Hostos is all about supporting the arts, and student Shaquille Edwards has taken his opportunity and ran with it … all the way to the nation’s capital.
Edwards, who is 24 and from Harlem, penned a play that is headed for the national stage after winning the “10-Minute Plays at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival at the Region 1 Competition” held in early February at Western Connecticut State University. His play, "Fair Play," was created with the help of his Introduction to Theater Professor Natasha Yannacañedo. “Fair Play” is about a couple in their mid-20s arguing about the male character’s selfishness in the bedroom.
Angel Morales, Lecturer and Coordinator of Visual & Performing Arts at Hostos and the Director of the Repertory Company, accompanied Edwards and said the play “really came to life” thanks to a professional dramatic reading directed by Tim Gleason of Know Theater and acted by Kyla Gomez from La Guardia Community College and Sam Everette of Western Connecticut State University.
“I honestly never planned for any of this actually,” Edwards said. “I wrote the play as an assignment for one of my classes and Professor Yannacanedo was so impressed by it, she encouraged me to submit it to the festival and, lo and behold, I ended up winning.”
Edwards competed against five other plays from the region, all of which were submitted by senior college students. He will compete in the national leg of the competition in Washington, D.C. in April.