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Event
A Moment of Faith, by La'Chris Jordan & Samson and Ms. Delilah, by Natalie Blank
The Essential Theatre New Play Reading Series Presents
Staged Readings of 5th Drafts
A Moment of Faith, by La'Chris Jordan 1:30 PM Saturday May 23, 2015 Howard University Fine Arts Building Alfred C. Freeman Environmental Theatre Space 2455 6th Street, NW Washington, DC 20059-1004
Synopsis The family matriarch has fallen into a deep, life-threatening coma. Only a divisive medical procedure that's against this family's religious belief system will save her. A husband is determined by his love for his wife to keep her alive despite objections of some family members who hold fast to religious beliefs.
*Adult language/sexual themes-not recommended for children
Samson and Ms. Delilah, by Natalie Blank 6:30 PM Saturday May 23, 2015 Howard University Fine Arts Building Alfred C. Freeman Environmental Theatre Space 2455 6th Street, NW Washington, DC 20059-1004
Synopsis Prostitution is now a legalized profession in the country and Ms. Delilah is the leading lady of the union organized under the moniker "Eves." The highest paid and most desired, a young writer holds information that forces her to re-visit her past against her will.
*Adult language/sexual themes not recommended for children
There will be a moderated post-performance discussion with the Playwright following each performance.
Made Possible by Support from: Washington, DC Alumnae Foundation of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities & the National Endowment for the Arts.
About the New Play Reading Series The New Play Reading Series is created to give voice to work of new and established playwrights. It is in substance an incubator that serves to nurture the work of participating writers for a three-year period in a supportive and collaborative environment with other artisans, actors and directors. Further, it is a forum where audience members are welcomed to engage in an open, frank dialogue with playwrights about issues presented in the material as well as techniques used to present them. The New Play Reading Series was initiated in the spring of 1992.
THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE
The Essential Theatre is a non profit professional theatre dedicated, but not limited to producing theatre reflective of the African-American experience that explores and celebrates America's rich, diverse cultural landscape. Paramount to the company's mission is the implementation of programs for youth in the Washington, DC metropolitan area that promotes interdisciplinary education and positive levels of self esteem.
About The Playwrights
La'Chris Jordan
La'Chris is a poet, actress, screenwriter, and award-winning playwright who was named one of the '50toWatch' by the Dramatists Guild of America. She was recently awarded the Seattle's Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs smART Award (2009, Piney Ridge) and the Artist Trust Grants for Artists Award (2005, Sadie's Kitchen), a Washington state grant awarded to individual artists for artistic excellence.
Born and raised in Oakland, California, and New Orleans, Louisiana, La'Chris began her writing career as a poet and journalist in 1995 after studying communications at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2005,she opened her first full-length play Sadie's Kitchen (2005 National Black Theatre Festival) which was produced to critical success that same year at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center in Seattle. Since then, La'Chris' one-act and full-length plays have been produced throughout the country including Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York.
Her full-length plays include Piney Ridge (Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center), Haram (Finalist, 2007 Seattle Dramatists New Play Festival; 78th Writer's Digest Annual Writing Competition), and Roses in the Water (2009 National Black Theatre Festival; Finalist, 2009 Arts Club of Washington D.C. Playwriting Award) which recently received a staged reading at the award-winning Urban Stages in New York City. Roses in the Water also won 3rd place in the 2009 WriteMovies International Writing Competition, beating out 1,000 scripts from across the world. WriteMovies is currently pitching Roses to film and production companies. La'Chris is at work on her fourth full- length play Betty's Wish and a historical romance novel, The Embers of Bellevue which is due to be released in 2011.
La'Chris teaches playwriting at ACT Theatre's Young Playwrights Program, and is a well-known actress in the Seattle theatre community performing in such plays as The Crucible, A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Hamlet and Well. La'Chris is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the International Centre for Women Playwrights, and the Northwest Playwrights Alliance. She currently resides on the scenic Olympic Peninsula in Washington state with her husband, Scot.
Natalie Blank
Natalie Blank's Carrots was presented at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in a school production sponsored by the Theatre Council of Majors in February of 2008. She also directed the production. Her ten minute one-acts The Train Station, Night Lie, and Walking Off Pluto were performed in a new and exciting one-act festival sponsored by the Theatre Majors in April of 2008. Natalie organized the event and directed her three plays. In September of 2009, Walking Off Pluto was performed a second time at the Laurel Mill Playhouse. She hopes to see more of her work performed in the future.
Natalie graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County with a BFA in Acting and BA in Interdisciplinary Studies in Dance and Culture. Acting credits include Waiting for the Trigger (DC Fringe), The Tragedy of Antonie (National Woman's Museum), The Butterfinger's Angel and Intelligence (Rep Stage), The Three Penny Opera, Silence Cunning Exile, The Faulkner Project, The Edge of Ross Island, Markers, and The Vagina Monologues (UMBC). Natalie is also a novelist and dance teacher. She plans to study creative writing in graduate school.
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LocationAlfred C. Freeman Environmental Theatre Space-Howard University Fine Arts Bldg. (View)
2455 6th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20059-1004
United States
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