Prophesy by Karl Hinze, running 7/9 @ 8pm, 7/13 @ 6:30 pm, 7/15 @ 7 pm is another world premiere brought to you by the Fresh Fruit Festival at The Wild Project, 195 East 3rd Street

Mark, Finn, and Joe are juniors at Holy Apostle High, where religion class is not quite as interesting as their various crushes on teachers and each other. But there are deeper secrets bubbling under the surface, and when the boys learn about Catholic Mystics, Mark wonders if that might explain the strange things he’s been seeing and hearing… A show for anyone who has had a crush on a teacher, questioned the existence of God, or survived high school (preferably with soul intact).

The 16th Season of the Fresh Fruit Festival promises to be a great one and already began at the top of the year! Powerful nights of staged readings, discussions, and poetry events have been added to All-Out Arts’ Festival of works celebrating the diversity of the LGBTQ Community through live performance. All tickets $18 unless otherwise stated and available at OvationTix https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/527

We spoke with Karl Hinze, playwright of PROPHESY, about God-knows-what! 

Bare your soul, my son. Tell us about yourself as an artist

My background is as a musical theatre composer, but for the past several years I’ve been stretching new muscles as a playwright, and this production of Prophesy is my play-writing debut.

OK… Confess! Share with us a little something about your play that we WON’T see in the press release.

Prophesy is set in a Catholic all-boys high school and we’ve got four amazing men in the cast, but in several workshops I’ve had all the roles read by women, which was also fantastic. I hope to eventually do an all-female production!

Interesting. That’s leads me to ask… How does your play resonate today? Feel free to be blunt. 

High school, adolescent sexuality, and religion: almost all of us have had to survive at least one of these things, and many of us grappled with all three! Anyone who has dealt with the challenges of coming out, growing up (at any age), or questions of faith will find something to relate to in Prophesy.

Do you think Fresh Fruit Festival is the proper pulpit?   

Part of Prophesy deals with the experience of being gay in America, and how quickly some things are changing while some things aren’t. The teacher and student characters in this play have had very different experiences of coming out, despite being only a few years apart in age. I’m thrilled to present Prophesy in celebration of LGBTQ arts, as I know it will have a savvy audience keen for a close-up look at this issue.

Savvy audience. I like that. Where do you see it going in the future? How high shall it fly?   

Who knows? But I’m excited to see! This is the world premiere of Prophesy, the first time we’re getting the play on its feet, and I know that seeing it alongside the Fresh Fruit Festival audience will be a great learning experience that will hopefully lead to future development of the play.

Last Rites -er- thoughts? 

This is an insane time to try to make art in America; it’s never been more difficult nor more vital. Whether it’s holding up a mirror, lending a hand, or offering a brief respite, theatre can give us the strength and comfort to face the world we’re in. So, that’s my pitch—take 90min out of your lives and come see a play!