International playwright and actor Heather Raffo inaugurated the first season of new plays with a special interactive performance of her groundbreaking text. Nine Parts of Desire, published in 2006 and now translated into 7 languages, is a play about eight Iraqi women and one American woman at the center of two wars; a war for freedom and a war for historical and cultural identity. This evening of performance and open dialogue between audience and artist was designed for the first season of Cultural Conversations, and this event sparked rigorous discussions about the two wars with Iraq, religious and social issues that define the Iraqi and American people, and the differences between two diverse countries thrown into a cultural maelstrom.

Uncovering the “down low” practices of the African-American male homosexual, playwright Steve Broadnax offers a view of a specific culture that is rarely discussed within the African-American community and thus rarely visible to those outside of specific cultural circles. This extraordinary drama reveals not only a hidden culture within a community, but also reveals the hidden burdens that define secret lives.

When the lines between politics and truth become too dim to recognize, those who survive usually write history. In this political drama by playwright Susan Russell, two women battle for control over that which cannot be controlled, and the end result proves fatal for all.

In an age defined by various sightings such as Jesus on a potato chip, Saint Teresa on a rock-face, and a crying Virgin Mary in a church sanctuary, student playwright Ross Harris depicts a community where the sighting of Jesus in a plate of waffles leads to not only a Holy Diner, but also to the report of another Immaculate Conception. All religious philosophy aside, what if a beautiful hotel heiress decided to promote the “New Virgin Mary” for her own publicity purposes, and what if America took the bait? And…what if the second coming is real?