Review Fix Exclusive: Michael Hagins Talks ‘A Shot Rang Out’ And More

Review Fix chats with playwright Michael Hagins about his newest work and more.

About Michael Hagins:

Michael Hagins, an African-American playwright, director, fight director, actor, and producer, has used the racism and prejudice he dealt with at an early age to fuel his writing, since age 9. When not writing about injustice, Michael has lent his name to over 1,000 plays and films over his artistic career. An avid lover of Shakespeare, Michaels boasts having done every play in the Canon.

Hagins has two productions preparing for June runs:

WORLD PREMIERE: A Shot Rang Out

Thursday, June 23 @ 8:00 pm; Theatre Row Studios (Theatre 2) , NYC

Produced in association with the Downtown Urban Arts Festival

A white police officer is trapped in a warehouse during an increasingly violent protest with a scared Black teen and a disgruntled schoolteacher.

SPECIAL ENCORE PERFORMANCE: S.U.N. in the U.S.A.

Saturday, June 25, @ 2 pm at Theatre Row Studios (Theatre 4), NYC

Michael Hagins’ unapologetic envelope-pushing history of how white voices have been speaking for black people since the dawn of our nation and the damage silence has caused a community.

Stephanie Cox-Connelly returns as director along with Duane Ferguson, who created the role of BLACK in the original production. They are joined by Alexandra Doering-Dorival, Gigi Principe, Michael Pichardo, Jeremy Goren, Michael Joseph Whitten, Tiffany Knight, Beth Griffith, Mary Sheridan, Alaina Hammond, Kofi Mills, and Tucker Dally Johnston

S.U.N. in the U.S.A. is a story that looks at history through the eyes of an African-American known as BLACK, who is “kindly” reminded just how good he has it in his time in the United States of America-from the beginning of African slavery to today’s culture.

Production stage managed by Stage managed by Sara Minisquero and Adam Sherwin; with costume design by Ellie Raab

THEATRE ROW THEATRES AND STUDIOS ARE LOCATED AT 420 WEST 42ND STREET, NYC

Michael Hagins credentials include: Off-Broadway: The Long Rail North (Soho Rep, FringeNYC); Basement (Roly Poly Productions); Michael is Black and The Renaissance Dueling Plays (Planet Connections Theatre Festivity); The Vengeance Room (FRIGID Festival). Regional credits include Hit and Match (Chicago Fringe, Johannesburg Fringe). Awards include Outstanding Playwriting – Hit and Match, 2013; Outstanding Overall Production of a Solo Show – Michael is Black; Winner of Best Playwriting, Best Director and Best Overall Production of NEPTA Awards for As You Wish It or The Bride Princess or What You Will, 2020; Winner – Best Play and Best Streaming Play, Off-Broadway Regional Awards – Hawai’i for A Shot Rang Out. Artistic Director, C.A.G.E. Theatre Company, 2021. Member, Dramatists Guild and an Advanced Actor-Combatant for the Society of American Fight Directors.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like? 

Michael Hagins: I have an idea for a piece, and I just HAVE to finish.  I sit down and make myself finish it to give me time to revise and edit as needed.  Once done, I get friends of mine to help me by reading it out loud.  Only then will I know that it has a chance of working.  I need to hear it flow before I want to go further.

Review Fix: What makes this different or special? 

Hagins: Both of these plays were responses to violence against African-Americans.  A Shot Rang Out was written as a response to Michael Brown, while S.U.N. in the U.S.A. was written in response to George Floyd.  I want these plays to be heard and make people think about the choices they’ve made and their perceptions changed at least enough to understand the pain that comes from systemic racism.

Review Fix: What did you learn about yourself through this process? 

Hagins: That I do well better speaking my feelings through my plays.  I find ways to break through the trope of the “angry Black man” by creating work that doesn’t have one.  If you won’t listen to the “angry Black man,” maybe you’ll listen to the intelligent one.  Maybe you’ll listen to the quiet one.  Or maybe you’ll listen to your own people telling the story for the Black man.

Review Fix: What are your ultimate goals for this production and for the future?

Hagins: Well, the goal would be to let my plays be put up in a bigger setting like Broadway or even in some touring capacity.  I would want them to mean something in someone’s eyes someday.  I’ll temper my expectations, though: while A Shot Rang Out is a little short for some theaters, I don’t expect S.U.N. in the U.S.A. to be something that people will run to see again.  It’s a tough pill for many to take in.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Hagins: I’ll be directing Othello in the fall, I have a new musical about a cult that I finished, and I just finished a new political play about a Republican senator.  I’m hoping to keep having new ideas and find producers to help me not have to mount my own work anymore.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13821 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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