Free Streaming Video Performance will Remain Online Leading Up to and Throughout the Election

I ELECT: Power Every Four Years premieres Saturday, Oct. 17th as a free live-stream on YouTube Live. It will then continue to remain free online for viewers, leading up to the election and afterwards.

This is a filmed version of the one-act, one-woman electrifying performance by Carey Brianna Hart about the personal power of voting, women’s rights, and anti-racism. Written by Bill Spring.

BELLA’S STORY . . .

In the grip of the 2020 pandemic, just days before the presidential election, a woman in Miami recalls her shock four years ago on election night 2016, with renewed feelings of dread about this time around.

The recollection of that blistering night as she watched those fateful election results sparks a memory that shatters her nerves ‒ as we witness her working her way through to a revelation of personal power.

I Elect: Power Every Four Years is a one-act, one woman show written by Bill Spring. The role of Bella is brilliantly performed by Carey Brianna Hart, who delivers a tour de force monologue. Ricky J. Martinez directed the film version of this project. Produced by Jose Lima. The Director of Photography is Dennise Perez. Location assistance provided by Locust Projects. Viewers say they have to step back from their screens ‒ in a good way ‒ when watching this performance by Carey Brianna Hart.

Especially when the character of Bella realizes that although the power of the people has been chipped away at on so many fronts these past four years, each of us still has the power to elect.

Bella stands at a precipice — things in America are definitely not “great again.”

In what feels like the blink of an eye, we watch her claw her way out of the mess of the past four years and the agony of 2020 as she rings a Buddhist bell. Her bell of truth is a talisman from her deceased husband, and a clarion call to vote.

BENEFITS YOUTH VOTER TURNOUT

The creators encourage viewers to donate to Engage.Miami  — the organization that helps to build political power by and for young people, ages 18-22.

Engage.Miami takes down barriers and build bridges to equitable civic leadership through voter registration, civic education, and organizing campaigns on the issues that matter to young people in Miami.

The organization has engaged and educated tens of thousands of young people about the importance of local and national elections and the impact that young voters can make ̶ engage.miami/donate. Starring Carey Brianna Hart Carey Brianna Hart “My mother was jailed in the 1960s for registering individuals to vote,” says Carey Brianna Hart. “So many people have fought, struggled and died to have this right to affect our government ̶ it should not be taken for granted.”  Born in Miami, she graduated from the New World School of the Arts. She has a BFA in Theatrical Studies from the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University in Chicago. She has been a major presence in South Florida theater, including: the African American Performing Arts Community Theatre, Area Stage, GableStage, M Ensemble Theatre Company, Mad Cat New Theatre, Thinking Cap Theatre, the Vinnette Carroll Theatre and the Women’s Theatre Project, among many others. She has worked with the Afro-Academic Cultural Technological & Scientific Olympics, mentoring students in Drama, Playwriting, Oratory and Poetry. Carey has coached numerous students who have become NAACP National ACT-SO Medalists. She is also the author of Dust Tracks, a one woman show of Zora Neale Hurston. Directed by Ricky J. Martinez Ricky J. Martinez “This work is woke! A clear ring of authenticity and activism, for us to get back on point,” says Ricky J. Martinez. The award-winning Director and published playwright has been invited to direct for the Kennedy Center’s American College Theater Festival’s the MFA Playwrights’ Workshop; Stanford University’s National Center for New Plays; James Madison University and the Forbes Center; the Words A-fire festival in New Mexico; and other organizations across the country. His collaborations with playwrights on more than fifty world premiere plays have led to Pulitzer Prize finalists/wins and ATCA’s Steinberg finalists/wins. Awards include the 2016 Margo Jones Award, and the 2016 Remy Pioneer Award. He served as the Artistic Director for Miami’s New Theatre. Nationally, he served on the Executive Committee for the National New Play Network; the Advisory Board of the Latino Theatre Commons; as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts; the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation; the National Fund for New Musicals; and San Antonio’s Luminaria Festival. Written by Bill Spring Bill Spring “During these unprecedented times, artists have no choice but to create. That is what we do and artists are critical right now,” says Bill Spring. “There is enormous power in artists working together, offering the viewer a passageway, inspiration, and igniting our collective spirit. It doesn’t take much for evil to come crawling out of the woodwork, but the truth-seeking voice of Bella is not one to be silenced.”  Bill Spring is a writer and actor. His work has been featured nationally at various festivals including FUSE: the New York Celebration of Queer Culture at HERE Arts Center, and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.