#Mfoniso Udofia

[trascapades]

🎭🇭🇹#ArtIsAWeapon

Y'all - GO SEE BAD KREYÒL, written by Dominique Morisseau @domorisseau, directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene @tiffanynicholegreene, at the @signatureinnyc until December 1. DOMINIQUE HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!! BRAVA SIS!

@walktallgirl is offering a $40 no-fee ticket discount with code KREYOL.

Swipe 👈🏿

I attended the October 24th "Black Theatre Night" performance, which featured a spirited talk back with three dynamic Black women playwrights Dominique, Jocelyn Bioh @jjbioh and Mfoniso Udofia @mfudofia, moderated by Chris Berry @chris__berry.

Today, October 26, Bad Kreyòl performances are at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm, and there will also be a Kreyòl Marketplace featuring 15 vendors, live music and a fashion show. Vendors include:

- Valerie Fields - @ashanti770

- Henock/Sheila Anozier - @vb3_1804

- Susan J. Patterson - @artfromtheplanet

- @samuelaugustin_ - Sammo & Friends

- @jacqueline_braithwaite - Customized Crocheted Clothing

- Karine Adrianne - @treschicevents

- Magda Guillame - @yoto_and_claire

- Christya Boucher - @vestaklozetboutik

- Nixon Leger - @nixonlegerart

- Dimitri & Eitan Beaulieu - @titontonart

- Ralph Richardson - @pwodwilakay_

- Tetpwav Solie - @pwavarts

- Brenda Brunson Bey - @tribaltruthscollection

- Sandra A. M Bell - @jouvayfest_collective

- Pascale and Rose Blendzville - @blendzville_cafe

Reposted from @signatureinnyc / @mtc_nyc Signature Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club present Dominique Morisseau's (Confederates, Paradise Blue, Sunset Baby at Signature; Skeleton Crew at MTC) beautiful world premiere play about interrogating cultural identity and global impact. Simone, first-generation Haitian American, and her cousin Gigi, Haitian-born and raised, reunite to honor their grandmother's dying wish for them to reconnect. Simone's pilgrimage back to her ancestral homeland forces both cousins to confront their differing world views.

#BADKREYÒL #DominiqueMorisseau

#Haiti #HaitianCulture #BlackWomenPlaywrights #BlackGirlArtGeeks

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[ear-worthy]

Play On Julius Caesar Debuts: "Friends, Americans, Countrymen, Lend Me Your Ears."

Play On Podcasts is simply genius. 

It reimagines Shakespeare’s timeless tales, featuring original musical compositions and the voices of extraordinarily gifted artists. The podcast is remarkable in so many ways. The original music is delightful and enchanting. The acting bristles with emotive energy. The plays they re-enact are much more Laurence Olivier in Hamlet than Mel Gibson in Hamlet. The scripted plays facilitate Shakespearean humor, wit, and sarcasm to flow through them.

Most importantly, the plays are scripted in modern English verse for modern audiences. Therefore, the age-old excuse that you don’t like Shakespeare because you can’t understand the words has vanished.

My first play of Play On was Othello, which began in September 2023. The play was broken up into seven episodes of about 35 minutes per episode. Then, Play On releases bonus content, typically with the playwright who reimagined the Shakespearean classic in modern verse or one of the actors. The October 13, 2023, bonus content of Othello with playwright Mfoniso Udofia was inspired, with Udofia explaining how to handle the conversion of words from old English to modern language, especially the racial epithets.

Then, Play On released the full play of Othello in one episode, which lasted over three hours.

Episode 1 of Play On Podcasts: Julius Caesar was released on October 21. Marcus Gardley’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s roiling political drama takes us into the heart of the Civil Rights movement and its aftermath.

This play was written during the political transition, which also marked a shift in Shakespeare’s writing. Julius Caesar and Romeo and Juliet are amongst the first of his great tragedies, written between 1599 and 1608. Julius Caesar is the most cerebral of these tragedies. The audience is not particularly sympathetic to the murdered Caesar, as he is hardly alive on stage long enough to seem a fully developed character. In his few scenes he appears as a charming, affable, if somewhat big-headed military leader, with a boyish sense of invincibility. 

“The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.”

“Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!”

“Et tu, Brute?”

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

“Cowards die many times before their deaths;  The valiant never taste of death but once.”

Directed by Harry Lennix and translated into modern English verse by Shishir Kurup, featuring the voices of Michael Potts, Glenn Davis, Megan Boone, and Jeremy Tardy, with original music composition and Sound Design by Lindsay Jones.

In the words of Shakespeare in Julius Caesar, “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears.”

Listen to Play On Julius Caesar.

[tv-moments]

Little America

Season 1, “The Cowboy“

Director: Bharat Nalluri

DoP: Paula Huidobro

[perry-tannenbaum]

Women’s Theatre Festival’s Othello Is Femme-tastic

Women’s Theatre Festival’s Othello Is Femme-tastic

Review: Women’s Theatre Festival production of Othello By Perry Tannenbaum In so many ways, the new Women’s Theatre Festival production of Othello is radically different than any we’ve seen before. For starters, take the text, a modern verse translation by Mfoniso Udofia, commissioned by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and flying off to Raleigh for its world premiere, streaming on a dedicated…

[frontmezzjunkies]

NYTW's Expands the Cycle with a Crowded "runboyrun" & a Solidly Finished "In Old Age"

#frontmezzjunkies reviews: @NYTW79 #runboyrun directed by #LorettaGreco & #InOldAge directed by #AwoyeTimpo two one-act plays part of #TheUfotCycle by #MfonisoUdofia with #ChikeJohnson #PatriceJohnsonChevannes #RonCanada #KarlGreen

Chiké Johnson and Patrice Johnson Chevannes in runboyrun. Photo by Joan Marcus.

The Review: Mfoniso Udofia’s runboyrun & In Old Age

By Ross

I’ve been here before, in this place where playwright Mfoniso Udofia has dropped her fascinating and detailed characters down into, both worlds that are parallel universes of sorts projecting forward into the future through her detailed and dynamic saga, The…

[caroleditosti]

'runboyrun' and 'In Old Age' Two Magnificent Works by Mfoniso Udofia

‘runboyrun’ and ‘In Old Age’ Two Magnificent Works by Mfoniso Udofia

Chiké Johnson, Patrice Johnson Chevannes in ‘runboyrun’ and ‘In Old Age,’ written by Mfoniso Udofia, directed by Loretta Greco, Awoye Timpo (Joan Marcus)

What is the impact of experiencing a genocidal civil war when one’s ancestry, bloodline and religion are used as targeted excuses for extermination? If one survives, is it possible to overcome the wartime horrors one experienced? Or is the…

[wellesleyunderground]

W in Art: Mfoniso Udofia ‘06

Mfoniso Udofia ‘06 is a first generation storyteller, educator and playwright. Based in New York City, she was recently profiled by The Times for her works the Ufot Family Cycle Plays (Sojourners and Her Portmanteau) which were produced as part of the New York Theatre Workshop’s Spring 2017 season. WU sits down with Mfoniso to discuss her journey in life and in writing.

Cover Image by Frances F.  Denny for The New York Times

Q: What is your story? How did you fall in love with theatre/the stage/storytelling?

I have always loved performance. In middle and high school I played the trombone. At Wellesley I began taking opera lessons. It wasn’t until Wellesley; however, that I discovered that the joy I had on stage could become the joy I had in life. I was singing, dabbling in the theater arts and restoring myself from the inside out and, during my senior year of College, I decided to make my extra-curricular delight, my life’s work.

Q: What was your professional path like? How did a political science major end up in theatre?

My parents had a singular hand in molding and preparing me for Wellesley. I enrolled with the intention of following the footsteps of Madeleine Albright and/or Hillary Clinton. I was interested in the dispossession of so-called third-world countries. I wanted to understand how institutions like the World Bank/IMF worked within West-African nations. What was the help? What was the damage? I loved what I learned at Wellesley and I did well within my chosen major. Plus, I was happy to be manifesting a family dream. Something did change; however, when I discovered that the Arts were just as much a tool for social change as policy-making. I let Political Science, as a career go, and my parents, in time, shifted their dreams for me. I still use what I learned as a Political Science major within my my work. I am writing a 9-play cycle that follows a Nigerian family from Akwa Ibom, Nigeria to Massachusetts, United States. Audiences watch how governments and policies clash against actual human bodies and their dreams for themselves. Audiences then go home and consider the hidden life of people they never knew, and that can change a ballot as well.  

Q: What are the biggest challenges you faced trying to build a career in the arts?

I graduated from Wellesley in 2006. I then immediately enrolled at the American Conservatory Theatre and received my degree in Acting in 2009. I did not dream of playwriting at this time; I wanted to be an actress. 2007-2008 was the great global financial crises, referred to by many as the largest financial catastrophe since the Great Depression. As I stated, I graduated in 2009 with a terminal degree in the Fine Arts and then went to New York City to begin my life as an actress. I had  thousands of dollars in student loan debt, no security net, and no job prospects. Getting hired in any capacity  proved impossible during that time. Building a career in the Arts is a difficult business even when the economy is flush. Non-theater jobs had dried up, not to mention theater based work. I cobbled together a life. I babysat. I substitute taught in NYC public and charter schools. I volunteered with youth. I auditioned as best as I could. It was not easy. I started writing in 2009 to process what was happening in and around me. It was a faithful artistic outlet that I could do no matter what the world was doing. My playwriting career seeded during this time.

Q: What have been the greatest rewards?

There have been many rewards. Seeing people learn and then change their minds about African bodies has been rewarding. Seeing the way theater institutions are banding around the cycle and educating themselves about how they can showcase the plays with integrity and authenticity has been rewarding. One of my greatest rewards; however, has been watching West-Africans see representations of themselves on the American stage. During my run at New York Theatre Workshop [they produced two of my plays, Sojourners and Her Portmanteau], a group of Ibibio women were in the audience. Once they heard one of my characters speaking in Ibibio they started whooping and talking back to the stage in glee. My spirit flew so high that day!

Q: Were there every moments throughout your career when you doubted yourself/what you were doing? How did those moments resolve?

Of course there were moments I doubted myself. I keep a document that shows how many residencies and grants I apply for. In the beginning of my career it felt like I was applying and applying with no return. I couldn’t break through. I depended on my spiritual center, my family and friends who kept pushing me to find the fortitude to keep writing and applying. I also diversified approach. Friends from American Conservatory Theater helped stage readings and workshops of the plays to strengthen them and to build a community around my work. From there I started seeing acceptances roll through, and I have been able to keep members of that beginning community around me today.

Q: What advice would you give to your younger self/someone just starting in the field?

Go! Go! Go! Use energy to multiply energy. Experiment with form. Experiment with ideas. Write what you know and what you haven’t seen.  Apply for residencies and grants. Let family and friends bolster you and feed you.  Fail forward into your hard-earned success. Say thank you. Say thank you again. Rest. Rest. Rest. Repeat.

Q: What is your creative process like? How do you begin?

I usually write in the morning. 4am is my time to write. Most humans are sleeping, the world is readying itself to waken and flow is easier. All of my plays also begin with a question. Questions such as: Can the Nigerian dream live within American environs? Can trauma become tradition? All of my plays begin in the aforementioned fashioned. What differs in my process is “the way.” I am able to write some plays in one sitting, a veritable conjure that pours out of me. Some plays make me work and I am grasping thoughts and hoping I catch them fast and soft enough to write them down.

Q: Can you tell us about a piece of art that deeply moves you? The one that convinced you that this was the right path?

There are many. I read a lot of contemporary West African literature. A Famished Road by Ben Okri was a seminal work for me. Of course, I count Achebe’s, Things Fall Apart, as a master work and one that helped shape my writer’s mind. Some other works that also helped shape me are: Nwapa’s, Efuru; Adichie’s, Purple Hibiscus, Chauvet’s, Love, Anger, Madness; Danticat’s, Brother, I’m Dying…and there are more. So many more.

Q: Your identity as a Nigerian-American features heavily in your work. How has your identity (and by extension your work)  changed over time?

My identity is the ever-evolving truth of myself. When I started writing I knew only 25 years of myself, and my plays only held that. I am now 33 and plays hold 33 years of myself. I cannot wait my plays look like when I am 70 years old.

Q: Do you have any advice for other artists in the age of Trump (given the administration’s stance on immigration)?

Interviewee response: My advice to any artist attempting to create in the age of Trump is to “go forth boldly.” Greed, antipathy and lack of education has caused a devastating case of American amnesia. That amnesia has caused us to forget the plight of the immigrant body, the plight of descendants of those forcibly kidnapped and bound to a land foreign to their ancestral home. This amnesia has caused some of us to forget that this land used to belong to others and has not always been ours. The artist can remember our humanity and place it on stage for all to see. Despite danger, we must strive to create with impunity. So one is always is watching. Healing is always steps away.  

And just for fun:

Q: What is your favorite way to unwind/practice self-care?

Self-care is becoming more and more important. I used to run on all cylinders and attempt to work 24 hours in a day. I’d feel guilty if I “wasted” an hour. Not anymore. If I don’t take care of my mind and my body, my mind and body produces nothing. I get my nails done. I get massages. I try to carve out time for my best friend and sit with her on a couch and talk just like we did in our Wellesley dorm rooms. I visit my mother in Massachusetts and rake leaves on our land. I find bodies of water and just look out into the expanse and remember that I am not the center of the universe. My self-care divides itself between conscious pampering, exalting in nature and sitting inside the care and love of the people I adore.  

[alotogifs]

A League of Their Own Cast Live Tweets 1x08 Pt.1

Abbi: Gotta love an extreme close up... :/ :) Will: Our writers talked a lot about what it's like feeling out of your groove when you're in charge. 

Will: I love D’arcy Carden intensity in this scene. Will: Hahahaha. I love Patrick J. Adams in this scene. This was based on one of our writers stories about doing this to her boyfriend who was trying to be too supportive. Abbi: I LOVE Patrick J. Adams -- what a treat to get to work with him. Will: The story of Carson becoming the coach of the team is based on a real incident from the AAGPBL where the coach was fired mid-season and three of the players had to take over!   Abbi: ESG babay. 

D’arcy: THANK YOU CHERYL   Will: I LOVE CHERYL. Also Chanté Adams and Gbemi Ikumelo were VERY excited for this scene and they really killed it. Lots of improv!

D’arcy: 5,000 more scenes with Cecil please. Abbi: It's "Big C" D'Arc. Will: The Chicago Defender was one of the biggest black papers in the US. The papers were distributed by train couriers on their routes! D’arcy: i love frens 🥺

Chanté: When I read this scene I knew it was gonna be epic and I knew it was missing one thing…SUNGLASSES. I schemed all day begging the producers and our director if we could wear sunglasses and they all agreed. Action was called, magic was made, the rest is herstory.   Will: THIS WAS CHANTÉ’S MOMENT. Well one of them. She had strong feeling about the glasses and now it's m favorite moment!

Will: To the five has become something we kinda say a lot now.

Will: I LOVE A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN. That is why. Abbi: This is the Peaches theme our composers created. You'll hear it throughout the whole season. Will: I am SO proud of and in love with Abbi's performance in this scene. Justine Siegal said she'd never seen a woman give a speech like this on TV.   Justine: It’s true. I had never heard a sport’s pep talk from a woman on TV. I hadn’t heard too many in real life either. I was really touched by how Carson was leading her team! Made me take a moment. Abbi: This is our moment! #LeagueWatchParty Hahah sorry I'm just repeating my lines. Will: I also love how Carson has taken on Greta's advice from episode 1. Will: We wanted to do a story about leadership that grew slowly and was more about being vulnerable than controlling -- That came from Abbi.

Abbi: Kate Berlant is incredible in this scene. D’arcy: Kate Berlant supremacy 😍 Will: True fact! I did not know about Botulism before this script. I am not a worrier? Learning! Will: We had a lot of conversations about what Carson's moment here should sound like, since "coming out" wasn't a real possibility in this time. It comes down to Carson saying I am the thing you're afraid of -- What are you going to do now? 

Abbi: D’arcy Carden came over to watch with me. D’arcy: shaw&gill 🍑 Chanté: Look at you cutiesssss. D’arcy: Hiiiiiiii chanteeeeeeeee ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Will: I'm obsessed with the intensity in D’arcy Carden eyes before she hits. Bring me home Shaw! Will: They real AAGPBL players were very proud of all their bruises and scrapes.

Abbi: You ALWAYS need a code word! Will: I love Chanté Adams and Gbemi Ikumelo in this BUFFALO scene. "IS SHE SMILING?" 

Will: Worth mentioning Anya Adams is the director of this episode! It was a HUGE challenge. Massive episode. We are so lucky to have had her. Will: Our writer Mfoniso Udofia contributed so much to this Max and Toni scene. Max and Toni are trying so hard to find a way to talk. Will: A lot of the pictures in Max's house are of Chanté Adams’s family.

Chanté: This is a photo of me next to my grandfather. He’s also in the smaller photos along with some of my other family as well. He passed away in 2009 but this was his era. So happy to have him watching over me through this process. I think he would have loved Max 🖤

Will: I love Le Robinson swagger in this scene. And some important S2 threads in here!

[rndyounghowze]

Award Show Nominations 2022

“Billy Bard” For Digital Shakespeare Production Of The Year

Breakneck Comedy of Errors by Timothy Mooney Repertory Company

WTF Othello by Mfoniso Udofia and Women’s Theatre Festival

Othello by American Shakespeare Festival

“Mind-Blowing Comedy” For Comedic Writing Of The Year

Fabulous King James Bible by New Generation Theatrical

Zoom Comedy of Errors by Brawling Bard

Rejection Hearts and Other Lovely Things by Punchline Loading

“Mind-Blowing Drama” For Dramatic Writing Of The Year

Theatre A Love Story by Caridad Svich at Know Theatre of Cincinnati

“America V 2.1: The Sad Demise And Eventual Extinction Of The American Negro” by Stacey Rose at Definition Theatre

“Signs of Life”: a musical with book by Peter Ullian, Lyrics by Len Schiff, and Music by Joel Derfner at Yiddishkayt Initiative

Freedom Summer by Cynthia Grace Robinson at North Carolina Black Repertory Company

“Making It Up As I Go Along” For Improv of the Year

Trudy Carmichael Presents the Improvised One-Woman Show! Created and Performed by Robin Rothman at Pittsburgh Fringe

The Professionals: Mockumentaries On Demand directed by Diana Brown

Bingewatch by Diana Brown and Dan Wilson

Glamour Puss by Nanette Deasy and Graceann Dorse

Tilted Frame by Combined Artforms

“Show Up” For Theatre Mentor of The Year

TBA

“Despot of Decency” For Theatre Activist Of The Year

TBA

Show Of The Year

Unintentional Significance by Sean P Mette at Cincinnati Fringe

What the Fuck Just Happened? By Mike Daisey at Frigid NYC

Tribe Called Tubman by Idris Goodwin

“The Catastrophist” by Lauren M Gunderson at Marin Theatre Company and Roundhouse Theatre

Creative Of The Year

TBA

“More Than Merely Players“ For Dramatic Performers Of The Year

Roberto Francisco in “A Love Song” by Os Satyros at Hollywood Fringe

Kamal Angelo Bolden in "RideShare" by Reginald Edmund at Writers Theatre

Jada Suzanne Dixon in "Tribe Called Tubman" by Idris Goodwin

Nikyla Boxley and Mariah Guillmette in "Freedom Summer" by Cynthia Grace Robinson

“Fools These Mortals Be” For Comedic Performers Of The Year

Heba Toulan in "Zoom Christmas Carol" by Zoom Shakespeare

Maulik Pancholy in "Fully Committed" by Becky Mode at George Street Playhouse

Andrèa Burns in "Bad Dates" by Theresa Rebeck at George Street Playhouse

Director Of The Year

Bridget Leak in “You Will Live Under The Sea” by Queen City Flash at Cincinnati Fringe

Simeilia Hodge-Dallaway in “Ride Share” by Reginald Edmund at Writer’s Theatre

Michole Biancosino in “Planet of the Grapes” by Peter Michael Marino

“Chewie Award” For Team Behind A Solo Performance

“On The Beauty of Loss” by Jared Mezzocchi chi at Vineyard Theatre

“Planet of the Grapes” by Peter Michael Marino

“Betsey Carmichael Live At The Bingo Palace” by Betsey Carmichael at Cincinnati Fringe

“All By Myself Award” For Solo Performance Of The Year

“Prime Of Miss Jenn Joplin” by Jennifer Joplin at Cincinnati Fringe

“Rosegold” by Donna Yarborough at Pittsburgh Fringe

“Rewind-a-Buddy” By J Merrill Motz/Paper Soul at Cincinnati Fringe

“Campfire Award” For Storyteller Of The Year

Martin Dockery for “Right Now Year Two”

David Lawson for “Are You A Robot” at Frigid New York

Mike Daisy for “What the Fuck Just Happened?” at Frigid New York

“BIPOC HERO” For The BIPOC Creative Team Of The Year

TBA

“Worldwide Award” For Collaborative Work Of The Year

“Toshanisha” by Bold Theatre Kenya and Os Satyros

“Now Now Now” by Tom Cavanaugh at Pittsburgh Fringe

“Period Piece” by Susan Cinoman

“On The Fringes” Fringe of the Year

Pittsburgh

Toronto

Cincinnati

“Weird and Worth It” For Experimental Production Of The Year

Light at the End of A World by Know Theatre of Cincinnati

“Jackson C Frank Listening Party” by Michael Aguirre at 59E59

Recovery: Cold Case by Phoenix Tears Productions

“Practical Game Changer” For Practical Effects Of The Year

“Planet of the Grapes” by Peter Michael Marino

“Continuum” by Solasta Theatre Lab and Performance Gallery at Cincinnati Fringe

“Unintentional Significance” by Sean P. Mette at Cincinnati Fringe

“You Will Live Under The Sea” by Queen City Flash at Cincinnati Fringe

“Digital Game Changer” For Digital Effects Of The Year

“On The Beauty Of Loss” by Jared Mezzocchi at the Vineyard Theatre

“Kaleidoscope Bonehouse” by Cookie Tongue at Pittsburgh Fringe

“Theatre A Love Story” by Know Theatre of Cincinnati

“Reach Out“ For Immersive Production Of The Year

“Speakeasy on Demand” by Kaleidoscope Entertainment

“A Light at the End of A World” at Know Theatre of Cincinnati

Recovery: Cold Case by Phoenix Tears Productions

“Grace Notes” For Musical Production Of The Year

“F7th Grade” by Jill Sobule at City Theatre Company

“Doggotainment” by Killy Dwyer at The Vino Theatre

“Ease of A Murder” By Gwendolyn Fitz at Pittsburgh Fringe

“Close (But Not Too Close)” by Project Y Theatre Co

“Nope” For Solo Horror Of The Year

“Brig” by J Merrill Motz/Paper Soul

“Rosegold” By Donna Kay Yarborough at Pittsburgh Fringe

“One Easy Lie” by Martin Dockery at Cincinnati Fringe

“Magician” For Press Contact Of The Year

TBA “Tech Coven” For Tech Team Of The Year

WTF Fringe

“The Catastrophist” by Lauren M Gunderson at Marin Theatre Company and Roundhouse Theatre

“Theatre: A Love Story” by Caridad Svich at Know Theatre of Cincinnati

“Extensions“ For Movement Artist Of The Year

“Tango In The Dark” by Pointe Tango

“Current” by Pones at Cincinnati Fringe

“Of Lungs and Leaves” by Sue Abramson and Mita Ghosal at Pittsburgh Fringe

“You Oughta Be In Pictures” For Film Of The Year

“Needs” by Amanda Levesque and Tom Kilby at Pittsburgh Fringe

“Of Lungs and Leaves” by Sue Abramson and Mita Ghosal at Pittsburgh Fringe

“Current” by Pones at Cincinnati Fringe

“Long Zoomie” For Long-Form Zoom Play Of The Year

“Continuum” by Solasta Theatre Lab and Performance Gallery at Cincinnati Fringe

“Zoom Comedy of Errors” by Brawling Bard at Pittsburgh Fringe

Recovery: Cold Case by Phoenix Tears Productions

“Recommended For You” by Torey Parker at WTF Festival

“Deep End“ For Hybrid Production of The Year

“What the Fuck Just Happened?” By Mike Daisey at Frigid New York

"Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord" by Kristina Wong at New York Theater Workshop

“No Pants In Tucson” by The Anthropologists

“Can You Hear Me Now” Audio Production of the Year

“A Lesson in Swimming” by Michael Shutt

“Iron Heel” by Edward Einhorn at Untitled Theatre Company

“Bite Sized Broadway” by Indie Works Theatre

[lotusdreamzofluxury]

Repost from @kikislacksoprano • HOW are YOU going into the week?? THIS IS HOW I'M DOING IT!! #SoulfulSunday #EllaBaker #BlackFreedomMovement #Shero #Radical #Activist #Inspiration #Repost @natblacktheatre • • • • • • “‘We aren’t free until within us we have that deep sense of freedom from a lot of things that we don’t even mention...people cannot be free until they realize that peace, that peace is not the absence of war or struggle, it is the presence of justice.’⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ justice.⁣⁣ i looked up the word⁣⁣ it mean: just treatment. fairness. respect.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ i think we aren’t free without the presence of justice AND celebrating. that’s the justice we give ourselves because we been born.⁣⁣ ...⁣⁣ can you imagine?⁣⁣ if all of us across the world lived like everyday’s our birthday? and every day we were that free?⁣⁣ can you imagine?”⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ~ Mfoniso Udofia’s (@mfudofia) Mother’s of the Movement Commission⁣, "Juneteenth."⁣ ⁣⁣ 🎥: Ella Baker (at Lotus Dreamz Davidson,nc) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCjIrSmhNzz/?igshid=1v3t5ocds7lhb

[uomo-accattivante]

So, THAT’S why Oscar and Greta were having dinner a while back...

Sam Gold, who directed Isaac in the title role of 'Hamlet' and Gerwig in 'The Village Bike,' will stage the Chekhov production, part of the 2019-20 season at New York Theatre Workshop.

Greta Gerwig and Oscar Isaac will reunite with stage director Sam Gold on a production of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters at off-Broadway's New York Theatre Workshop.

Gold, a Tony Award winner for Fun Home, returns to NYTW after directing a sold-out, critically lauded production there of Othello in 2016, which starred Daniel Craig, David Oyelowo, Rachel Brosnahan and Finn Wittrock. Gold also directed an acclaimed 2012 production of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, adapted by his frequent collaborator Annie Baker.

Isaac previously collaborated with the director on a 2017 production of Hamlet at the Public Theater, in which he played the title role. Gerwig worked with Gold in 2014, playing the lead role in Brit playwright Penelope Skinner's The Village Bike. Additional cast, creative team and dates are to be announced on Three Sisters, which will conclude NYTW's season in the spring.

Following the success of Lady Bird, Gerwig currently is wrapping up postproduction on her second feature as writer-director, Little Women, which stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Meryl Streep, Laura Dern and Timothee Chalamet and is scheduled for release Dec. 25. She is also attached to direct the Margot Robbie vehicle Barbie, which Gerwig will co-write with her partner, Noah Baumbach.

Isaac's upcoming films include Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Denis Villeneuve's Dune remake. He provides the voice of Gomez in the animated feature The Addams Family, opening for Halloween.

Also new to the season schedule at NYTW is Endlings, written by Celine Song and directed by Sammi Cannold. The play, which premiered at American Repertory Theater in Boston earlier this year, deals with Korean identity, centering on three elderly haenyeo, the female divers who harvest seafood from the rough South Korean seas and have long held a prominent place in their matriarchal society but now risk extinction. Song is a staff writer on Amazon's The Wheel of Time and is developing a television project with Diablo Cody and Beth Behrs.

The addition of Endlings and Three Sisters completes the lineup for NYTW's 2019-29 season. Those productions join the previously announced musical adaptation of John Carney's film Sing Street; a double bill of Nigerian American playwright Mfoniso Udofia's Runboyrun and In Old Age; and Sanctuary City, the new drama from Martyna Majok, winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Cost of Living.

NYTW has been on a roll with breakout successes lately. Writer-performer Heidi Schreck's hit What the Constitution Means to Me transferred to Broadway in a limited engagement that just yesterday announced full recoupment of its $2.5 million investment and will continue to generate profit through its Aug. 24 closing date. Another much talked-about NYTW sensation, Jeremy O. Harris' provocative Slave Play, will move to Broadway in the fall.

###

[harlemworldmagazine]

Harlem Stage And National Black Theatre Present “Mothers Of The Movements” In Harlem

Harlem Stage And National Black Theatre Present “Mothers Of The Movements” In Harlem

Harlem Stage, the legendary uptown venue that for over 30 years has promoted the creative legacy of Harlem and artists of color from around the corner and across the globe, is proud to present its Spring 2018 season of performances. (more…)

[ear-worthy]

Play On Podcasts Premieres "As You Like It" In a Woodstock Setting

  Play On Podcasts, is simply genius. It reimagines Shakespeare's timeless tales, featuring original musical compositions and the voices of extraordinarily gifted artists. It's remarkable that the podcast is superb in so many ways. The original music is delightful and enchanting. The acting bristles with emotive energy. The plays they re-enact are much more Laurence Olivier in Hamlet than Mel Gibson in Hamlet. The scripted plays facilitate Shakespearean humor, wit, and sarcasm to flow through them.

The latest Play On Podcasts is As You Like It. More on this later in the article. Most important of all, the Play On Podcasts plays are scripted in modern English verse for modern audiences. Therefore, the age-old excuse that you don't like Shakespeare because you can't understand the words has vanished. 

My first play on Play On was Othello, which began in September 2023. The play was broken up into seven episodes of about 35 minutes per episode. Then, Play On releases bonus content, typically with the playwright who reimagined the Shakespearean classic in modern verse or one of the actors. The October 13, 2023 bonus content of Othello with playwright Mfoniso Udofia was inspired, with Udofia explaining how to handle the conversion of words from old English to modern language, especially the racial epithets. 

Then, Play On released the full play of Othello in one episode, which lasted over three hours. Their last series was The Taming of the Shrew and you can listen to the entire play here. In April, the troop completed Romeo And Juliet. To quote the Prince in Act 5, Scene 3: "

For never was a story of more woe / Than this of Juliet and her Romeo." Bring tissues and don't be afraid to cry when you're commuting to work. 

In episode one of every play, Play On recommends that listeners use headphones or earbuds for the best listening experience. It's a recommendation I urge you to follow. The plays are rich in sounds that can captivate your ears. There is the dialogue -- crisp and understandable. The background sounds -- horses, wagons, merchants, nature -- can layer you into the play like being an avatar in a video game.

The show has a voice and text consultant, an equipment and recording engineer, a sound effects assistant, and a production assistant. That's a lot of resources and a lot of money. As a listener, you hear that excellence.

 This show is where theater meets podcasts, combining the modern-day audio phenomenon with the power of live performance. Play On Podcasts is an epic audio adventure reimagining timeless tales, featuring original music compositions and the voices of extraordinarily gifted artists. Past seasons included Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Love Labor's Lost. 

Now, let's prepare you for As You Like It.

Set in Woodstock during the sixties, it upends the rules of romance, gender, nature and politics. Set in Woodstock during the sixties’ “Summer of Love,” David Ivers’ translation of Shakespeare’s As You Like It upends the rules of romance, gender, nature and politics in a tale of life’s joy and confusion. Directed by Kim Martin Cotten with original songs and music by Lindsay Jones. 

Check it out. Play On Podcasts brings the theater to your ears. If you're a woman, As You Like It has been considered an early feminist play, and the elaborate gender reversals in the story are of particular interest to modern critics interested in gender studies. If you're a man, then listen, enjoy, and put it on your online dating profile.

[shakespearenews]

An ambitious effort to hire contemporary playwrights to translate the Bard into modern English is about to deliver the goods...

“When Iago shifts from verse to prose, it feels like getting dumped with an ice bucket,” Mfoniso Udofia told me. “The language becomes so coarse and vulgar.” In her first draft, Iago’s warning to Desdemona’s father, “A black ram is tupping your white ewe,” became “A black ram is tupping, shtupping, topping your white, white, white ewe.” She planned to dial back “Mfoniso style” as she revised, but she wanted to make sure the lewdness of Iago’s bestial metaphor came through.

[frontmezzjunkies]

Sojourners & Her Portmanteau: The Star is Born

#frontmezzjunkies reviews: #Sojourners & #HerPortmanteau @NYTW79 @kisha_may @i_Chinasa

Hubert Point-Du-Jour, Chinasa Ogbuagu. All Photos by Joan Marcus.

Sojourners & Her Portmanteau: The Star is Born

By Ross

Mfoniso Udofia is a playwright that I have had little to no connection to. So the prospect of seeing two of her plays, one right after another, held a great excitement and sense of promise.  I’m not sure why, but the words that make up the titles of her two plays, Sojourners &