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“This play helps parents who struggle with forgiveness, and this play helps young people understand the importance of family, education and making good choices”. - Kenyatt M. Godbolt, author of A House Is Not a Home
updated 6.15.22
Don't miss the 2022 Playwright's Festival Staged Readings on Saturday, April 30th at 2:00pm at the Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts! The winner will have their play produced as part of the 2022-2023 at the Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts! This event is free & open to the public!
We recently announced the semi-finalists for the second annual Playwrights Festival, a collaboration between The Matthews Playhouse and the African American Playwrights Group (AAPG). Now in its second year, the Playwrights Festival is an initiative to promote Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Matthews as well as the Charlotte Theatre community by highlighting original works by Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC). In this post, we’re spotlighting Playwright’s Festival semi-finalist and author of A House is Not a Home, Kenyatt M. Godbolt, a proud member of AAPG.
A House is Not a Home, an original piece that explores the dynamics between father and son, was one of the plays selected by our panel of judges to be featured in the staged reading portion of the competition later this month. The story takes place in New York in the late 1990s and addresses the consequences of divorce, hip-hop culture and recognizing the recognizable. According to the U.S. Bureau of Census, the divorce rate is higher among Blacks than other Americans. In the 1990s, the divorce ratio was 28.2 divorces per 100 marriages among Blacks, compared to 13 per 100 marriages for Whites (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1991).
“This fact of life for Blacks in America causes many of us to remain single and/or become single parents. It causes many of our children to struggle at school,” says Godbolt. “It causes too many of our children to engage in criminal activity. This play helps parents who struggle with forgiveness, and this play helps young people understand the importance of family, education and making good choices”.
Kenyatt M. Godbolt, M.S., CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and owner of Godbolt Consultants, PLLC. Godbolt Consultants, PLLC provides speech and language services for children with communication delays in Rowan and Cabarrus counties. Kenyatt currently resides in Concord, NC with his wife, Crystal, and two children, Samira and Kenyatt (KJ). Godbolt is also the author of Kings Without a Queen, his first stage play and semi-finalist in our 2021 Playwright’s Festival.
You can get a sneak peek of A House is Not a Home and our other 2 finalists by watching a 20-minute "preview" version that will be rehearsed and performed as a staged reading in front of an audience and a new panel of judges on Saturday, April 30th at 2:00pm at the Matthews Playhouse of the Performing Arts. The judges will score the staged readings, and the play that receives the highest score from the panel will be incorporated into the 2022-23 Matthews Playhouse season and produced as a full length show in August 2022. The event is free and open to the public.
The African American Playwrights Group, founded by Vickie Evans, is a collaboration of African-American playwrights, whose mission is to produce quality and excellent theater works in our communities and abroad. It is a privilege to incorporate the Playwrights Festival into our season and establish new relationships with community members.
Content Advisory: These performances contain mature themes and situations, adult language (including profanity) and the use of a racial slur.