 90021

FREE Admission

Please RSVP to therootsandwingsproject@gmail.com

Opening performance
by Fanny Franklin

Starring

Hansford Prince

Produced by Peter Woods & Jesse Bliss Woods

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HISTORY

Tree of Fire has a rich history with staged readings, excerpt performances and fund raisers at UCLA, Lincoln Heights Jail, Theatre of Note, and S.P.A.R.C. at the Old Jail in Venice. The play was written to be performed in abandoned prisons. We were challenged with the extreme bureaucracy that is housed in these site-specific venues. The Roots and Wings Project realized the story was being held back. In order to get it told, a collective decision was made to find a new kind home for the play.

OPENING

We are proud to announce Tree of Fire is opening for a full run January 11, 2013 at Inner City Arts’ Rosenthal Theater in Downtown Los Angeles.

TREE OF FIRE by Jesse Bliss

Excerpt Reading @ S.P.A.R.C. @ The Old Jail in Venice - April 2, 2011

Starring

Miriam Glover & Jacques C. Smith

Excerpt Performance @ Theatre of Note

Starring

Dawn Greenidge and Victor Dickerson

Staged Reading @ Lincoln Heights Jail

starring

*Chastity Dotson
Dawn Greenidge
*Monica Sanchez
*Hansford Prince
*Lizzie Peet

William Vasquez

*Appeared Courtesy Actor's Equity Association

With a Featured Performance by Fanny Franklin

Song title: "Electric Seed"

written by

Jesse Bliss and Fanny Franklin

(Featured on The Roots and Wings Project Homepage)

(c) BMI 2010

Excerpt Performance @ Theatre of Note

Starring

Dawn Greenidge and Victor Dickerson