COMMUNITY NIGHT!

PLAYWRIGHTS Bring 10-15 pages of work

ACTORS: Bring yourselves to cold read

w/ Playwrights:

Joan Baker

Toccarra Cash

Garlia Cornelia Jones

Franz Reynold

Nathan Yungerberg
…and YOU…

*Plays from December’s Community Night will help schedule the 2012 season!*

PLAYWRIGHTS – Interested in being part of Blackboard’s 2012 season – submit your play!

ACTORS – RSVP to cold read on this fun night!

$10 Suggested Donation
~wine served~

RSVP: info@blackboardplays.com

RSVP/ Sumbissions: info@blackboardplays.com

www.blackboardplays.com

COMMUNITY EVENING!

PLAYWRIGHTS: Bring your Scripts

ACTORS: Bring Yourselves

RSVP/ Sumbissions: info@blackboardplays.com

www.blackboardplays.com

devoted to the Black Playwright

PLAYWRIGHTS BRING YOUR PLAYS

ACTORS BRING YOURSELVES

____________________________

$10 Suggested Donation

RSVP: info@blackboardplays.com

~Reading followed by 20 minute talk-back~

~Refreshments will be served~

www.blackboardplays.com

devoted to the Black Playwright

_____________________________________

Finding Harlem Dawn

Book, Concept, Lyrics by Ano Okera

Music by Billy White

Directed by Elyzabeth Gorman

With Harlem as its core, Finding Harlem Dawn is an exploration of intrigue, misfortune and love in a night’s journey. Textured in lyrical poetry, this modern day Shakespearean type story explores parallels from the past and present through dance and experimental jazz music.

Finding Harlem Dawn centers on four artists struggling to find love in their different yet interchangeable experiences. Langston Beaufort, the great-grand nephew of the famous Harlem Renaissance writer and poet Claude McKay, is a law school graduate on a quest to find his dream as installation artist and poet. Billy Perrier is a dancer in search of a new life in Harlem. Jelly wants to write his way out love and Moya wants to touch the man she loves with every song that she sings. As the lives of these beautiful artists entwine, glimpses of Claude McKay and his secret dream Juanita Love bear resonance to the mystery of Harlem. They soon discover that their dark moments are merely paths to new beginnings.

CAST

LANGSTON BEAUFORT- K’Yino Cunningham
BILLY PERRIER- Almerica Campbell
VINCENT ‘JELLY’ MARTIN- Kaolin Bass

MOYA WASHINGTON- McKenzie Frye

OLD CLAUDE McKAY- Chike Johnson
OLD JUANITA LOVE- Malkia Stampley-Johnson

GRANDMA/WHITE CHOCOLATE MUNROE and OTHERS- Emily Stockdale
DIAMOND/OTHERS- Harold Lewter

____________________________

$10 Suggested Donation

RSVP: info@blackboardplays.com

~Reading followed by 20 minute talk-back~

~Refreshments will be served~

www.blackboardplays.com

_____________________________

Ano Okera was born and raised in Jamaica with strong Rastafarian traditions. He knew at an early age that he was destined to be a singer, dancer and actor that inspires and did everything in his power to fulfill that dream. Sharing his talent is his purpose.

Since migrating to New York, Ano has appeared in the NBC series 30 Rock alongside Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan, the ABC series Going to Extremes, and the short film Where Truth Lies. Stage credits: ‘Angel‘ in the hit Broadway show RENT, Dreamgirls, Hello Dolly, West Side Story, All Shook Up, and a revival of Mama, I Want to Sing starring Melba Moore and Chuck Cooper. He was recently seen in the world premier of Roses in The Water and Liddy’s Baths, Potions and Sammiches at Voices at the River, the only Black and Latino Playwright Program in the United States, which is produced by The Clinton and Rockefeller Foundations.

READ MORE

Billy White is a composer, pianist, educator, producer and ethnomusicologist.  Although he has never studied composition formally, he has won many awards as a jazz pianist, including the Duke Elligton Award and the David A. Abell Piano Scholarship.   Born in San Francisco, he studied ethnomusicology and jazz studies as UCLA.  He moved to New York in 2005  Since arriving, he co-led the experimental-jazz group Nobody, then led and composed for  the Billy White Quintet, featuring Dayna Stephens and Ambrose Akinmusire, releasing the latter’s first album, “First Things First” in 2009, which the San Francisco Chronicle hailed as “one of the year’s most impressive debuts”. He worked for several years as an accompanist with the Martha Graham School of Dance.  He has also composed music for several films, including “Bowling Blind”, directed by Marc Cantone, winner of Best Short at the Lighthouse film festival 2010.  His other musical activities during this time include backing up soul artists like Bilal, Wallace Gary, and performing Ethnomusicology research in Morocco and Nicaragua.  He is anticipating finishish a string quartet and a symphonic work by the end of the year.

COMMUNITY DISCUSSION: Baltimore in Black and White

$10 Suggested Donation

RSVP: info@blackboardplays.com

CARNAVAL

by Nikkole Salter

featuring…

Warner Miller as Demitrius

Jeff Wilburn as Raheem

Jaime Lincoln Smith as Jalani

Directed by Cheryl Katz

It’s 1996.  Winter, NYC.  Just one year prior, 2 Brooklynites were mourning the untimely loss of their friend… their brother in spirit, their lynch-pin, Jared.  He was only 28.  In his honor they decided then and there that, despite their differences, no matter where life took them, they’d take care of his little brother, Jalani, and get together on the anniversary of his death to celebrate the life he should’ve had.

READ the FULL SYNOPSIS HERE

$10 Suggested Donation

Reading followed by a twenty-minute talkback

RSVP: info@blackboardplays.com

COMMUNITY EVENING!

PLAYWRIGHTS: Bring your Scripts

ACTORS: Bring Yourselves

RSVP: info@blackboardplays.com

www.blackboardplays.com

devoted to the Black Playwright

_____________________________________

Finding Harlem Dawn

Book, Concept, Lyrics by Ano Okera

Music by Billy White

Directed by Elyzabeth Gorman

With Harlem as its core, Finding Harlem Dawn is an exploration of intrigue, misfortune and love in a night’s journey. Textured in lyrical poetry, this modern day Shakespearean type story explores parallels from the past and present through dance and experimental jazz music.

Finding Harlem Dawn centers on four artists struggling to find love in their different yet interchangeable experiences. Langston Beaufort, the great-grand nephew of the famous Harlem Renaissance writer and poet Claude McKay, is a law school graduate on a quest to find his dream as installation artist and poet. Billy Perrier is a dancer in search of a new life in Harlem. Jelly wants to write his way out love and Moya wants to touch the man she loves with every song that she sings. As the lives of these beautiful artists entwine, glimpses of Claude McKay and his secret dream Juanita Love bear resonance to the mystery of Harlem. They soon discover that their dark moments are merely paths to new beginnings.

CAST

LANGSTON BEAUFORT- K’Yino Cunningham
BILLY PERRIER- Almerica Campbell
VINCENT ‘JELLY’ MARTIN- Kaolin Bass

MOYA WASHINGTON- McKenzie Frye

OLD CLAUDE McKAY- Chike Johnson
OLD JUANITA LOVE- Malkia Stampley-Johnson

GRANDMA/WHITE CHOCOLATE MUNROE and OTHERS- Emily Stockdale
DIAMOND/OTHERS- Harold Lewter

___________

Artist Jill Knox presents her collection, “Nigra Sum, Sucka!,” an exploration of what being black has meant for her, inspired by the works of other inspirational African American artists, political figures and free thinkers. Merging pop art with black history, Jill has created a body of work that gives voice to, and speaks for, others who share her unique African American experience.

MORE ON JILL KNOX

____________________________

*because of the exhibit, we will open the doors for viewing 30 minutes earlier than our usual start time of 7:30pm*

$10 Suggested Donation

RSVP: info@blackboardplays.com

~Reading followed by 20 minute talk-back~

~Refreshments will be served~

www.blackboardplays.com

_____________________________

Ano Okera was born and raised in Jamaica with strong Rastafarian traditions. He knew at an early age that he was destined to be a singer, dancer and actor that inspires and did everything in his power to fulfill that dream. Sharing his talent is his purpose.

Since migrating to New York, Ano has appeared in the NBC series 30 Rock alongside Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan, the ABC series Going to Extremes, and the short film Where Truth Lies. Stage credits: ‘Angel‘ in the hit Broadway show RENT, Dreamgirls, Hello Dolly, West Side Story, All Shook Up, and a revival of Mama, I Want to Sing starring Melba Moore and Chuck Cooper. He was recently seen in the world premier of Roses in The Water and Liddy’s Baths, Potions and Sammiches at Voices at the River, the only Black and Latino Playwright Program in the United States, which is produced by The Clinton and Rockefeller Foundations.

READ MORE

Billy White is a composer, pianist, educator, producer and ethnomusicologist.  Although he has never studied composition formally, he has won many awards as a jazz pianist, including the Duke Elligton Award and the David A. Abell Piano Scholarship.   Born in San Francisco, he studied ethnomusicology and jazz studies as UCLA.  He moved to New York in 2005  Since arriving, he co-led the experimental-jazz group Nobody, then led and composed for  the Billy White Quintet, featuring Dayna Stephens and Ambrose Akinmusire, releasing the latter’s first album, “First Things First” in 2009, which the San Francisco Chronicle hailed as “one of the year’s most impressive debuts”. He worked for several years as an accompanist with the Martha Graham School of Dance.  He has also composed music for several films, including “Bowling Blind”, directed by Marc Cantone, winner of Best Short at the Lighthouse film festival 2010.  His other musical activities during this time include backing up soul artists like Bilal, Wallace Gary, and performing Ethnomusicology research in Morocco and Nicaragua.  He is anticipating finishish a string quartet and a symphonic work by the end of the year.

A month of events featuring the survival of arts and artists

February 13            Darrell Larson’s Mythic Gossip: Tales & Truths from Hollywood

The first in a series of lecturettes, ALL THE DOOMED BLONDES will reveal the connections between Jean Harlow, Carole Lombard, Frances Farmer, Margaret Sullavan, Marilyn Monroe, Carroll Baker, Barbara Loden, & Jean Seberg.

Tandem Reading Series: Haunted Kids!

Vampires aren’t the only things kids have to put up with these days! There are zombies, and elves and life’s unexpected knocks. Award-winning children’s author Chris Grabenstein reads from “The Smoky Corridor,” about a haunted school, joined by Louella San Juan and Elizabeth Catalano, both reading from works in progress about a haunted New York and about a girl who thinks she’s Nancy Drew. A panel discussion to follow on what’s so special about being haunted and why do publishers like it so much?

February 14            Blackboard @ the cell: Finding Harlem Dawn

With Harlem as its core, Finding Harlem Dawn is an exploration of intrigue, misfortune and love in a night’s journey. Centering on four artists struggling to find love in their different yet interchangeable experiences, this musical – textured in lyrical poetry, is a modern day Shakespearean type story exploring parallels from the past and present through dance and experimental jazz music. Concept, book and lyrics by Ano Okera and

music by Billy White.

February 17           Jill Knox – Gallery Showing & Reception

Artist Jill Knox presents her collection, “Nigra Sum, Sucka!,” an exploration of what being black has meant for her, inspired by the works of other inspirational African American artists, political figures and free thinkers. Merging pop art with black history, Jill has created a body of work that gives voice to, and speaks for, others who share her unique African American experience.

February 18      Oddities, or Frog-Boy Live! A Music Freak Show (Equity Reading)

An on-going workshop/production, Oddities tells the story of Princess Olga, the World’s Most Famous Bearded Lady, and her adventures as she finds a place for herself on the stage. After the performance, the audience is invited to participate in a talk-back with the company and director.

February 24-25          Jeremy Bloom’s La Boheme (Spoken)

La Boheme (Spoken) is a lyrical dialogue loyally adapted from Puccini’s original libretto to his iconic opera La Bohème. The result is a larger-than-life play, about young artists, mostly broke, hyper, and always on the brink of inspiration and death. The musical roots (repetitions and rhyme) and the awkwardness of translation enable a language that is poetically charged. Adapted by Brian Rady, and conceived & directed by Jeremy Bloom.

February 26           Flutronix (Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins-Hull) and Friends

Produced by Brooklyn based electro-acoustic flute duo, Flutronix, this concert is a celebration of the “friends” who help them do what they love most – make music! Guest artists include drummer Joe Blaxx, saxophonist Stacy Dillard, harpist/vocalist Aviva Jaye and more!

March 2            Stranger in My Body – a play

Struggling with her own religion and sexuality, Jacqueline must negotiate her relationship with Abia, a male-identified female, who is deciding whether or not to begin the process of physically becoming a man. Written by Garlia Cornelia Jones and directed by Mason Beggs, the workshop performance is followed by a talk-back and reception.

March 3            Justin Waldstein – Gallery Showing & Reception

Artist Justin Waldstein’s collection draws directly from life and found photos, capturing resonant moments of exhilaration and futility, as well as the beauty and fragility of the human form. His work utilizes explosive color and line to illuminate triumph, glory, energy, mortality and tragedy. The paintings on unstretched canvas are theatrical, reminiscent of discarded posters or torn shreds of sideshow banners. Throughout the collection, there is a hint of the renaissance tapestries of lost empires, and with a sculptural, organic surface, they hang as butchers’ hides displaying wrinkled images on tattooed flesh.

March 4           I Was Drunk That Day (assembled, adapted and directed by Darrell Larson)

An exploratory (staged) reading of several early crime and suspense stories by Anton Chekhov including “Conversation of a Drunken Man with a Sober Devil”, “Evildoer”, and “The Wallet”.  Most of the featured stories translated into English for the first time just last year.

March 5 HOAXOCAUST!

HOAXOCAUST! is a work of fiction satirizing the actual arguments of Arthur Butz, David Irving, Robert Faurisson, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Every accusation the play presents “against” the Holocaust comes from their literature and interviews.

March 11-12           The Songs of Beulah Rowley

The Songs of Beulah Rowley is a song cycle with narration and projections based on the biography of the fictional character Beulah Rowley, a regionally-known depression-era singer and songwriter from the Midwest.  Biography and music written by Mary Lee Kortes and directed by Darrell Larson.

]]> http://www.thecelltheatre.org/survarts2011/feed/ 0 http://www.thecelltheatre.org/bboardjan2011/ http://www.thecelltheatre.org/bboardjan2011/#comments Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:35:22 +0000 the cell http://www.thecelltheatre.org/?p=3330

January always seems to be an inspiring month!

Last year, there was the community discussion about the state of Black Theatre – completely impromptu and this year – another discussion about MOVING FORWARD!

So MONDAY, January 10, 2011 7:30pm @ the cell

Blackboard’s 2nd Community Discussion: HOW DO I MOVE FORWARD AS A WRITER IN THE AMERICAN THEATRE?

RSVP: info@blackboardplays.com

~Refreshments will be served~