Black Motherhood And Parenting New Play Festival
BLACK MOTHERHOOD AND PARENTING
NEW PLAY FESTIVAL
FINALISTS: MELDA BEATY, EUREKA LEWIS, JULIE TAIWO ONI AND CYNTHIA G. ROBINSON NAMED IN DECEMBER OF 2020.
PARENT ARTIST ADVOCACY LEAGUE (PAAL) AND BLACKBOARD PLAYS PARTNER TO UPLIFT THE EXPERIENCES OF BLACK PARENTHOOD
Finalist plays stream weekly May - June 2021 on bmpfest.veeps.com
Pre-Festival Panels simulcast for Free
(April 19, 2020) - In October 2020, Parent Artist Advocacy League (PAAL) and Blackboard Plays announced an open call for submissions to The Black Motherhood* and Parenting New Play Festival. After a one week extension to the November 9th Deadline, the final plays were reviewed by the inaugural committee, composed of: Martha Redbone, Tamara Anderson and Sacha Wynne. Playwrights who identify as Black Parents or Caregivers were invited to submit up to 10 pages of work that they would develop into a One Act. The ultimate goal of the festival is to annually commit all proceeds available to PAAL and Blackboard from the festival to a PAAL/Blackboard Plays Childcare Grant for a Black Playwright Parent.
The 4 finalists are: Melda Beaty, Eureka Lewis, Julie Taiwo Oni and Cynthia G. Robinson.
Each playwright and their play has been paired with a partner theatre. The four partner theatres have a vested interest in supporting the new work of Black parents and are all lead by mothers, and have Black mothers in leadership at every one. Some theatres and even local artists are providing dramaturgical support, making this a truly national digital festival of new work. Each week from mid May through mid-June, a new finalist’s play will be streamed on bmpfest.veeps.com. Ticket prices begin at $10, with proceeds going to support the funding of a new grant and resources for future Black parent playwrights. Support the grant and the festival at bit.ly/bmpgive
ABOUT THE PLAYS
In Justin’s Side, by Eureka Lewis, a typical day at Roman Middle School takes a drastic turn when an incident amongst classmates warrants a parent/principal meeting. This presentation of the play is made possible through a partnership with Oregon Shakespeare Festival and is directed by Ellen Valencia. Justin’s Side opens the festival, streaming Thursday, May 20th until Monday, May 24th at 7pm.
In WHAT IF…? by Cynthia G. Robinson: A young woman’s need to fight for justice unleashes her mother’s fears for her child’s life. It is produced with Bishop Arts Theatre Center and Directed by Mary E. Hodges (Slave Play, Broadway). WHAT IF…? streams Thursday, May 27th at 7pm until Monday, May 31st at 7pm.
Thirty by Melda Beaty is an explosive look at a family generation of Black women caregivers grappling with family secrets. Thirty is produced with the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and streams Thursday, June 3rd at 7pm until Monday, June 7th at 7pm
In The Break by Julie Taiwo Oni, Jade, a single early-twenties Black boy-mom and influencer, challenges herself to a day sans social media. It is made possible in partnership with Detroit Public Theater. The Break closes the festival, streaming from Thursday, June 10th at 7pm until Monday, June 14th at 7pm.
In advance of the weekly stream, a Panel of the 4 finalists will be streamed on Thursday, May 13th. A Panel of Artistic Directors will be streamed following the 3rd Stream on Thursday, June 3rd. The Production Stage Managers are: Kristina Jackson and Alexis McKay
Nataki Garrett, Artistic Director of Oregon Shakespeare Festival, said, "As a mother, an artistic director, and a working director, I am intimately familiar with the challenges of maintaining a career in theater while parenting. We often must be at rehearsals and performances on nights and weekends—the times when we are also most needed at home. The obstacles are even greater for Black writers and artists, who typically are less likely to have the resources to pay for childcare. Oregon Shakespeare Festival is proud to be a partner in this vital new festival, and to support the creation of the grant that it funds."
“As a Black parent and playwright, I know the positive impact of having a theatre support my full humanity and artistry. I’m honored to be able to help celebrate the new work of Black parents through this collaboration,” said Hana S. Sharif, Augustin Family Artistic Director at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. “The Rep is delighted to partner with PAAL and Blackboard Plays to bring Melba Beaty’s compelling play Thirty to audiences in St. Louis and across the nation.”
Teresa Coleman Wash of Bishop Arts Theatre Center shares, “Perhaps the most fulfilling part about my job is curating what narratives are told on our stage. We are our own secret weapon. That messaging resonated deeply with me deeply when I read Cynthia Robinson’s searing script ‘What IF…?’ We’re privileged to partner with this festival and expand our territory.”
“As a company led by four mothers, Detroit Public Theatre is thrilled and honored to be part of this festival amplifying and celebrating the voices of Black mothers,” said Artistic Leadership team, Courtney Burkett, Sarah Clare Corporandy, Dominique Morisseau and Sarah Winkler.
*PAAL is a transgender and non-binary affirming space. “Mother” and “Motherhood” and their derivatives are used as inclusive terms for anyone who identifies with them.
FESTIVAL VISION
The project is Executive Produced by Blackboard founder and artistic director, PAAL Producing Director and PAAL Chief Rep of New York City, Garlia Cornelia Jones. Jones joined PAAL as Producing Director in June 2020 after producing Jenni Lamb’s Mother Lode, A PAAL Mother’s Day Benefit in May 2020. She is also PAAL’s first recipient of the PAAL Mother Artist of Color National Childcare Grant. Outside of PAAL and Blackboard Plays, Garlia is also a Line Producer at The Public Theater and one of the 6 producer’s of Harlem9, the Black producing collective responsible for the OBIE award winning, “48Hours in...™Harlem” and other sister festivals. Garlia teaches at Wayne State University in Detroit and has written extensively for The Washington Post and multiple publications on her journey through motherhood. Her organization, Blackboard Plays, has over a decade of experience in creating dedicated space for readings, workshops, and other opportunities for Black playwrights.
“Black parenthood is often overlooked in our national and artistic conversations and represented without the nuance that white parents and parenting stories often include,” Garlia adds, “My journey as a parent has been alongside the growth of my artistic career. Blackboard was founded years before I had children, but remained part of my life, exposing me to the inequities in our field towards parents, BIPOC artists and women. PAAL’s entrance into my life has enabled me to find the balance between advocating for others so they are supported in ways I was not and shedding light on the truths in our industry.”
“Dismantling systemic racism through art requires the creation of platforms and opportunities to tell stories that illuminate the reality, obstacles, pain, joy, celebration, humor, revelation, and even mundane aspects of the human experience lived by Black and Indigenous people and People of Color. From the obstacles of increased post-birth mortality rates to some of history’s greatest leaders and game changers, Black parents and families deserve the center-stage visibility of their full range of existence to own their narratives so we can learn, keep active, and create platforms for great art that also serves restorative justice.” adds PAAL founder Rachel Spencer Hewitt.
In order to accomplish this artistic and activist goal on a national scale, PAAL and Blackboard are committed to a Black Exclusive Budget (BEB) for every budget line item. This means that only Black artists and administrators will be compensated in the development and execution of the project (with the exception of the honorariums given to actors in accordance to casting requirements, if necessary).
To donate to this project, visit the BMP Fest Campaign Page. Subscribe here to receive updates on this initiative.
ABOUT THE FINALISTS
Melda Beaty is a passionate playwright, author, and assistant professor, who resides in Chicago, Illinois with her three gifted daughters. Melda has written five stage plays and a short film. Her first play, Front Porch Society, enjoyed a world premiere at The Ensemble Theatre in Houston, TX and was a finalist for Best New Plays by Houston Press. She is also a freelance contributor to Black Masks magazine and the author of two books. Her latest play is an epic exploration of 19th century sterilization laws in America and the impact on Black women. Melda earned her B.A. in Broadcast Communications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her M.A. in English at Illinois State University. https://meldacreates.com/
Eureka Lewis resides in New York, but is a native of Detroit, MI. She's written & directed
numerous plays, including (but not limited to) "Sorry If I Let You Down", "Aunt
Salley's Remains", "Finally Made It", "Too Far To The Left", "The Jagged Rose" & a 10-week
run of "What They'll Remember"; which received rave reviews in The Huffington Post &
Broadway World. From hundreds of entries, she was twice selected a featured writer for Billie
Holiday Theatre's "50IN50" writer’s series. Her onstage credits began over thirty years ago at The Hilberry Studio Theater of Wayne State University, in "Portraits In Black". She's also had lead or pivotal roles in "Tambourines To Glory", "Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope", "God's Trombones", "For Colored Girls", "Raisin In The Sun", "In The City", "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show" & "Herstory" to name a select Few. Eureka believes writing is one of the greatest platforms to evoke change.
Julie Taiwo Oni is a Los Angeles-based playwright, English professor, and proud boy mom with roots in Bakersfield, California and Nigeria. She sees her work as a playwright and educator as interconnected, for the stories that she creates are inspired by areas of focus in her research and teaching, including American pop culture, intercultural misconceptions, and the African diaspora. Recent works include Sown for MaiM Theatre Company and Son of Semele (2019), The Hotel Play with Playwrights’ Arena (2017), Bunk and Denim for Son of Semele’s Company Creation Festival (2014-2015), nat&EM for Company of Angels (2013), Tether for Doorway Arts Ensemble in Washington, D.C. (2011), and workshops, readings, and festivals across LA. Her current research and writing deals with Black albinism in the U.S. and Africa. Oni is associated with The Robey Theatre Company’s Playwrights’ Lab, Son of Semele Scribes, and Center Theatre Group’s Community Stories. She holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from the USC School of Dramatic Arts, and teaches composition, dramatic literature, and playwriting at Pepperdine University. www.julietaiwooni.com
Cynthia G. Robinson Plays: DANCING ON EGGSHELLS (The Billie Holiday Theatre); PEOLA'S PASSING (New Perspectives Theatre Company); WHEN NIGHT FALLS (Eugene O'Neill semi-finalist); GOLD STAR MOTHER (EstroGenius Festival); ASCENSION (National Black Theatre Festival; NYC Fringe); THUNDER: A MUSICAL MEMOIR (NYC Fringe); NIGHTFALL (The Fire This Time Festival); ROME IN LOVE (48 Hours in…Harlem); FREEDOM SUMMER (North Carolina Black Repertory Company); IN THIS LIFE (in development); ROSES OF THE WILLAMETTE: A MUSICAL (in development); TV pilot (in development). Awards: Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Playwriting Conference (Semi-finalist); Rivers Writers Unit at The Lark; Playwrights of Color Summit/Quick Silver Theater Company; Rising Circle Theater Collective/INKTank Residency; AUDELCO Award Nominee; Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Finalist; Calvin B. Grimes Scholar-in-Residence Inaugural award (NYU); Tribeca All-Access Open Stage Inaugural award; Best New Play IRNE Nominee. Publications: SHE PERSISTED. Monologues from Plays by Women Over 40; The Book of Estrogenius 2012: A Celebration of Female Voices.
ABOUT THE PARTNER THEATRES
ABOUT OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
Led by Artistic Director Nataki Garrett and Executive Director David Schmitz, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) was founded in 1935 and has grown from a three-day festival of two plays to a nationally renowned theatre arts organization that presents a rotating repertory season of up to 11 plays and musicals, including both classics and premieres. OSF productions have been presented on Broadway, internationally, and at regional, community, and high school theaters across the country. The Festival presents more than 800 performances annually and draws an audience of more than 400,000 to its home in Ashland, OR. In 2020, OSF launched O!, a new digital platform featuring performances, groundbreaking art, and mind-expanding discussions that can be accessed from anywhere in the world. O! attracts more than 10,000 views per month from audience members in over 50 countries. OSF invites and welcomes everyone, driven by a belief that the inclusion of diverse people, ideas, cultures, and traditions enriches not only the creation and experience of the work the organization presents onstage, but also our relationships with each other. OSF’s mission statement: “Inspired by Shakespeare’s work and the cultural richness of the United States, we reveal our collective humanity through illuminating interpretations of new and classic plays, deepened by the kaleidoscope of rotating repertory.”
ABOUT THE REPERTORY THEATRE ST. LOUIS
The Rep is the St. Louis region’s most honored live professional theatre company. Founded in 1966, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is a fully professional theatrical operation belonging to the League of Resident Theatres, The League of St. Louis Theatres and is a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Inc., the national service organization for the not-for-profit professional theatre. Visit www.repstl.org for more, and find The Rep on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
ABOUT BISHOP ARTS THEATRE CENTER
Nestled in the heart of Dallas’ Oak Cliff community, the Bishop Arts Theatre Center is an award-winning, multidisciplinary arts organization. Founded in 1993, the mission of the organization is to cultivate a diverse and vibrant arts community while creating opportunities for local and emerging artists through performances and education. BATC is the recipient of Theater Communications Group 2019 Peter Zeisler Memorial Award, several Irma P. Hall Theater Awards and most recently Dallas Business Journal Leaders In Diversity Award. The company offers a full season of theatre performances, jazz concerts, a speaker series, and year-round arts education programs impacting over 35,000 people nationwide.
ABOUT DETROIT PUBLIC THEATRE
Detroit Public Theatre produces nationally recognized plays and programs with world-class writers, directors, actors, and designers in the heart of Detroit’s cultural district. We create bold, relevant, work that illuminates the thrills, joys, and challenges of our shared humanity. For more information about Detroit Public Theatre, visit www.detroitpublictheatre.org or call (313) 974-7918.
ABOUT THE PRODUCERS:
ABOUT BLACKBOARD PLAYS
Since 2008, Blackboard Plays has been devoted to Black Playwrights throughout the African Diaspora. Blackboard Reading Series was incubated @ nancy manocherian's the cell in Chelsea's Manhattan as a resident series for 10 years, before making their new physical home in The Mary Rodgers Room at The Dramatists Guild in 2018. Feature Readings and Community Nights are two ways that Blackboard supports the development of new work by Black Playwrights. Blackboard was founded by Garlia Cornelia Jones.
ABOUT PARENT ARTIST ADVOCACY LEAGUE (PAAL)
Parent Artist Advocacy League (PAAL) is a national advocacy organization serving as a resource hub, community, and solutions generator for caregivers in the performing arts and media and the institutions who support them. PAAL created the first all-gender, all-discipline national PAAL Childcare Grants for individuals and institutions. PAAL has participated internationally in think tanks, on panels, and facilitated workshops on parenting in the arts at multiple gatherings, including the national TCG conferences, BroadwayCon, Actors Equity Association, Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, and the first national conversation on caregiving in the Latinx community at the Latinx Theatre Commons Annual Convening, Miami in Motion, in 2019.
PAAL commits to anti-racist roots in structure, practice, policy, principle, and production, through Vertical 50/50, centering support on BIPOC artists, and gathering resources for active anti-racism in caregiver support. PAAL is a transgender and non-binary affirming space. All language referencing "mother," "parent," "dad," "caregiver," and their derivatives include and refer to any individual who identifies with them.
ABOUT GHOSTLIGHT PRODUCTIONS
Ghostlight Productions Inc is a Detroit-based, full service production company specializing in the creation of original film, theatrical, and performance content; offering high end wrap around event production services at a Broadway calibre. For more information, please visit: www.ghostlightinc.com
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