WORK
Full-length Plays
In the Jungle (2020)
Reading Directed By Steve H. Broadnax III
1 Hour and 30 Minutes
6 Male Characters
Set in a boxing-gym in Chicago, Illinois, In the Jungle, illuminates the scourge of toxic masculinity. In 1999, teenage Fred, moves to Chicago on his own with no help, but finally finds companionship in the men that box at Mr. Louis Gym. Unfortunately, he soon realizes that his inability to decide what it means to be a “man” by his own terms, puts him in a position to be molded by the ideologies of others. Simultaneously, the play follows the narrative of Fred and his own son twenty years later, at the same gym which he now owns. In the second narrative, Fred is an accomplished boxer, but still struggles with his grasp of “manhood” with his upcoming-boxer son. In the Jungle explores how sexuality, limitation of resources, and societal pressures combine to illustrate that for black men, toxic masculinity may be a cyclical curse.
*In the Jungle was awarded $5,000 and was named a 2020 Winner of the Columbia@Roundabout Reading Series.
not even god (2019)
1 Hour and 30 Minutes
2 Male Characters
Set on the dirty stretch of a college football field, not even god, illuminates the scourge and results of overwhelming jealousy. Damu, a young teenage boy who relieves his stress by speaking out to the void (or the audience via direct address) feels as though his best friend Jahari isn’t as great as everyone says he is within the first lines of a play. Damu’s admission, which occurs while the friends prep for an art contest with a grand prize of $50, spirals into a one-sided competition which leaves one boy dead and the other ruined forever. not even god is a cautionary tale of the dangers of competition, hate, toxic-masculinity, and fraudulent love. It will leave audiences grappling with the times they have turned to jealousy in their own lives and whether or not it was unfounded.
*not even god was awarded $3,000 and was named a 2019 Finalist of the Columbia@Roundabout Reading Series.
One-Act Plays
40 Days and 40 Nights (2019)
20 Minutes
1 Male Character, 1 Female Character
A month after God kills most of mankind with a great flood lasting 40 days and 40 nights, prophet Noah and his wife Naamah clash over the restart of civilization and what it means to be a survivor. Based on the Biblical story of Noah from Genesis.
Directed By Rebecca Miler Kratzer
Dramaturgy By Anisa Threlkeld & Austin Tooley
Stage Management By Hadley Armstrong
Cast: Julian Abelskamp and Marleny Heredia.
Men of Clay (2019)
20 Minutes
3 Female Characters
A woman and her two daughters conflict over legacy, love, and life in the minutes before leaving for their patriarch’s funeral. The play explores sexual assault from the view point of the family members of the accused.
Director: Camille Z. Hayes
Dramaturg: Diana Fathi
Dramaturg: Cha Ramos
Stage Manager: Kait Mahoney
Lighting Designer: Emmanuel Delgado (NYU)
Cast: Kristen Spencer, Kristin Dodson, and Merlixse Ventura.
Still Not Dead (2019)
20 Minutes
3 Male Characters, 2 Female Characters
In an apocalypse where the walking dead reign supreme, a group of young adults attempt to survive zombies, their mistakes, and each other. Based on AMC’s The Walking Dead series, Still Not Dead explores grief, family, and leadership in a world where every choice is a matter of life or death.
Colm Summers, Director
Devon Kidd, Playwright
Anisa Threlkeld, Dramaturg
Austin Tooley, Dramaturg
Robbie Armstrong, Stage Manager
Betsy Chester, Lighting Designer
Daniel Bindschelder, Musician