This year’s featured artists and works include Paper Amor by Obie Award winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Eisa Davis; the award-winning Ashes Under Gait City by Christina Anderson; Schwartz Germacht or Klaus Finds His Blackness by Alexander Thomas; Bars and Measures by Idris Goodwin; America's Favorite Pastime by the 2015 Atlantic Theater Launch Commission recipient Dennis A. Allen II; and River See/Theatrical Jazz and Aesthetic Scholarship presented by Sharon Bridgforth and Omi Osun Joni L. Jones.

Below is a detailed calendar of events:

March 16, New Topics in Blackness (The New Civil Rights)
A moderated panel discussion with Kevin Powell, Keli Goff, Dominique Morissea and Frank Leon Roberts.

March 17, River See/Theatrical Jazz and Aesthetic Scholarship by Sharon Bridgforth and Omi Osun Joni L. Jones
A blend of conversation, improvisational performance and scripted text by theatrical jazz artists Sharon Bridgforth and Omi Osun Joni L. Jones. An exploration of theatrical jazz that considers how race, gender and class play important roles in creating a form that speaks to social, artistic and sexual transgressions, and freedom of expression.

March 18, Paper Amor by Eisa Davis
Davis' new work is a piece of historically inspired speculative fiction exploring the relationship between Langston Hughes and Zora Neal Hurston, whose collaborative writing effort, Mule Bone, destroyed their friendship. March 19, Schwartz Germacht or Klaus Finds His Blackness by Alexander Thomas
Set in 1938 in Berlin, the play is centered on an Afro-German actor and his encounter with an African-American musician and activist that leads to questions about identity and the treatment of people of color both in Germany and in the United States.

March 20, America's Favorite Pastime by Dennis A. Allen II
Adored by many, Emmanuel Prince is a black civil rights activist and popular author in the public eye. His secret sexual addiction threatens to destroy his life and career in a play that explores race, identity, fetishes and shame.

March 21, Bars and Measures by Idris Goodwin
The fascinating tale of two brothers, one a classical pianist, the other a jazz bassist. Despite being divided by religion and separated by prison bars, they try to reconcile through their love of music.
 

March 22, Ashes Under Gait City by Christina Anderson
Popular online guru, Simone The Believer, exits the virtual and enters the real world in order to reclaim "Black mecca" in Gait City, exploring Oregon's complicated history of displacing its Black residents.

Talkbacks will follow each reading. All events are free and open to the public; reservations are required and can be made by visiting Thenewblackfest.org/ for more information.