In the second and final episode of our special two-part “Cycle of Poverty” series, enjoy a “first listen” of two in-development plays from our Commission Fellowship Program. Sage Martin & DeLane McDuffie read from their new plays which explore poverty and homelessness through BIPOC perspectives. Followed by a conversation moderated by L. Trey Wilson.

Click below for more info about our Commission Fellowship Program!

This Month

• Sage & DeLane discuss the development of their “Cycle of Poverty” plays. 

• DeLane chats about how he likes to hear his plays and screenplays read aloud.

• Sage admits her love for feedback during the writing process, especially from people who don’t work in theatre and non-writers. 

• DeLane & Sage talk about how they discovered their perfectly-fitted play titles. 

• Sage laments the prevalence of poverty in the South and how it is often the brunt of jokes.

• DeLane explains how the characters in his play are not “good” people and will do anything to stay out of poverty.

• Sage discusses how deeply the “cycle of poverty” upsets her because the U.S. has the wealth and resources to solve it.

• DeLane discusses how the “cycle of poverty” has more to do with the people who can do something about it, not the people in poverty. 

• Sage reveals her love for folklore in the U.S. and the South.

• DeLane confesses his reverence for the rich language from the ‘30s & ‘40s.

• Sage chats about how she started to write stories for fat women because she had never been able to play a fat woman on stage. 

• DeLane chats about how he loves to write stories from fresh perspectives that he has never seen on stage or in film and TV.

Pieces Read

Pieces Read

• Excerpt from, MINE by Sage Martin, an Appalachian ghost story about grief, greed, and getting even, told through the perspectives of a mining family. 

• Excerpt from, FOLLOW THE LADY by DeLane McDuffie, which follows a seasoned grifter who must choose between scamming or saving her people.

Sage Martin (She/Her/Mx) is an actor and writer devoted to human rights, southern folklore, and ghost stories. She is a proud graduate of Paul McCartney’s Institute for Performing Arts (Liverpool, UK), performed at the Sam Wanamaker Festival (The Globe, London), and recently joined the Radical Hospitality Team at Actor's Theater of Louisville. She has had the distinct honors of presenting at the StateraArts National Conference, testifying in Washington D.C. for survivors of abuse, and speaking on tour with Senator Bernie Sanders. Sage's work is fueled by very late nights, MoonPies, and the people she is fortunate enough, tasked, and blessed to know.  www.Sage-Martin.com

DeLane McDuffie is a Southern-bred, cornbread-fed, LA-based playwright, screenwriter, and poet. His play The Inaugural was part of Lower Depth's BIPOC Voting Plays in 2020. Other plays include Amy & Neil, Cop & Fiske, For the Love of God, Monomachia, Granddaddy Long Legs, and Mascot Race War. His work has been produced by Towne Street Theatre, showcased at the Fade to Black Play Festival in Houston, and selected for production by Seoul Players in Seoul, South Korea. He earned BA English and MFA Film degrees from Morehouse College and the University of Miami, respectively, and attended Royal Holloway, University of London.