Next Monday at 6:30 p.m. at the Strand, Dorchester theatre artists and their greater Boston colleagues will present a free staged reading of “A Soldier’s Play,” Charles Fuller’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about the murder of a black sergeant in segregated WWII barracks.

The event is part of the 3rd annual 1VOICE! 1PLAY! 1DAY! Project in which over two dozen theatres in Project1VOICE network will all do readings of this powerful mystery drama on the same day. Participating companies include ones in Sarasota, FL; Seattle, WA; Los Angeles, CA and this year for the first time internationally, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

The reading is locally sponsored by the Boston Black Theatre Collective of the William Monroe Trotter Institute at UMass Boston.

The main character Capt. Davenport (played by Howard E. Rollins. Jr in the screen version) is being read by a Dorchester resident named Davenport — Johnny Lee Davenport. Other Dot cast members include Norton-award winner Ricardo Engerman and James Milord.

The director Akiba Abaka, Grove Hall resident and founder of Up You Mighty Race theater company, explains why she took the job of directing “A Soldier’s Play.”

“I was attracted to the impact and relevance of the violent self-destructive behavior portrayed in the play because it addresses an issue very prevalent among black men,” Abaka explained.

Reserve a seat by contacting yvonne.gomes-santos@umb.edu or 617-287-5880. Or just show up at the Strand next Monday for the 6:30 curtain.

Dotart’s Snazzy Jazzy Arty Party
Next Thursday June 20th from 6:30 - 9:30p.m., Dotart will hold its eighth annual fundraiser at the First Parish Church on Meetinghouse Hill. Guests can bid on art by dozens of artists - savor hors d’oeurves, antipasto and an amazing raw bar from Cape Tip Seafood - sip a pear-flavored Dot-tini cocktail or cold local beer. They can enjoy live jazz while bidding during the silent auction on pieces by Dorchester artists including Sue Bright, Judy Brassard Brown, Pat Burson, Madelyn Carney, Vincent Crotty, and Jim Hobin.

Also up for bids are portrait sessions by Savin Hill’s Liz Carney, painter and Dotart executive director, or by Ashmont photographer Marie Zemler Wu.

Patrons can also vie for a signed first edition of “Dorchester Days” by Eugene Richards, Sister Corita Kent art, Dorchester pottery, and gift certificates to local eateries and bars like the Ledge and Savin Bar & Grill.

Dot natives and rising jazz stars Chris Middleton and Grace Carney were so well received at last year’s Snazzy Jazzy Art Party that they’ve been invited back this year to entertain throughout the evening.
Tickets are $50 ($25 for parents of local Dot Art students, and $35 for young professionals). Dot Art creates art programs for children 3 - 10 from Dorchester and the surrounding neighborhoods through classes, school partnerships and workshops! Get your tickets by calling 617-905-7432 or emailing snazzy@dotart.org