Saturday, May 29, 2010

Looking for Playwright who Needs a Director (NYC)

Looking for Playwright who Needs a Director (NYC)


Date: 2010-05-29, 1:04AM EDT
Reply to: gigs-kuzuq-1765004749@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]


I'm looking for a talented playwright to begin a working relationship with. I'm a director new to New York and I'm looking for a playwright with intelligent, gritty work. I'm very collaborative, driven, and will take good work to new places. I'm interested in developing a new play with a couple of readings and hopefully getting it produced. Please email me a short description of yourself and your experience writing. Also send a short writing sample from your best play (three to five pages).

I'll contact a few of the playwrights who had the best submissions. Interviews will be later this month. Deadline to submit: 6/4

I look forward to hearing from you!

  • Location: NYC
  • it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
  • Compensation: no pay




PostingID: 1765004749

Source: Craig's List NYC

Friday, May 28, 2010

New Federal Theatre presents a month long Reading Series of GREAT BLACK PLAYS & PLAYWRIGHTS (NYC)


Please click image to enlarge.
Please click post's title to see the schedule
and for more information.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Eugene Ashe's HOMECOMING 6/8-13 (NYC)

Please image click to enlarge.

Homecoming
Written and directed by Eugene Ashe
Running time 1hr, 45mins with a 15 min. Intermission

Homecoming stars:
Canara Price
Kobie Bowles
Duane Allen Robinson
Nina Ashe
Sheena Earl
Kristen Adele
Dennis Johnson
Jerry Ford

At the Roy Arias Payan Theater
300 West 43rd Street, 5th Floor, NYC

June 8th-13th Tues.-Sat. 8pm Sunday 6pm

Set in Washington D.C., a group of old college friends who are all now approaching 40 years old, come together to celebrate Homecoming weekend at their Alma Mater, the fictitious historically African-American Hayward University. Over the weekend, the friends discuss their lives and collective relationships with each other, then and now, and in the process, secrets are revealed as the group tries to put their pasts behind them and come to terms with the realities of the present.

Tickets are $18 and are available by clicking the post's title.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Tiffany Parks' PAWNSHOP 6/21 (Nashville)

Tiffany Parks

On Monday, June 21, AAPEX will present a reading of PAWNSHOP by Atlanta playwright Tiffany Parks. The reading will be held in the theatre upstairs in Nashville's most famous coffee house, Bongo Java, 2007 Belmont Boulevard, across from Belmont University.

PAWNSHOP deals with African American-Jewish relations in Atlanta in 1950 and has received the AAPEX Best New Play 2010 Award. This reading is a first step in moving the property forward towards filming in our AAPEX "stage to screen" project which we call FILM NOIR.

The Nashville cast features Vilia Steele, Jonah Kraut, David Allds, Benee Wisdom, Dave Chattam and Mike Callahan.

I asked Tiffany to share with us what inspired her to write this play. Below is her response.
Jaz

This play was inspired by my late grandmother and the many stories passed down by her family. My grandmother’s mother, Big Mama, worked her entire life for local Jewish families on Lavista Road. My grandmother’s family lived on Mangum Street in the slums a few blocks from the prominent Atlanta University (now the Atlanta University Center), the State Capitol, and many prominent African-American churches. Blacks needed the Jews to survive and the Jews needed the Blacks to thrive. Pawn shops were a way of life. When blacks needed money and a loan, a pawn shop was not far away. Jews employed blacks to work in their shops all of the time. Peter Street, now known as the Castleberry Hills community, was home to many Jewish pawnshops. There was a strong relationship between the Jews and Blacks. One story that stuck out in my mind was Mr. Schaefer, the Jewish grocer, who gave my grandmother’s family credit for food.

The research.
I went to the William Breman Jewish Museum on Spring Street, in Midtown, Atlanta. I consulted with Sandra Berman, the archivist. At the Breman I researched the Black/Jewish relationship in Atlanta. I read personal stories and books on this subject. I discovered that a lot of Eastern European Jews immigrated to American during the early 1900s because of the pogroms in Eastern Europe. When they came to America, some Jews came to the South and opened businesses in all black communities. This black/Jewish relationship was a relationship of necessity. First, Jewish immigrants were considered foreign and thus discriminated against in the segregated South. Secondly, many Jewish immigrants did not speak English. All of these issues worked in harmony with blacks and Jews because they had to rely on each other for survival. I also interviewed David Goldwasser who owned the Brooklyn Loan and Jewelry pawnshop. Mr. Goldwasser’s father owned the shop in the 30s and 40s. He owned it during the late 40s and 50s. It was located in Downtown, Atlanta. He told me about the daily operations of the shop. There were many Jewish pawnshops and groceries located on Peters Street. Also, I talked to Mr. Szczupak from the Congregation Beth Jacob synagogue. He speaks fluent Yiddish, and he helped me translate some of the dialogue in the play to Yiddish. And of course, I talked to my family members who actually grew up in this world. My grandmother’s mother worked for Mr. Schaefer and the Goldsteins. Her mother worked for Jewish people as well. Many of the older people in my family worked for Jewish families. Back then, the only job for most black women was domestic work.

Klehotas Tshyre's TWICE GLORIA 6/22 (NYC)

Please click image to enlarge.
Please click post's title to visit Mr. Tshyre's website.

Alan Sharpe's SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLUE this Sunday (DC)


Please click image to enlarge.

I'm thrilled and so very proud that for the very first time since 1992, the African-American Collective Theater (ACT) annual BLGBT Theater Showcase stage reading of my new play is included as a community partner event and featured on DC Black Pride's Official website! Thanks to Patricia R. Corbett and DCBP for making it possible. Please click the post's title to visit the DC Black Pride website.

Alan Sharpe
Director/Writer
African-American Collective Theater (ACT)
& Reflections Media Group
Showcasing BLGBT Life & Culture since 1971

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

AAPEX Interview: Liliane Klein

Liliane Klein

Since it's founding on January 1, 2007, AAPEX has mounted a string of readings of our members' plays. Most of these readings have taken place in NYC and a significant number of those NYC readings have been held at the historic Players' Club on Gramercy Park - thanks to our great friend and supporter, actress Liliane Klein. AAPEX owes a tremendous debt to Lili for her support. She recently received outstanding reviews for her work in the lead role of a San Francisco production of FAT PIG. I have no doubt we will hear much from Lili in years to come. Below she shares with us her background and future plans.
Jaz Dorsey

What role did theatre and the arts play in your childhood and upbringing?
My parents always made arts culture very much a part of my upbringing. In utero, they were taking me to museums, concerts, and theatre around the world. I have tons of stories of growing up going to Tanglewood classical concerts in the summers for my dad's and my birthdays (our birthday's are three days apart). We would go with my grandparents and sit on the lawn and bring a picnic. And then my sister and I would run off and climb all over the terrific climbing trees. The first time my mother took me to an indoor concert, I was confused and worried because I didn't see where she had put the picnic basket! Between subscriptions to the Roundabout Theatre Family Series, The Pearl Theatre, Broadway Shows, and any Shakespeare or Moliere that came through New York, as well as trips to London and Stratford, La Comedie Francaise in Paris, and The Abbey Theatre in Dublin, I don't even remember a time when I didn't go to the theatre, it was just always a part of my life since before I can even remember.

Tell us about your own evolution as an artist.
I always acted and wanted to be a story-teller, (even though I'm a TERRIBLE story-teller, unscripted!) for as long as I can remember. I didn't do it because I wanted to be an actress. I just did it because I enjoyed it. I think I always enjoyed rehearsal and, oddly enough, learning lines. It feels like a sort of accomplishment after the daunting first read and then all of a sudden you realize that they're a part of you and that the brain has so much capacity to retain information. It wasn't until my Sophomore year in high school, when I was kicked out of the ensemble of the musical, A Chorus Line, for being late to rehearsals, (I was also an officer of our environmental club and meetings often coincided with rehearsals), that I realized what an integral part of my life theatre was. Since that moment, I spent every moment dedicating myself to it. I attended the Oxford Tradition, majoring in Theatre, that summer, the National High School Theatre Institute at Northwestern the summer after, and Yale summer drama school the summer before starting my 4 year BFA training at Boston University. When I graduated, my parents asked me if I wanted to apply right away to grad school... I thought it might be a good time to give academia a rest for a little while. Since then, I enjoyed an outstanding summer abroad at the month-long BADA summer Shakespeare intensive in 2009, and some New York City acting classes at Wynn Handman Studio and Dance Classes with Broadway Dance Center and Haila Strauss. Additionally, I'm a full-time student enrolled in the university of life-experience, which is in many ways, the most important school. It's where I figure out how best to utilize the tools I've been given and discover new tools at the same time. Nothing beats it!

As an actress, what have been your experiences with the roles you have done for AAPEX? (BILLIE'S BLUES & HANNAH ELIAS)?
I have enjoyed the work and the artists I have met through AAPEX. I find that much of the work is still in developmental stages, which I like. AAPEX has been a terrific forum for me to help shape the theatre of tomorrow.

If you could handpick your next project, what would it be and why?
I have several roles on my bucket list. The one I'm dying to play right NOW is Josie in A Moon for the Misbegotten. There are only a handful of roles where I read the character description and so strongly think - that's ME! Josie is one of those roles. The writing is sheer poetry and her story is so bittersweet. She's a character you can really sink your teeth into. I also really want to play Mary in the Stephen Sondheim musical, Merrily We Roll Along. Sort of for the same reasons as above. I'm attracted to heartbreaking characters.

www.angelfire.com/fold/lilianeklein
Liliane Klein
516-353-3729

What Will Race Look Like in 2042? by Yayoi Winfrey

Yayoi Winfrey

To find out, read the article by Yayoi Winfrey in Visions 2042, a Race-Talk Special Edition by clicking here

Monday, May 24, 2010

Jimmy Gary, Jr on NURSE JACKIE all week!

Jimmy Gary, Jr. with Edie Falco from Nurse Jackie

Jimmy Gary, Jr. one of AAPEX's "go to guys," co-stars as Marco Prince with Edie Falco on Nurse Jackie all week. 10PM/Showtime. Please click the post's title to visit the website for more information. Congratulations!

SOPHISTICATED LADIES starring Maurice Hines tixs one day only sale for 5/25 (DC)

HUGE ONE DAY ONLY SALE!
ALL TICKETS TO DUKE ELLINGTON'S SOPHISTICATED LADIES $35

As a THANK YOU to Washington, DC for making Duke Ellington's
Sophisticated Ladies the BEST SELLING SHOW in Arena Stage's 60 year history, for
ONE DAY ONLY on TUESDAY, MAY 25 from 8:00am until 8:00pm
,
all remaining tickets for Sophisticated Ladies will be sold for
$35 EACH (regular ticket prices are up to $85).
This offer is good for the best
seats available for June 3-6 performances.
Tickets can be purchased by
phone (202) 488-3300 or online by clicking the post's title.

DUKE ELLINGTON'S SOPHISTICATED LADIES

Choreographed by and starring Broadway legend MAURICE HINES
Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright
on stage at the historic Lincoln Theatre thru June 6

REVIEWS:
"Long live tap! The party hits the highest gear at every
opportunity. ..a superheated razzamatazz! "-The Washington Post

"Top pick! Hands down the hottest show in town...Hines is still the
best tap dancer in the business. Hyperkinetic and full of life. A
magical, musical time machine."- DC Theatre Scene

"Glorious…high- energy, elegant…dynamic. You will indeed love
them madly." -TheaterMania

"Get thee to see this show...no excuses allowed!" -Washington Blade
"the dancers are outrageous.. .beautifully executed production"
-Washington Informer

"a jolt of sheer electricity" -Talkin Broadway

"a lavish, reverent revue...[Manzari brothers] bask in a tsunami of
cheers and applause each evening" -Washington Examiner

"a historical event probably never to be matched again in DC...a fine
celebration ticket for family and friends visiting the city." - All Arts
Reviews for You

"Don't Miss It! With all the glamour and glitz, it's a throwback
to real musicals." - Rich Masabny

"a dynamite cast that is tearing up the stage...the orchestra, costumes
and singing are fabulous!" - NBC's Daily Connection Host Wendy Rieger

"fantastic choreography. ..the talent assembled on the Lincoln Theatre is
phenominal!" - Metro Weekly

"the Manzari brothers stop the show cold...with some of the most
explosively percussive rat-a-tat-tatting [tap dance] this side of a
machine gun." -Washington City Paper

"calling all song-and-dance fans of whatever description. ..this show is
for you!" - The Free Lance-Star

Sunday, May 23, 2010

DeeWorks Live! 4pm to 7pm Today

Join us this week when our special in-studio guest will be:
Just Andre
http://www.allaboutandre.com/

With an ability to Sing, Dance, Act, Write Songs, this makes him a Force to Be Reckoned With. Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Andre honed his craft in church and went on to begin a successful singing and acting career. Tune in to find out more about this talented young man.

Please click post's title to visit website.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Red Harlem Readers

Thursday, May 20, 2010

For All Women Writers and the People who Love Them: The Lilly Awards 5/24 (NYC)

Gender parity in the theatre has recently gained public momentum as an extremely important issue of theatre in the 21st century; some might argue that it is the single, largest issue to present itself in the last fifty years. Through Emily Sand’s well publicized study, Opening the Curtain on Playwright Gender: An Integrated Economic Analysis of Discrimination in the American Theatre, and Julia Jordan’s public presentations of that study, we know through indepth research and statistics that there is an alarming, troublesome disparity between the total number of plays written by men produced in our theatres and the number of plays written by women.

Simply put, but not so simply understood, female playwrights can’t seem to get traction of any kind in our community. With all the major theatre awards having now been announced in New York (The Tony Awards, Drama Desk, Lucille Lortell, Theatre World, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, etc.), one outrageous fact emerged: in all the awards combined, only one woman writer was nominated (Sarah Ruhl) in a season that showcased 51 new plays written by women.

To acknowledge the extraordinary work by women in this year’s season (and by doing so, educate the community on many levels), a group of passionate artists and producers (myself, Marsha Norman, Theresa Rebeck, Julia Jordan, Tina Howe, Julie Crosby, John Eisner, G Tim Sanford and Susan Rose) quickly assembled to create an evening of celebration. Equal parts party and awards ceremony, the event will be held at Playwrights Horizons and the West Bank Café, emceed by Christopher Durang, with an invocation by Gloria Stein, entertainment by Kristin Chenoweth and a host of awards to women in the theatre.

Each year, this event will grow and become inclusive to writers all over the country. Because the event will – by its nature – highlight the issues of gender parity in the theatre, as well educate playwrights and the theater community at large, we’re hoping to generate support and buzz anywhere we can. Voice your support at the FB page.

Be strong, write well.

Gary Garrison
Founder
The Loop

Get discovered TONIGHT! (Newark)

Please click image to enlarge.

Tonight is make it or break it night!

Calling all Actors with monologues/skits, singers, musicians, dancers, poets - Come to the NJ Performance Lab tonight and Hit the Stage! - (3 MINUTES) - please provide your own tracks or music without fingerprints or scratches.

  • This is a judged event
  • Free for performers with 2 paying guests -

otherwise performers $5.00

General Admission ONLY $7.00

  • NO PROFANITY
  • NO USE OF THE "N" WORD
  • DRESS CODE ENFORCED - (no sagging pants, no over-sized white T's etc.)
  • Performers must remain inside venue during show
  • Only the first 10 performers will be allowed to perform
  • Qualify to advance to the finals in August
  • Previous season performers/winners will be allowed to participate to defend their title
We are giving away up to $500.00 at the Season Finale in August - don't miss out on your chance to qualify.

DC Black Theatre Festival call for ACTORS

Don't just stand there, become a part of History!
DC Black Theatre Festival is looking for Actors in all skill levels!!!

The DC Drama Department is proud to announce the inaugural celebration of the DC Black Theatre Festival, a week-long festival celebrating Washington, DC's thriving theatre community. The DC Black Theatre Festival will bring together a wide array of local and national artists, writers, directors, producers, theatre companies and theatre lovers in what promises to be one of the city's biggest self-producing black theatre projects ever. Please click post's title for more details about the project.

Don't miss the chance to audition for 15 different playwrights/ producers/ directors/ theatre groups who are all looking for you! This isn't just a "Call for Actors" it's a chance of a lifetime. So you have dreaming about being on stage, this is the opportunity you have been waiting for. One Audition, 15 chances…

We want you:

Sunday, May 23, 2010
1 - 5 PM
Josephine Butler Parks Center
2437 15th St., NW
Washington, DC 20009
Male and female actors of all ages.

Please submit your headshot and resume to auditions@dcbtf.org. Please state your preferred time slot between 1PM and 5PM. We will make every attempt to schedule as close as possible to your requested time. It is highly recommended that you bring additional headshots and resumes along with you to your audition.

Take Wing and Soar Excellence Awards Saturday 5/22 (NYC)



NOVELLA NELSON, GEORGE C. WOLFE, PETRONIA PALEY,
RUBEN SANTIAGO-HUSON
TO RECEIVE
TAKE WING AND SOAR SPIRIT OF EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Saturday, May 22ND
6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

DWYER Cultural Center
258 St. Nicholas Avenue
New York, NY 10027

Wine Reception and Silent Auction | 6pm
Awards Presentation & Performance | 7pm
Followed by a Post Reception in honor of our 7th Year


EVENT INFORMATION
Honorary Co-Chairs Jane White and Earle Hyman, Founder & Producing Artistic Director Debra Ann Byrd and the Board of Directors of Take Wing and Soar Productions cordially invite you to the Take Wing And Soar Spirit of Excellence Awards Celebration. Please join us for a cocktail reception, silent auction and awards celebration on Saturday, May 22nd, at the DWYER Cultural Center, as we pay tribute to the leadership and achievement of six distinguished members of our community including; Petronia Paley, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Aldon James, George C. Wolfe, Hon. Hazel Dukes, Hon. Theresa Freeman, with a special presentation of our Pioneer Award to veteran classical actress Novella Nelson.

Entertainment includes Shakespeare's Sonnets with A Sax performed by by Peter J. Fernandez, Annie Lee Moffett and Tommy Morimoto, directed by Petronia Paley.

Tickets are $100 [Table of Honor Seat], and $50 [General Seating]. All proceeds will benefit Take Wing And Soar Productions' mission driven programs and projects.

Space is limited! For reservations call TheaterMania.com at 212.351.3101 or click the post's title to purchase your tickets online.

For information visit us online by clicking here or call 212.696.6575.

~~~~~~~~~~
HONOREES
~~~~~~~~~~

Petronia Paley
Earle Hyman Award for
Excellence in Classical Acting

Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Earle Hyman Award for
Excellence in Classical Acting

Aldon James
President of National Arts Club
Take Wing And Soar
Community Leadership Award

George C. Wolfe
Playwright, Producer & Director
Take Wing And Soar
Community Leadership Award

Honorable Hazel Dukes
NAACP President
New York State Conference
Take Wing And Soar
Community Leadership Award

Honorable Theresa Freeman
State Committee Woman
District Leader
Take Wing And Soar
Community Leadership Award

Novella Nelson
Distinguished Veteran Actress, Director, Producer & Singer
Take Wing And Soar Pioneer Award
--
Debra Ann Byrd
Producing Artistic Director
Take Wing And Soar Productions, Inc.
212.722.4881 NBT Office
212.696.6575 TWAS VM
info@takewingandsoar.org

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Chameleon Theatre Company needs your help

Chameleon Theatre Co., Ltd.

"If anyone is interested in helping Chameleon--a 501(c)3 non-profit--all contributions, whether cash or in-kind goods and services--are tax-deductible.

We are struggling to keep our doors open, and to keep our programs going. Most importantly, we want to continue our policy of making cheap--or free--tickets available to students, seniors and the socially disadvantaged.

robertdcarver@yahoo.com

Chameleon Theatre Co., Ltd.
25-26 42nd Street #3B
Astoria, NY 11103"

Who Reads AAPEX? Andre R. Hogan II

Andre R. Hogan II

André Richardson Hogan II was born in 1978 in Chicago. He is a playwright, screenwriter, poet, essayist, visual artist, and theater critic. His plays have received stage readings and productions in numerous theaters such as the American Theater Company, Black Ensemble Theater, Dramatists Personae, the Field Museum of Natural History, and Red Harlem Readers. The Chicago Chronicles, Volume 1, a docudrama of Logan Square residents, was produced as a commissioned work for American Theater Company. Several poems have been published such as in Many Mountains Moving and Segue. Strangers, a collection of poetry, was published by Xlibris in 2009. In 2001, Hogan received a B.F.A. in Liberal Arts from Columbia College, Chicago. He was a resident playwright at Timber Lake Playhouse Playwrights Colony in Mt. Carroll , IL., and is currently a member of the Chicago Midwest Playwrights Guild, Hyde Park Community Players, and Magnified Gift Theater Company. He also serves as coordinator of Hyde Park Community Theater’s Writers Initiative. He resides at Hyde Park in Chicago.

Mr. Hogan can be reached at:
(312) 320-8082 HOME/CELL
centrestage1978@yahoo.com

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

YaYoi Winfrey's Yellowface: Asians on White Screens Is Charlie Chan really dead?

Yayoi Winfrey

Yayoi Winfrey, an African American/Japanese playwright and filmmaker, presents an interesting and well-documented argument that while "blackface" portrayals in Hollywood today would get you blackballed from the silver screen, "yellowface" is still acceptable. To read her article on IMDiversity.com, please click the post's title.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Alan Sharpe's SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLUE 5/30 (DC)

Sunday evening, May 30, 2010, African-American Collective Theater (ACT) returns, for its 12th annual Memorial Day Weekend Showcase of BLGBT theater, with a staged-reading of "Something Borrowed, Something Blue" written and directed by ACT founder, Alan Sharpe.

The debut of new work each spring, is a fundraiser for the production company’s various theater and film projects supporting its mission to “…showcase contemporary BLGBT life and culture, promote visibility and raise awareness of issues facing our community.”

Additional details to follow shortly. In the meantime, please...

Save the Date!

Alan Sharpe
Director/Writer
African-American Collective Theater (ACT)
& Reflections Media Group
Showcasing BLGBT Life & Culture since 1971

Please click the post's title to visit the ACT website.

Call for Plays

60 MILLION + PLUS, a San Francisco based performance company, is looking for one man plays for a black male actor to be considered for a fall production in its 2011 season. We are open to all playwrights who write in English. Each play submission is read, reviewed and given a process of evaluation by our staff of theater professionals from around the country.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

We will consider all plays honoring our specified request. Send one unproduced original one act or full-length play. Scripts will not be returned.

FORMAT: Only snail mail submissions are accepted. Electronic submissions will not be considered and will be eliminated from the reviewing process. Plays can be on either single or double sided paper, and should be secured only with a removable binder clip. Do not bind or staple. Use 12 pt. font (preferably Courier, Roman Times or Times) and numerate each page. Include your current e-mail address and any other pertinent contact information on the title page.

DEADLINE: Postmarked by June 30, 2010.

MAILING ADDRESS: Please send submissions to ROBERT HENRY JOHNSON, 60M+P, 762 Fulton Street, San Francisco, CA 94012.

NOTIFICATION: September 1, 2010

60 MILLION + PLUS, founded in 2010 by Robert Henry Johnson, is a San Francisco based performance company which offers year round productions, workshop performances and literary recitals open to the general public. Our mission is to preserve cutting edge plays by playwrights who use experimental forms. We support playwrights of all heritages and backgrounds. We are in search for plays to produce in our 2011 home season which will take place at the Buriel Clay Memorial Theater in San Francisco.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Adriana Rogers' MADAM musical showcase 5/25-26 (NYC)

Please click post's title to play multi-media through Hallmark Cards' Smilebox (a neat way for playwrights and producers to get the word out).

DeeWorks Live! 4pm to 7pm Today


Join us when our special in studio guests will be:
DR. HAKIM CONOVER of Swaggas Independent Records INC™
and also joining him will be
Mr. Dennis Porter, President/Founder of:
Prodigal Sons & Daughters Redirection Services, Inc.
Salvation Has Come To The Prodigal Son

My Name is Dennis Porter and I AM A PRODIGAL SON!
My state prison number is 62468.
I served a total of 18 years in the New Jersey Prison system.
I was 17 years old when I was arrested and later convicted of murder.
I was sentenced to 30 years to Life.
I had no prior criminal history.

DeeWorks Live! was in Miami on Friday, May 14, 2010 - we will be recapping some of the highlights of our visit with Karizma Outreach Dance Center under the direction of Ms. Pruchelle Revell, which included an appearance by Sis Peeola Patterson .

Please click the post's title to visit DeeWorks Live! website.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Jimmy Gary, Jr gets some media love

Jimmy Gary, Jr. with Edie Falco from Nurse Jackie

Jimmy Gary, Jr has always been there for AAPEX, appearing gratis in NYC as an actor for various AAPEX readings, so it's great to let the world know that this former college football star for the West Virginia Mountaineers who grew up in Okeechobee, FL, a hard scrabble, poverty ridden farming town, is now getting some recognition for his acting chops on Broadway and TV. For an inspiring read, please click the post's title. And, once again, thanks Jimmy G, for your unselfish contributions to AAPEX.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Red Harlem Readers

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

AAPEX Interview: Glenn Alan, playwright and founder of the DC Black Theatre Festival


Glenn Alan

2010 will see the debut of the D C Black Theatre Festival, founded by playwright Glenn Alan. Hopefuly this will offer great opportunites for many playwrights, both this year and in years to come. I asked Mr. Alan to tell us something about himself and about his festival. Below are his responses.
Jaz Dorsey

What role did theatre and the arts play in your childhood and upbringing?
The first real play I remember attending as a child wasn’t a real play at all. I was about 10 or 11 and Alvin Ailey was in town. Now, I would love to tell you that my mother, being the great Patient Saint of exposure and well roundedness took us to see Revelations featuring Judith Jamison, but she didn’t. Instead, Alvin asked if he could visit the local schools in the poorest sections of town, one of which I happened to be attending. And on that small ragged stage, in the poorest school in the district, I watched words and form come together like I had never seen. It was that moment that I fell in love, not with dance (Cause I can’t dance) but with movement. Two days later, I crafted my first play, using words as movement. In my mind, word aren’t spoken, they dance! I’ve been writing that way ever since.

Tell us about your own evolution as an artist.
I wrote all through high school, poetry mostly. It wasn’t until I got to college that I began to take the work seriously. I staged my first few plays as poetic monologues. From there the work began to take a life of its own, monologues became dialogues, solos became couples and short scenes became entire acts, but the poetry stayed laced through-out the work. I think in that way I’m different as a playwright. I listen to the rhythm in the words and how they move across the stage, dance and land in the laps of the audience. Revelations!

What inspired you to found The D C Black Theatre Festival?
For years I have been a part of some very important festivals. At the early beginning of the National Black theater festival, at the opening of the first black arts festival and even in a few local fringe festivals. But as a playwright they all seemed to be missing the flexibility I needed as a writer. So I started attending them for a different reason, to learn what they were not doing, and from that I pulled the best of the best; a festival that spoke to the artist.

What can we look forward to for this year's festival?
A diverse group of work! And I mean diverse. We are blending writing from urban theater to tradition theatre, from church plays to adult themes, from Post College grad writers to GED napkin writers. DC Black Theatre Festival is a true celebration of what it means to be a writer, actor, producer of African descent.

What are your thoughts on DC as a theatre town?
DC is theatre’s best kept secret! Nowhere in the world will you find such a diverse group of writers, actors, and theatre lovers like we have in DC. From opulent Arena Stage to DC Arts Center’s black box, Washington is an amalgamation of refreshing theatre. But don’t tell anyone! We don’t want this to become some baby Broadway.

Oh by the way, I still have Alvin Ailey’s autograph, it sits on my desk in a small frame next to my new work, a poetic dialogue about love and movement.

Please click the post's title to visit the DC Black Theatre Festival website.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Shawn Harris' ANNE & ME tonight at the cell (NYC)

TONIGHT'S Reading:

May 12th, 7:30pm

Feature Evening

ANNE & ME

by Shawn Harris

When Anne Hathaway comes out of the T.V., who knows what's next....

with

Toccara Castleman as ME

Sarah Koestner as ANNE

Verna Hampton as GAB 1

Ayo Cummings as GAB 2

Reading followed by a 20 minute talkback

Donations Greatly Appreciated

Please click here to RSVP.
Please click the post's title to visit the Blackboard Reading Series website.

Owa's THE HAITIANS: HOW THEY GOT THAT WAY 5/27 (NYC)

Please click image to enlarge.
Please click the post's title to visit New Heritage Theatre website.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Special Tribute to Mothers on DeeWorks Live! Today


On Friday, I was driving home and the song "Mama" by Boys to Men came on, I must admit that song chokes me up whenever I hear it, thoughts and memories of my mother flooded my mind and I could feel the tears begin to well up in my eyes. "Enjoy the song, don't cry" I told myself, "you're driving and you don't have tissue". I think of my mother every day and mother's day can sometimes be hard because my mom is no longer living. Remembering her jolly laughter and thinking back on how incredibly smart, creative, and talented she was always helps me. Most of all, remembering how much she loved her children and family up to her last breath, how beautiful she looked when we said goodbye and knowing that she was done with the troubles of this world brings bittersweet solace on Mother's Day. Shirley Mae Powell you are the queen of my heart. RIP.
Dee Spencer

DeeWorks Live! airs every Sunday between 4 and 7pm. To find out more information and to tune in, please click the post's title.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Adam McKinney's HaMapah 5/12 (NYC)

Please click image to enlarge.

HaMapah, a multimedia dance journey tracing one man's intersections of African, Jewish and Native American Heritages premieres on Weds, May 12th at 8pm at the Jewish Cultural Center in Manhattan at 334 Amsterdam Ave @ 76th St.

HaMapah is a 40-minute performance that weaves together dance, archival material, interviews and classical music. In this work dancer, educator and activist Adam McKinney explores issues of identity, culture, self-hood and community.

HaMapah is conceived and performed by Adam McKinney and directed by Daniel Banks.

Tickets are $10/$15 and are available there will be discussion with Adam following the show.

A video clip of HaMapah can be seen at http://vimeo.com/10091372


(646) 505-5708

Friday, May 7, 2010

Red Harlem Readers

Deck Plays

Don't know if this reached the discussion group or not -- a project at Ohio State, from the Ohio chapter of the Dramatists Guild, for ten minute plays. Please click post's title to visit website for more information.

looking for monologue

a former student of mine asked me if I could help her find a one-man show for a talented student who can sing. She was trying to find Ben Vereen's solo as Bert Williams. This is in South Carolina. Any thoughts? Suggestions?

Alan

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Denzel Washington in August Wilson's FENCES Now thru 7/11 (Broadway)

A "Tip of our backward-wearing Kangol" to Terrence Spivey, Artistic Director of Cleveland's Karamu House for this great multi-media link to the current Broadway show. Please click the post's title to, as the Staple Singers would say, "take you there."

Wes Brown's DARK MEAT ON A FUNNY MIND 5/16 (NYC)

Please click image to enlarge.
Please click the post's title to visit the New Federal Theatre website.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Celebrity Film Panel this Saturday (Decatur)

Please click image to enlarge.

Greetings,

TheatreSouth Atlanta would like to invite you to our first Film Panel Discussion and Acting Master Workshop. Have you ever wanted to know how the stars made it to where they are today? Well here is your chance! Please come out this Saturday, May 8, 2010 for this event. Some of our featured panelist include: Lamman Rucker of Tyler Perry's "Meet the Brown's" and "Why Did I Get Married 1&2", Nicoye Banks of "The Green Zone" starring Matt Damon and "Brooklyn's Finest" starring Don Cheadle and Wesley Snipes, Jasmine Guy of "A Different World" and "Dead Like Me" and Alpha Tyler casting director for Tyler Perry Studios. The event will be held at the Porter Sanford III Performing Arts and Community Center located at 3181 Rainbow Dr. Decatur, GA 30034. The Panel Discussion is free and the Acting Master Workshop is $40 at the door and $35 in advance. To pre-register or for further information please call LaToya @ (404) 551-6420 or Carolyn @ (919) 337-5431. Thank you and hope to see you there!
Yours in the Arts,
Herman LeVern Jones
Executive Producer/Artistic Director
TheatreSouth Atlanta, Inc.
P.O.Box 4061
Atlanta, GA 30302
Cell: (919) 337-5430

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Felton Perry's SLEEP NO MORE 5/3 (LA)



Playwrights and producers should take note of this multi-media announcement. Pretty cool when it's working. Through ScreenCast.com.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Production Scripts UpDate

AAPEX encourages playwrights to leave no stone unturned in getting your work "out there." Production Scripts will help in that endeavor without charging you any fees (only a fair percentage from anything sold). Below is an email we got about new improvements on its site:

Following feedback from a recently conducted poll, we are delighted to announce the launch of a new mini-forum on the Production Scripts website. The forum, although active, will remain in BETA test stage for the next few days whilst we continue to develop and test drive the functionality. Please feel free to have a test run yourself and be sure to report back any issues you find.

The forum has been fully integrated with the existing membership database and profile pages, meaning that you may post using your normal PS login (no 2nd login required!). Further integration is on-going over the next few weeks including direct linkage to writer scripts allowing for seemlessly open ended discussions.

Links to the forum can be found in both the My Account / Writer Portal pages, alongside a link placed at the bottom of the website footer. Over the next week or so, our menu system will be updated and a new banner will be launched to support this new exciting feature. For now, it's our secret!

Why not let us know your thoughts on this latest release in the forum, under the feedback section.

www.productionscripts.com

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Arena Stage presents SOPHISTICATED LADIES (DC)



DUKE ELLINGTON'S SOPHISTICATED LADIES
Choreographed by and starring Broadway legend
MAURICE HINES
directed by Charles Randolph-Wright
concept by Donald McKayle
based on the music of Duke Ellington
musical and dance arrangements by Lloyd Mayers
original music direction by Mercer Ellington

On Stage Now Through May 30 at the Lincoln Theatre

"Long live tap! The party hits the highest gear at every
opportunity. ..a superheated razzamatazz! "
-The Washington Post

"Top pick! Hands down the hottest show in town...Hines is still the
best tap dancer in the business. Hyperkinetic and full of life. A
magical, musical time machine."
- DC Theatre Scene

"Glorious…high- energy, elegant…dynamic. You will indeed love
them madly."
-TheaterMania

"Get thee to see this show...no excuses allowed!" -DC Agenda
"the dancers are outrageous.. .beautifully executed production"
-Washington Informer

"A jolt of sheer electricity"
-Talkin Broadway

The Duke comes home to the Lincoln with Sophisticated Ladies, the award-winning musical revue that explores the legacy of our local jazz hero starring Broadway legend Maurice Hines. This glorious re-creation of the big band sound features some of the most memorable music from the Roaring Twenties to the Swing Era, including such classic songs as "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing," "Take the `A' Train," "Satin Doll" and the haunting "In a Sentimental Mood." With one show-stopping number after another, this stylish and brassy retrospective travels through a history of American song and dance, from Charleston to swing to virtuosic tap dancing. It's an abundance of riches from the most sophisticated and sassy jazz king of all.

ONLY A COUPLE WEEKS OF PERFORMANCES LEFT AND TICKETS ARE SELLING VERY FAST!

Please click the post's title to visit the Arena Stage website and to buy tickets.