Khalil Kain's LAMBS TO SLAUGHTER at Blackboard - Monday, December 8 (NYC)

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Lambs to Slaughter

Written and Directed by Khalil Kain

Lambs To Slaughter tells the story of a mourning single mother living alone now in the city after the murder of her son Emmett. Her name is Joan. Time seems to stand still for Joan as she is overwhelmed by her grief. With help from her neighbor and best friend Athena and the care of her good friend Paul, Joan is able to wrestle with the memories of her son Emmett.  Like Athena and Paul, Emmett wants to make sure that his mother safely navigates her mourning process. The loss of a child will always be devastating, but the loss of a child to gun violence could easily be too much to bear for any parent. There is no escape for Joan. Or is there? Love and a life away from this dark place is offered to Joan by Paul. Can Joan learn to love with her broken heart? With the help of her friends and encouragement from her son, Joan is able to make the choice that allows her to live again. 

Featuring...

W. Tre Davis as EMMETT

Tracie Franklin as JOAN

Pamela Monroe as ATHENA

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$10 Suggested Donation

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS.

Wine served.
Reading followed by a 20-minute talkback.

About Khalil Kain

New York City born and bred. 20 plus years in the entertainment industry as an actor. Best known for his role as Raheem in the hood classic JUICE, and as his turn as Darnell on the hit tv show GIRLFRIENDS.

Khalil worked as the director and as a producer at Aaron Davis Hall for their production of Sam Shepard's BURIED CHILD. Khalil sits on the board of directors at the City College Center of the Arts, and teaches at the Harlem School of the Arts. 

Khalil is now transitioning to work behind the camera. The Cop drama MADERO is presently in development with Khalil Kain Producing. 

LAMBS TO SLAUGHTER is the first play written by Khalil Kain. 

Khalil Kain to star in Nathan James' "Contrary to Popular Belief" reading TONIGHT (NYC)

Tonight!  July 14, 2014    7:30pm  

The Cell Theater

(338 W. 23rd Street b/t 8th and 9th Avenues)

The cast list is in for Nathan James' full length play, Contrary to Popular Belief, at The Black Board Reading series: Khalil Kain (well known for GIRLFRIENDS and JUICE), Toccarra Cash, James Edward Becton III, Carter Woodson, Norman Small, Mckenzie Frye, Evander Duck, and Ryan Guess. 

Synopsis:

On the South side of Pittsburgh, there is a business district that’s stretches along East Carson Street, which is home to shop owner, Kevin Evans, who struggles to keep his life together amidst his estranged brother missing in New Orleans and a failing marriage.  Contrary to Popular Belief is a play about love, betrayal, regret, and forgiveness surrounding the controversial events of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.  The play is set in Kevin’s shop, Debonair’s, in the fall of 2005 in the critical hours of the warning to evacuate New Orleans.  In the midst of this national disaster the characters in this play must find a way to cope as they also deal with going through the storms in their personal lives.  With the revealing of dark family secrets, infidelity, and the threat a Debonair’s license to operate being revoked, Kevin and the shop employees take us on a journey through their personal storms as they struggle to keep their head above water to survive. Contrary to Popular belief explores the causes of the unaddressed stress levels causing hyper tension for many African Americans, questions the government, and addresses the domino effect racism has played on the state of many black communities today.

Written by Nathan James

Directed by Cezar Williams

Stage directions are being read by Stori Ayers .

Come out to the Cell Theater on July 14th at 7:30 pm. More information at: www.blackboardplays.com

Khalil Kain and Peter Jay Fernandez "trade fours" in DC Copeland's dancical "Jitterbug!" (NYC)

Here's a video clip shot by Benja K Thomas during the sold-out 3/23 NYC reading. Khalil Kain, in the starring role of Billy Rhythm, takes on Bojangles (Peter Jay Fernandez) in the Hoofers Club, the legendary "unacknowledged world headquarters of tap dance." The Hoofers Club was basically a storage closet in the Comedy Club, the Jolly Fellows' Harlem hangout. It was just big enough to squeeze in an upright piano and a bench and still have enough floor space left over for two tap dancers to work their stuff. Bojangles challenges the desperate, injured and impetuous Rhythm to "trade fours." If he dances as well as he says he can, Bojangles will call off the Jolly Fellows who are bent on beating him up good. Pamela Monroe is reading the stage directions. Directed by Petronia Paley at the Tada! Theater. Music is based on the "Buck Dancer's Lament," a turn-of-the-century little riff in the public domain aka "stop-time." You can learn more at www.ouatih.com.

Sneak Preview: Jeffrey Page's "slow drag" choreography for JITTERBUG! with Khalil Kain and Afi McClendon

Emmy nominated choreographer Jeffrey Page's rehearsal footage of the dance he's creating for the Jitterbug! slow drag scene with Khalil Kain and Afi McClendon. Music: Jitis Blues by  Memphis Minnie (1930). Tickets are still available for the Saturday, March 23rd reading in NYC. You can buy tickets and learn more at www.ouatih.com.

Andi Bohs cast as female lead in Jitterbug! (NYC)

Andi Bohs

Actress Andi Bohs has been cast by director Petronia Paley as the female lead in DC Copeland's Jitterbug!  This will be Andi's second time around in the dancical. Last March she had a smaller part in the shortened "radio" version at the prestigious National Black Theater in Harlem. While in Chicago she was featured in a number of regional productions including a dual-role performance as Mama/Hannah in A Midnight Cry at the historic Auditorium Theatre and Richard III at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Since moving to New York she has performed as Belle de Costa Green in Ventfort Hall’s production of Belle of the Books, a role which was remounted for both the Metropolitan Playhouse’s 2011 Harlem Renaissance Festival and the 50th anniversary of the Union College Library. She most recently performed in Fresh Ground Pepper’s All the Rats and Rags and Tiny Rhino's Valentine's Day Eve Celebration.

Tickets are still available for the music and dance-filled reading at the Tada! Theatre Saturday March 23rd. Movie and TV star Khalil Kain will play Billy Rhythm, the lead character. He will be joining award-winning director Petronia Paley and Emmy nominated choreographer Jeffrey Page. Jitterbug! was invited by Artistic Director Paul Adams of the Emerging Artists Theatre's (EAT) to participate in the "invitation only" annual New Works Festival. The play has been vetted by USA Projects and Fractured Atlas for tax- deductible contributions to help offset its production costs. You can learn more at www.ouatih.com. 

Khalil Kain will play Billy Rhythm, the lead character in DC Copeland's Jitterbug! (NYC)

Khalil Kain

Khalil Kain first appeared in the 1992 film Juice as Raheem. Some of his credits include Suddenly Susan, Friends, Living Single, Moesha, Angel, and Sister, Sister.

Kain portrayed Marvin Cox in the 1997 romantic comedy, Love Jones and golfer Tiger Woods in Showtime's The Tiger Woods Story. He was also in Bones with co-star Snoop Dogg. Kain has been an avid student of martial arts since 1996, and holds a black belt in hapkido.^[1]

He appeared as Darnell Wilkes on the UPN/CW TV series Girlfriends from Seasons 2 through 8. He replaced Flex Alexander, who left to star in the sitcom One on One.^[2]

He also played the role of Bill in the 2010 movie For Colored Girls.

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Directed by Petronia Paley with dance numbers by Emmy nominated choreographer Jeffrey Page, the music and dance-filled reading will take place at 9pm, Saturday, March 23rd at the Tada! Theatre in Manhattan. Jitterbug!, the award-winning "dancical" by DC Copeland is participating in the "by invitation only" New Works Festival by Emerging Artists Theatre (EAT). Vetted by USA Projects and Fractured Atlas, tax deductible donations in support of the reading can be found here and here.