| NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE AND CHELSEA FACTORY DEBUT FIRST LOOK FOR CAST OF PACKAGES O’ THE THINGS WE DELIVER BY SXR OYA MAE DXTCHXSS-DAVIS | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 07:16 pm EDT 03/19/24 | |
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| NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE AND CHELSEA FACTORY DEBUT FIRST LOOK FOR CAST OF PACKAGES O' THE THINGS WE DELIVER BY SXR OYA MAE DXTCHXSS-DAVIS National Black Theatre, in partnership with Chelsea Factory, presents its first look at with talented cast that is embodying the first commissioned Public Presentation for the season as part of its I Am Soul Playwright Residency, Packages O' The Things We Deliver by playwright Oya Mae Dxtchxss-Davis (Skin, Wade in the Water (The Great Divide), Grandmother's Gift (C.A.P.)) and director Daniel Boisrond (ShopTalk (ArtYard), Roots (Dixon Place & La MAMA). The Public Presentation will take place at the Chelsea Factory from March 27th - 31st for a limited engagement of six performances with a rare opportunity for the audience to participate in the development of a new play. With tickets on sale now, NBT is equally excited to announce the cast and creative team for Packages O' The Things We Deliver. All performances will be at Chelsea Factory located at 547 West 26th Street, New York, NY 10001. "It's mind blowing to be in a space where I am allowed to come in freely as myself, a black disabled person. There aren't many places that welcome the full range of how I express myself, and NBT continues to live up to being a ‘home away from home. This big idea–a play that NBT is taking on-stage–is a true reflection of my whole self." – Oya Mae Dxtchxss-Davis, Playwright of ‘Packages O' The Things We Deliver' "'Packages O' The Things We Deliver' is a beautiful exploration of the strength that lies within us even in the midst of grief. Presented with a unique blend of hip-hop and mystical adventure, this presentation iscaptivating, rhythmic, and resonant." – Daniel Boisrond, Director of ‘Packages O' The Things We Deliver' After a murder, 3 brothers trapped in an urban Minneapolis are haunted by their past, and channel their energy and rhythmic flow to save their family from the threat of police violence. Yet, quickly they realize the only way to disentangle the intergenerational connections between their family members is by delivering packages. This perilous journey to the ancestral world, OKO, asks them to forgive and empathize in the midst of trauma to liberate the souls of their family. To bring this story to life, the full cast of Packages O' The Things We Deliver includes: Travis Raeburn was born and raised in East Flatbush, Brooklyn; with Queens being his playground since 9. As a teen, Travis attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts where he majored in drama and recently graduated from the BFA Acting Program at SUNY Purchase. He was recently in the Acting Company's National Tour of ROMEO &JULIET/THREE MUSKETEERS. Some credits include MCC Theater's SOFT, "WU-TANG: AN AMERICAN SAGA," FIRST MATCH, commercials for MasterCard USA, Xfinity, and Pop Tarts and IN THE SOUTHERN BREEZE at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Raeburn thanks his mother, grandmother, and family for their support. Along with acting he is also a teaching artist, serving predominantly students of color. His music is streaming on all platforms under TravRae. Black lives always will matter. Training: SUNY Purchase, BFA Acting and LaGuardia Arts High School (Drama). Instagram: @travierae. SeQuoiia, is a San Francisco native who is a multi-talented actor, choreographer, percussionist, rapper, and vocalist. He recently co-developed, performed, and musically directed "De Mangangá: An Afro-Brazilian Musical" for the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company's New Roots Theatre Festival. Other credits include the world premiere of "Hippest Trip-The Soul Train Musical" (u/s Jeffrey Daniels), the Metropolitan Opera's "Champion" (Dancer), film "Freaky Tales" (Dancer), Maleek Washington, "Shades 2.0 D.A.P. Diamonds and Principal" (Dancer), and Camille A. Brown & Dancers "I Am" (Dancer). SeQuoiia dedicates this show and everything he does to his beautiful daughter Halo. Drew Drake is an Actor, Poet, Hip Hop Artist, Director, and Educator originally from Huntsville, Alabama, now based in NYC. His focus lies in creating art that fosters constructive dialogue for people of color. Drew has made notable appearances on television, portraying roles such as "Lamar Cordell" in Law and Order, and has graced renowned stages including the Bonnaroo Music Festival, Barclays Center, and Brooklyn Academy of Music's production Word. Sound. Power. In December, he directed Marisol by Jose Rivera for NYU Tisch's Mainstage Fall Undergraduate production. Formerly, he served as the Poet-In-Residence and Teaching Artist with Urban Word NYC, and currently holds positions as a Professor at New York University (Martin Luther King Scholars Program and Tisch: Playwrights Horizon Theatre Studio), and Columbia Law School, where he teaches African American Theatre at Medgar Evers College. Drew is immensely grateful for the opportunity to return to Knoxville as an Artist in Residence at the Clarence Brown Theatre / University of Tennessee this Spring. Cherene Snow is a multi-award-winning veteran actor/singer-songwriter from Chicago, who began her career in the cult classic film, "Cooley High." Broadway credits include: "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." Off Broadway: Inkd'Well, For All the Women…, Walking Down Broadway and The Last of the Thorntons. Regional credits include King Lear, Familiar, Skeleton Crew, Little Foxes (Goodman Theatre), brownsville song (b-side for tray) (Humana Festival, Actor's Theatre of Louisville) and Doubt. Film/TV include Jules, Arthur, City of Angels, The Long Walk Home, The Code, Almost Family, Law & Order, Law & Order SVU: Sugar, and Chappelle's Show. Cherene has written 3 solo plays, "Circle Session," "This Actor's Journey," for which she wrote, arranged and sang all of her original songs. and "The Moment I Felt My Soul." Cherene has also written her first ten-minute play, Red Wagon, one-act, "Hiding Inside Him," and her first full length play, "Monday Wednesday Friday" . Arewà Basit (she/they) is a Brooklyn based, artist, musician, and story-teller. They made their television debut in MTV's first queer dating show Are You The One. Arewà is a co-founder of Legacy, a production company focused on providing resources to artists systematically excluded from—and exploited by—media and the arts. In 2023, Basit performed their original music at Copenhagen Winter Pride, TLDEF 20th Anniversary Celebration, The LGBTQ Center's Juneteenth Block Party, Bob The Drag Queen's EP release (and was also featured on Bob song "BLACK" along ft. Ocean Kelly), and headlined TRANSMISSION, NYC's first all trans music festival. Some theatre credits include Tribe: Hair(European Tour), Mzzz Erykah: A Map to Know Where (soho rep), ig @basit_ The creative team that helped bring Packages O' The Things We Deliver to life includes lucas a degirolamo (Set Design), Jason A. Goodwin (Costume Designer), John D. Alexander (Lighting Designer), Chris Darbassie (Sound Designer), Zavier Augustus Lee Taylor (Projections Designer), Belynda M'Baye (Props Designer and Production Stage Manager), Bernard Johnson (Production Manager), Wesley McIntyre (Associate Director), Sujotta Pace, CSA (Casting Director). The I AM SOUL Playwrights Residency, which launched in 2012, is the only program with a commitment to production in the United States that is dedicated to Black playwrights, whose work demonstrates exceptional artistic merit and excellence in the theatrical field. Coined as a dream MFA program, this residency also seeks to unleash the soul of a playwright so that they can develop, hone, and explore new ways of artistic expression in a safe, supportive, and transformative environment. Alongside NBT's Executive Artistic Director, the selected playwright(s) will develop a new play during the eighteen (18) month residency. This process culminates with a Workshop Production in NBT's following season. With the I AM SOUL Residency, NBT seeks to deepen the artistic relationship between Black theatrical institutions and Black playwrights in order to re-establish Black theatrical institutions as the foremost supporters and producers of new works created by Black playwrights. Sxr OYA MAE DUCHESS-DAVIS (Playwright) is a multi-souled pansexual, disabled (MS) playwright and Santeria practitioner from Minneapolis, MN. Her various intersecting identities are the main inspirations for her writing. Her artistic aim is to create stories so black youth can see characters on stage who not only look like them but are dealing with some of the extreme circumstances that they may be dealing with. Oya was a 2016 Many voices Mentee. Her play Skin was a part of the 2017 Twin Cities Horror Festival and her play Lunch will be a part of the 2020 Twin cities horror festival. Oya was a finalist for The Apothetae Playwriting Fellowship through the Lark Theatre in New York City and The Many Voices Fellowship through The Playwright's Center. She is excited to be a part of this residency and is enthusiastic to explore her future conjurations. Daniel Boisrond (Director) is a multifaceted artist whose vision transcends mediums. He wears multiple hats with finesse - an actor, director, brand strategist and an entrepreneur as the founder (ceo) of 3:5Creative[s], a creative agency. With a BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the Art and with a decade-spanning career in the industry he has worked on projects such as MTV's "Eye Candy" (Ethan), Quicken Loans Rocket Mortgage Super Bowl Commercial featuring Michael Keegan-Key, idigress (Caleb) and Skeleton Crew (Dez) at Premiere Stages at Kean University. Directing credits include ShopTalk (ArtYard), Roots (Dixon Place & La MAMA), For Colored Girls..(Breakthrough Theater of Winter Park).Daniel Boisrond (Director) is a multifaceted artist whose vision transcends mediums. He wears multiple hats with finesse - an actor, director, brand strategist and an entrepreneur as the founder (ceo) of 3:5Creative[s], a creative agency. With a BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the Art and with a decade-spanning career in the industry he has worked on projects such as MTV's "Eye Candy" (Ethan), Quicken Loans Rocket Mortgage Super Bowl Commercial featuring Michael Keegan-Key, idigress (Caleb) and Skeleton Crew (Dez) at Premiere Stages at Kean University. Directing credits include ShopTalk (ArtYard), Roots (Dixon Place & La MAMA), For Colored Girls..(Breakthrough Theater of Winter Park). Daniel's journey is one fueled by partnerships and trust, notably appreciative of the foundations laid by NBT, the collaborative spirit of Jonathan and Sade, and the shared vision of making space for these so vital narratives. A heartfelt thank you to his family (Monica & Sahali) and friends, whose unwavering support is the lifeblood of his creative spirit. IG: @danielboisrond | danielboisrond.com | 35creatives.com lucas a degirolamo (he/they) (Set Design) is a Brooklyn-based set/production designer and set decorator most interested in design as a medium for the imagination of queerer futures. He works across theater, film, live performance, and experimental work. Recent theater: WAIT UNTIL DARK (CCT), BEING UP IN HERE… (THE BRICK), BLACK MOTHER LOST DAUGHTER (NBT), WHERE ARE WE GOING (NYU Tisch Meisner UG), BLUE FIRE BURNS THE HOTTEST (The Brick). Recent film set decoration: Hulu's THE MILL starring Lil Rel Howery, Shudder's BAD THINGS starring Gayle Rankin and Molly Ringwald. Prod. design for short film THAW (2023, dir. Alex Bush, TriBeCa/OutFest world premieres), feature film NYX (2024, dir. Kristina Klebe). Fresh Ground Pepper BRB Resident 2022. lucas is the founder/lead designer of FRANK STUDIO, an independent design studio and prop house located in South Slope. @lucasdegirolamo / @frankstudiobk / www.frankbrooklyn.com.lucas a degirolamo (he/they) (Set Design) is a Brooklyn-based set/production designer and set decorator most interested in design as a medium for the imagination of queerer futures. He works across theater, film, live performance, and experimental work. Recent theater: WAIT UNTIL DARK (CCT), BEING UP IN HERE… (THE BRICK), BLACK MOTHER LOST DAUGHTER (NBT), WHERE ARE WE GOING (NYU Tisch Meisner UG), BLUE FIRE BURNS THE HOTTEST (The Brick). Recent film set decoration: Hulu's THE MILL starring Lil Rel Howery, Shudder's BAD THINGS starring Gayle Rankin and Molly Ringwald. Prod. design for short film THAW (2023, dir. Alex Bush, TriBeCa/OutFest world premieres), feature film NYX (2024, dir. Kristina Klebe). Fresh Ground Pepper BRB Resident 2022. lucas is the founder/lead designer of FRANK STUDIO, an independent design studio and prop house located in South Slope. @lucasdegirolamo / @frankstudiobk / www.frankbrooklyn.com. Jason A. Goodwin (he/him) (Costume Design) is a NY-based costume designer and scenic artist. Born and raised in Virginia, Jason moved to New York to attend NYU, where he graduated with a BFA in drama from Tisch's production & design studio. While studying, Jason joined the sophomore class of Lincoln Center's fellowship program, supporting Lincoln Center Film in marketing the 2022 New York Film Festival. Since leaving University, Jason has supported projects on and off Broadway, including Disney's Aladdin , Tina the Tina Turner Musical, Back to the Future the Musical, Hell's Kitchen at the Public Theatre, and most recently, Disney's Hercules in Hamburg, Germany. Instagram: @bygoodwinjasonJason A. Goodwin (he/him) (Costume Design) is a NY-based costume designer and scenic artist. Born and raised in Virginia, Jason moved to New York to attend NYU, where he graduated with a BFA in drama from Tisch's production & design studio. While studying, Jason joined the sophomore class of Lincoln Center's fellowship program, supporting Lincoln Center Film in marketing the 2022 New York Film Festival. Since leaving University, Jason has supported projects on and off Broadway, including Disney's Aladdin , Tina the Tina Turner Musical, Back to the Future the Musical, Hell's Kitchen at the Public Theatre, and most recently, Disney's Hercules in Hamburg, Germany. Instagram: @bygoodwinjason John D. Alexander (Lighting Design) OFF-BROADWAY: Lambs 2 Slaughter (Cherry Lane Theatre) and Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence (New Victory Theater). Recent designs include: Sanctuary Road (Virginia Opera); Fat Ham (Theatre Squared & City Theatre Group); Confederates (Mosaic Theatre Co.); Selling Kabul (Signature Theatre); From the Mississippi Delta (Westport Country Playhouse); Detroit '67 (TheatreSquared); Crying on Television (Everyman Theatre); Quamino's Map (Chicago Opera Theatre); B.R.O.K.E.N. Code B.I.R.D. Switching (Berkshire Theatre Group); Sheepdog and The House of the Negro Insane (Contemporary American Theatre Festival). Upcoming designs include: What Will Happen to All That Beauty (CATF) and Clydes (Detroit Public Theater). www.JohnDAlexanderLightingDesign.comJohn D. Alexander (Lighting Design) OFF-BROADWAY: Lambs 2 Slaughter (Cherry Lane Theatre) and Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence (New Victory Theater). Recent designs include: Sanctuary Road (Virginia Opera); Fat Ham (Theatre Squared & City Theatre Group); Confederates (Mosaic Theatre Co.); Selling Kabul (Signature Theatre); From the Mississippi Delta (Westport Country Playhouse); Detroit '67 (TheatreSquared); Crying on Television (Everyman Theatre); Quamino's Map (Chicago Opera Theatre); B.R.O.K.E.N. Code B.I.R.D. Switching (Berkshire Theatre Group); Sheepdog and The House of the Negro Insane (Contemporary American Theatre Festival). Upcoming designs include: What Will Happen to All That Beauty (CATF) and Clydes (Detroit Public Theater). www.JohnDAlexanderLightingDesign.com Zavier Augustus Lee Taylor (Projections Design) is a multimedia artist and designer with a focus on interactive and impactful video design for live performances. Zavier has BA in Dramatic art from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MFA in Media Design from UMD-College Park. Zavier has a passion for the hands-on creation of new work. His work has seen stages at The Apollo Theater, The Guthrie, Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, GEVA Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Theater J, The Classical Theater of Harlem, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, Baltimore Centerstage, Keegan Theatre, and Studio Theatre. Zavier also operates a multimedia production company known as ZALT Productions. ZALT Productions Is a creative entity that enables people and businesses to realize their potential through design. Zavier is eager to connect with and build a network of creatives locally (DMV), nationally, and abroad. Learn more about Zavier and his previous work by searching #ZALTproductions. YouTube: @zaltproductions Instagram: @zaltslaw Website: https://zavier.myportfolio.com www.darbassiedesign.com Christopher Darbassie (Sound Design) is an interdisciplinary artist. (Select Credits): Apiary (2nd Stage), Amusements (Playwrights Horizons), Uncle Vanya (O'Henry Productions), A Bright New Boise (Signature Theater), Camp Siegfried (2nd Stage), Patience (2nd Stage), A Case for the Existence of God (Signature Theater), This Beautiful Future (Cherry Lane Theater, TheaterLab), PS (Ars Nova), Fly Away (Petzel Gallery), Black Exhibition (The Bushwick Starr). Chris has designed for art installations, radio plays, devised works and theatrical productions in collaboration with Alliance Theater, The Movement Theater Company, The Public, New York Theater Workshop, The TEAM, Theater for a New Audience, The Atlantic Theater Co., and The Shed. Wingspace 2019-2020 Sound Design Fellow. www.darbassiedesign.com About National Black Theatre: NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE (NBT) is a Tony and Emmy Award-nominated institution founded in 1968 by the late visionary artist Dr. Barbara Ann Teer. The nation's first revenue-generating Black arts complex, NBT is the longest-running Black theatre in New York City, one of the oldest theatres founded and consistently operated by a woman of color in the nation, and has been included in the permanent collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. NBT's core mission is to produce transformational theatre that helps to shift the inaccuracies around African Americans' cultural identity by telling authentic stories of Black lives. As an alternative learning environment, NBT uses theatre arts as a means to educate, enrich, entertain, empower and inform the national conscience around current social issues impacting our communities. Under the leadership of Sade Lythcott, CEO, and Jonathan McCrory, Executive Artistic Director, NBT helps re-shape a more inclusive American theatre field by providing an artistically rigorous and culturally sensitive space for artists of color to experiment, develop and present new work. NBT has worked with trailblazing artists from Nona Hendrix to Jeremy O. Harris, and most recently, has helped launch the careers of Dominique Morisseau, Radha Blank, Mfoniso Udofia, Saheem Ali, Lee Edward Colston II, and Ebony Noelle Golden. NBT's cultural production remains unparalleled as they incubated Obie Award-winning companies like The Movement Theatre Company and Harlem9's 48 Hours. NBT welcomes more than 90,000 visitors annually, has produced 300+ original works, has won countless awards such as 2 Obie awards, 58 AUDELCO Awards, and a CEBA Award of Merit, and has been nominated for multiple Drama Desk awards. Located in the heart of Harlem, NBT is embarking on a historic major capital redevelopment project that will transform the current property into a 21st-century destination for Black culture through theatre. They're supported by grants from Booth Ferris Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Ford Foundation, New York Community Trust, Shubert Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation, City Council of New York, City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and private donations. Visit nationalblacktheatre.org or follow NBT on Facebook (@NationalBlackTheatre) and Twitter/Instagram (@NatBlackTheatre). About Chelsea Factory At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when New York City's performing arts sector faced one of the greatest economic fallouts in decades, Chelsea Factory Founder and Board Chair Jim Herbert envisioned an organization that could quickly and meaningfully respond to the needs of a wide range of artists and community partners. At the start of 2022, Chelsea Factory opened our doors to do just that. Chelsea Factory launched as a pop-up project that would responsively support our partners as a non-competitive resource. Over an initial five-year timeline, Chelsea Factory occupies a 14,000 sf industrial landmarked building in the heart of Manhattan. With two possible performance venues, including a 160-seat black box theater and a flexible multi-use space, Chelsea Factory welcomes artists, organizations, and community members for residencies, classes, performances, workshops, and public and private events. Through our collaborative partnerships, Chelsea Factory aims to uplift an inclusive and sustainable arts sector that will outlast the organization's physical infrastructure. |
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