Francisca Da Silveira
all plays can i touch it? not-for-profit the volcano series
Francisca Da Silveira
playwright & tv writer

 francisca’s plays

“This playwright has arrived.”
— The Boston Globe (full review)

“It’s so exciting to see a local woman bringing something special to the community.”
— Pebbles, Hot 96.9 Boston

can i touch it?

Shay is many things — a business owner, a single mom, a community leader — but there’s one thing she’s definitely not: a pawn in Patron Bank’s efforts to buy up foreclosed real estate in the heart of Boston’s black community. At risk of losing her own store to the bank, she is forced to choose between a personal fight for her family’s livelihood and a moral fight against gentrification. When pushed to her limits, Shay finds herself in the fantastical peaceful place where women of color have to recede into when they get asked stupid ass questions. Using devices like double casting through onstage wig changes, can i touch it? examines themes of black hair politics, social exclusion and the racial inequity black owned businesses face every day.

“The theatrical take-down of the non-profit industrial complex you didn't know you needed!”
— Ramona Rose King, New Play Exchange

not-for-profit (or the equity, diversity, and inclusion play)

When offered a fancy promotion over her more experienced coworker, Nadine is left at a morally conflicting crossroads. All around her, hell begins to break lose at RiseUP, an education nonprofit that matches urban youth of color with inspiring mentors from the world of business. A scandal involving a student breaks, and Nadine discovers that RiseUP isn’t as worthy and wholesome as it pretends to be. not-for-profit (or the equity, diversity and inclusion play) tackles the dichotomy of policy vs. practice and investigates what is really at the core of toxic, microaggressive workplace environments.

 

the volcano series

 
 

pay no worship

Born and raised on Fogo, a tiny African Island, cousins Martin and Jose live at the base of a giant volcano and struggle to make a living in the precarious wine industry that has been the main source of their family's income for generations. While one refuses to give up on tradition and is content to continue living a simplistic rural life, the other longs for a visa to America in order to pursue a higher education. Both dreams and volcanoes are at risk of erupting as the cousins fight for opportunity, understanding, and their lives when a tropical storm headed toward the island threatens to destroy everything they know.

“This play brings necessary attention to the countries and small islands that are most impacted by climate change, which is largely driven by the global north.”
— Broadstreet Review (full review)

“Extraordinary. . . its emotional impact is profound and its message is as essential as the Earth itself.”
— Talkin’ Broadway (full review)

minor·ity

Diaspora Now!, an international African arts conference, is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee in Paris and the panel line-up this year is sure to cause a stir. Newcomer Sami Monroe, a go-getting directing prodigy from America, joins jaded veteran painter Céza Depina and formerly banned storyteller, Cheikh Malick Diallo. As they prepare for each panel discussion, generational and cultural differences lead to clashes and a fierce competition emerges between the three artists. In a world plagued with scarcity, minor•ity is a powerful 3-hander that interrogates Black identity, the plurality of the African diaspora, and what it means to be a sought-after artist of color.

the merry wives of grenoble

With the arrival of newcomer Jesuína, the Count now has a wife for every day of the week! But her rebellious personality causes dissent among the other wives, shaking up their routine and causing some to finally see the inequity of this unorthodox polygamous marriage. And when Jesuína makes a bold proposal to the other women-kill the Count and flee the Cape Verde islands to enjoy his rich estate in his native France-each woman is forced to reevaluate their relationship to one another, to themselves, and to their home.