A red carpet premiere of the Kansas City, Kan., produced web series “STRAWS” will be held Saturday, June 30.
An acronym for “Sticking Through Tough and Worst Situations,” the web series has been created by Say I Am Productions founded by MaRie Hinson, an Admissions Specialist at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
The red carpet premiere will be held at 3:30 p.m. June 30 at the Just Off Broadway Theater at 3051 Central in Kansas City, Mo., and will include a reception with food, music and a special guest artist and host following the premiere.
A kickoff to raise $10,000 for Say I Am Productions, it’s also partnered with the Bria T. Chisholm Foundation to find bone marrow donors.
“The premiere is free but guests must RSVP and semi-formal attire is required,” says Hinson. Advanced registration can be completed by phone at 913-744-0448; by e-mail to sayiamproductions@yahoo.com; or on-line at http://wix.com/sayiamproductions/say-i-am-productions.
Hinson, who goes by the stage name Rie Hinson-Norman, and Craig Donnell Jr. will star in the productions. Both are natives of Kansas City, Kan., and many of the show locations are in KCK.
“A quest for the perfect relationship is like playing a game of Straws,” says Hinson. “The outcome is never predictable but always welcome. In any relationship in life you will have some straws, some of which will make you laugh, others that make you cry. What you do with those straws makes the difference.”
Starring as Seth and Dana, Donnell and Hinson portray two young Black Christian college students through a ‘fly on the wall’ perspective. While they have it all together, it’s the people around them who cause Seth and Dana grief in their relationship. It’s a love story that starts at childhood and evolves into adulthood.
The web series was birthed from another Say I Am Productions, the play “I Have Decided,” written and produced by Hinson and performed at the Gem Theatre last August and the KCKCC Performing Arts Center in November.
Say I Am Productions is partnering in the premiere with the Bria T. Chisholm Foundation, a non-profit organization with a mission of finding bone marrow donors. Additional information can be found on-line at www.briatchism.org.
