There’s plenty of struggle in The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, from the physical takedowns to lead character Mace’s battle to achieve his wrestling dreams. But Miami New Drama added a real life twist by inviting two prominent Miami Beach figures into the story, the wrestling ring and the theater’s social media. Our strategy brought the Obie Award winning satire – and our work at the Colony Theater – to life in a new way.
City of Miami Beach commissioner Ricky Arriola and Howard Herring, president and CEO of the New World Symphony, both took up ‘challenges’ from actor Jamin Olivencia, the charismatically glowering cast member who was a real wrestler on the WWE. Olivencia called out both men in videos posted on Miami New Drama and the Colony Theater’s Facebook pages.
Arriola took it to the mat first, facing off with Olivencia in a post-show match on February 1st, where the athletic politician and arts advocate, in a cowboy hat and trailing an American flag, gave a convincing performance of beating up the comically intimidating actor.
The Herring confrontation went even further, incorporating arts messaging into the storyline. First the longtime leader of Miami Beach’s renowned orchestral academy responded to
Olivencia in his own comic clip (with a cello as a prop). The video of their match included Herring speaking up for Miami New Drama as a cultural force. “Everyone should really stop and think about what Miami New Drama is doing and how it’s going to lift this city,” Herring said.
Miami New Drama extended this strategy by staging wrestling demonstrations and mock matches on Lincoln Road, with Olivencia and actors Garrett Turner (who plays Chad Deity) and Pierre Jean Gonzalez (who plays Mace). Those interventions drew live audiences, while the videos attracted hundreds more on social media – one of many innovative ways that Miami New Drama is bringing theater into people’s lives.
