A Blaze of Horns: African American Voices in Brief Playwright Interviews

9/19/2013

Please join African Continuum Theatre Company for A Blaze of Horns: African American Voices in Briefs, an evening of 10-minute play readings by six of your favorite local playwrights.

Hosted by Patrick Washington of the Poem-Cees, playwrights include Michael J. Bobbitt, Paige Hernandez-Funn, Caleen Jennings, Tom Minter, Jennifer L. Nelson, and Malcolm Pelles.

A Blaze of Horns
Saturday, September 21, 2013 at 7:30 pm
Atlas Performing Arts Center
1333 H Street NW
Suggested $15 Donation

To learn more about this event and the featured plays, please enjoy these lively playwright interviews!

Playwright Michael J. Bobbitt

JACQUELINE LAWTON: As a playwright, what excited you about taking part in African Continuum Theatre Company’s A Blaze of Horns: African American Voices in Brief?
MICHAEL J. BOBBITT: There are several things that excited me about this project. 1.) Being a part of this community of voices that need to be heard. 2.) Doing whatever Thembi Duncan asks me to do. 3.) Being able to see this play again.

JL: What is the name of your play and what is it about?
MJB: The play is called Redskins v Rockettes. This possibly autobiographical comedy is about a dramatic teenaged boy who would rather wear play dress up than play football prepares for an afternoon game with his dad. They learn to understand each other.

JL: Why should folks come out and see A Blaze of Horns?
MJB: I am excited about the new stories that will be told. So often our stories are reduced to the turmoil of race and the plays appearing in this festival are about all kinds of experiences. it's very important. It allows us to understand each other more. AND, this is a great new initiative under the auspices of ACTCO's new leadership.

JL: What are you working on next? Where can we follow your work?
MJB: Playwriting is only a hobby for me. I do love to write and am lucky to have had a few things published and produced. My children's musical, Bob Marley's THREE LITTLE BIRDS, commissioned and premiered by Adventure Theatre MTC will be transferring Off Broadway to the New Victory Theatre on 42nd Street in February 2014. I am also working on a new adaptation of Jim Davis' comic strip, Garfield.

Michael J. Bobbitt is the Producing Artistic Director of Adventure Theatre MTC and has directed, choreographed and performed at many theatres in the DC region. He studied creative writing and music at Susquehanna University and theater and dance at The Washington Ballet, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, The American Musical and Dramatic Academy and NY University’s Tisch School of the Arts (Cap 21). He is a member of the Dramatist Guild of America and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. As a writer, his work has been accepted in the NYC International Fringe Festival, The New York Musical Theatre Festival and has received grants from the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Producer-Writer Initiative, The Creative Projects Grant from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, Maryland State Arts Council and the Puffin Foundation. Michael’s works include Bingo Long and the Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings, The Yellow Rose of Texas, Say It Ain’t So!, The Stephen Schwartz Project, Going The Distance, Tigers, Dragons and Other Wise Tales, How Old is a Hero?, Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds, Redskins vs. Rockettes, and revisions of Big, the musical – TYA and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Playwright Paige Hernandez

JACQUELINE LAWTON: As a playwright, what excited you about taking part in African Continuum Theatre Company’s A Blaze of Horns: African American Voices in Brief?
PAIGE HERNANDEZ: Omgoodness, I don't know where to start! Working with African Continuum Theatre…being in the presence of so many other amazing writers, directors and actors…..and a platform to display strong AA voices in American Theatre.

JL: What is the name of your play and what is it about?
PH: The name of play is 7th Street Echo. It follows Candela who tries to break into the music scene as a female drummer, having recently lost her father. 7th Street Echo touches on family, triumph, breaking stereotypes and of course…the love of go go music. It's a very honest piece set in the heart of Washington DC.

JL: Why should folks come out and see A Blaze of Horns?
PH: I know for a fact that the audience is going to be blown away by these pieces. You truly get to experience a sampler of some DC's brightest and most talented artists.

JL: What are you working on next? Where can we follow your work?
PH: I'm still touring my one-woman show, Paige in Full. The next stops in the fall are in Nashville and Baton Rouge. Other tour stops through 2014 include Des Moines, Austin, Nashville and Brooklyn. I'll continue my national residencies with Wolf Trap as well as training and professional development workshops in Charlotte, Poughkeepsie and here in the DMV area. As a writer/director/choreographer, I'm writing a new piece, the Nayika Project, with classical Indian dancerChitra Kalyandurg. Nayika Project will premiere in the spring of 2014. I'm choreographing all over in many different pieces including Olney Theatre's spring production of The Piano Lesson. As performer I'll be starring in Shape of a Girl at the Wharton Arts Center in Michigan in November and in the spring, I'll be Cinderella in Imagination Stage's Cinderella: The Remix, written by a dear friend and colleague of mine, Psalmayene 24. Stay up to date with www.paigehernandez.com

Paige Hernandez is a multifaceted artist, who is known for her innovative fusion of poetry, hip hop, dance and education. As a master teaching artist, Paige has taught throughout the country, to all ages, in all disciplines. To date, she has reached over 10, 000 students, from Pre-K through college, in over 100 residencies, workshops and performances. She has been recognized in many organizations including the Wolftrap Foundation for Early Learning and Arena Stage where she was awarded the Thomas Fichandler award for exceptional promise in theater education. As an actress, Paige has performed on many stages including DC: Arena Stage, Folger Theatre, The Kennedy Center , Fulton Theatre(PA), Ohio Theatre (NY), Manship Theatre(LA), Paramount Theatre (TX) and many others. As a critically acclaimed dancer, Paige's choreography has been seen all over the country and recently in The Kennedy Center’s American Scrapbook and Knuffle Bunny. As a hip hop education advocate, Paige has shaped various educational workshops, including Props for Hip Hop at Arena Stage and Keep it Moving, at Wolftrap. With her company B-FLY ENTERTAINMENT, Paige has toured her children’s show Havana Hop and her one woman show, Paige in Full: A B-girl’s Visual Mixtape throughout the country. www.paigehernandez.com

Playwright Caleen Sinnette Jennings

JACQUELINE LAWTON: As a playwright, what excited you about taking part in African Continuum Theatre Company’s A Blaze of Horns: African American Voices in Brief?
CALEEN SINNETTE JENNINGS: I've been around since the founding of ActCo. ActCo has produced and supported my work over many years. It is always a thrill and an honor to be invited to share work through ActCo. In A Blaze of Horns, I'm in the company of some wonderful artists. I have tremendous respect for Thembi's vision and managerial skills. This is a wonderful way to jump out there and say, "Hey, check us out now."

JL: What is the name of your play and what is it about?
CSJ: Back in 2007, long before it was reported in the media, I read a story online about women soldiers in Iraq who feared rape and molestation by soldiers in their own units. One of the strategies they had to adopt was not drinking water after 6 pm so that they would not have to use the latrines at night. These are women living in the DESERT! I thought about women who had left husbands, children at home, to fight under very dangerous circumstances, against an enemy who was unpredictable AND who had to fear the men on their own team -- the men who were supposed to be their comrades in arms. I was blown away by that. And still nothing substantive has been done to stop it. I wrote my play 2007 in response to that article. Undisclosed is about female soldiers who have decided to take action to protect themselves.

JL: Why should folks come out and see A Blaze of Horns?
CSJ: This is African American theatre at its finest. The playwrights, directors and actors involved are skilled, seasoned professionals who call D.C. their artistic home and who seek inspiration from their hometown audiences. ActCo is a very special organization which has been under the stewardship of three dynamic women who have fought to keep it alive and thriving. ActCo audiences are sophisticated and intelligent. An evening at an ActCo performance is inspirational and thought provoking.

JL: What are you working on next? Where can we follow your work?
CSJ: I am a member of the Welders Playwright's Collective. The Collective will be producing my play, "Not Enough Lifetimes" in the 2014-2015 season at the Atlas. Right now, I'm in rehearsal for an original children's play called Steamystery, about S.T.E.A.M. (Science Technology Engineering Art Math) which will be done at American University in early October. You can follow my work on Facebook.

Caleen Sinnette Jennings is Professor of Theatre at American University in Washington, D.C. She received the Heideman Award from Actor’s Theatre of Louisville for her play Classyass, which was produced at the 2002 Humana Festival and has been published in five anthologies. She is a two-time Helen Hayes Award nominee for Outstanding New Play. In 2003 she won the award for Outstanding Teaching of Playwriting from the Play Writing Forum of the Association of Theatre in Higher Education. In 1999 she received a $10,000 grant from the Kennedy Center’s Fund for New American Plays for her play Inns & Outs. Her play, Playing Juliet/Casting Othello was produced at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre in 1998. In 2012, Ms. Jennings’ play, Hair, Nails & Dress, was produced by Uprooted Theatre Company of Milwaukee, and by the D.C. Black Theatre Festival. Her play, Uncovered, is in the 2011 Eric Lane and Nina Shengold anthology, Shorter, Faster, Funnier. Dramatic Publishing Company has published: Chem Mystery, Elsewhere in Elsinore: the Unseen Women of Hamlet, Inns & Outs, Playing Juliet/Casting Othello, Sunday Dinner, A Lunch Line, and Same But Different. Ms. Jennings received her B.A. in Drama from Bennington College and her M.F.A. in Acting from the N.Y.U. Tisch School of the Arts.

Playwright Tom Minter

JACQUELINE LAWTON: As a playwright, what excited you about taking part in African Continuum Theatre Company’s A Blaze of Horns: African American Voices in Brief?
TOM MINTER: Being asked by Thembi. It is wonderful support to have a colleague reach out and ask for my voice in this unique mix of talents. I also love the concept of “a blaze of horns”, as if calling everyone to this storytelling opportunity.

JL: What is the name of your play and what is it about?
TM: The name of my play is Collections of a working mind, and it relates to processing the real world – an adult world, by a child.

JL: Why should folks come out and see A Blaze of Horns?
TM: Easy! Six talented authors, weaving their different characters through nimble actors, presenting in a forum of imagination – live! I’ll speak for myself and say, I wouldn’t want to miss that!

JL: What are you working on next? Where can we follow your work?
TM: Presently I’m working on a commissioned piece, creating a play that threads through resonant moments from the lives of Duke Ellington, Ethel Waters and Ella Fitzgerald, which will also utilize different devices of narrative (visual image, musical performance) allowing collaboration with artists of different mediums. I try and keep up to date with my news through an online journal: www.tomminteroffthestoop.wordpress.com

Tom Minter is a playwright specializing in work on issues of diversity, culture and national identity. He is also a librettist, and Teaching Artist, living in Washington, DC. Tom’s first theatre works were presented in London. His play Exposition was produced in the West End at The Arts Theatre in 1997. His groundbreaking theatre triptych, In Caliban’s eye, consisting of the plays The Orion, Breathing Ash and Reconstruction have received workshop presentations in Manhattan at the Working Theatre; The Manhattan Theatre Club; The Lark. His play Past is the present, Imperfect was produced in DC, by City Artistic Partnership. Most recently Tom was commissioned by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery to write Smoking Out The Beehive, a theatre work collecting the artistry and voices of 6 African American Poets, from the museum’s 2012 exhibition Poetic Likenesses. Smoking Out The Beehive premiered in 2013. Blues For A Royal Flush, a commission by Stanford University, in Washington, based on the work of DC native Duke Ellington, will premiere in 2014. Tom continues his work as a Teaching Artist, connecting DC students with experiences of theatre, while facilitating the journey in creating scripts out of their own ideals and stories.

Playwright Jennifer L. Nelson

JACQUELINE LAWTON: As a playwright, what excited you about taking part in African Continuum Theatre Company’s A Blaze of Horns: African American Voices in Brief?
JLN: The short play form has become increasingly important in the 21st Century--perhaps because television has primed our attention spans for quick, pithy dialogue. It's important for the new ACTCo to demonstrate its intention to be recognized as a hub for pertinent local theatre artists and there's no time like the present!

JL: What is the name of your play and what is it about?
JLN: My play is "Talking with the Ex." It takes place in the middle of the night when a sleeping woman is awakened by an unexpected phone call from her former husband, the father of her child. Even though she is barely awake, he launches into an intricate story about someone that she barely knows. His presence over the phone becomes so intrusive that she experiences him actually entering her bedroom and climbing into the bed they used to share.

JL: Why should folks come out and see A Blaze of Horns?
JLN: I hope people who appreciate theatre will come for an entertaining evening that showcases the diversity of the area's working playwrights.

JL: What are you working on next? Where can we follow your work?
JLN: I'm in the middle of a play for families with young children called "A Mile in My Shoes" that will be workshopped and hopefully toured by a theatre ensemble from Bowie State in October.

Jennifer L. Nelson is a playwright and director who was the Producing Artistic Director of ACTCo for eleven years. Her first full length play, Torn From the Headlines received the Helen Hayes Award for Most Outstanding New Play. Her musical play Torn from the Headlines was awarded the 1996 Helen Hayes/Charles MacArthur Award for Most Outstanding New Play. Her three-minute telephone play Somebody Call 911 was commissioned by and featured at the 2001 Humana Festival at the Actors’ Theatre of Louisville. Her latest full-length play 24, 7, 365 was produced by Theatre of the First Amendment. Her full-length musical Hubert & Charlie was honored by the 2003 Larry Neal Writers’ Awards and was subsequently produced by the African Continuum Theatre. She has received several commissions to write issue-oriented plays for young audiences, most recently by Ford’s Theatre to bring to life historical character Elizabeth Keckly (2011 Washington Post Helen Hayes Theatre Award). She has also been commissioned to write short plays for the Theatre Lab; Active Cultures/Sportaculture Festival; the Cultures-in-Motion Program of the National Portrait Gallery; the Education Department of the Corcoran Gallery; the Kennedy Center Program for Families; and Round House Theatre’s HeyDay Players. She is a three-time grantee of the DC Commission on the Arts Individual Artist program, and a recipient of the Mayor’s Arts Awards for Excellence in an Artistic Discipline. She is currently Artistic and Legacy Project Advisor at Ford’s Theatre.

Playwright Malcolm Pelles

JACQUELINE LAWTON: As a playwright, what excited you about taking part in African Continuum Theatre Company’s A Blaze of Horns: African American Voices in Brief?
MALCOLM PELLES: ACTco is an institution in DC, and it was an honor to be asked to participate. Also it's amazing to be grouped with the other playwrights, actors, and artists that are contributing to A Blaze of Horns. I jumped at the opportunity.

JL: What is the name of your play and what is it about?
MP: The name of my play is A Dead Mouse On Your Doorstep, and it's a comedy about a lifelong activist that stands up for his right to buy vegetarian cat food. On the surface it's a funny farce, but it also has deeper themes that center on how older activists try to pass the torch of struggle to younger generations.

JL: Why should folks come out and see A Blaze of Horns?
MP: Washington has a great variety of amazing Black voices that need to be heard. A Blaze of Horns is a good opportunity for audiences to experience the awesome talent this city has to offer in one evening.

JL: What are you working on next? Where can we follow your work?
MP: A new comedy web series that I wrote and produced called Among Thieves will debut in October atwww.AmongThievesTV.com, YouTube, and Blip.tv. Also you can follow me on Twitter: @malcolmpelles .

Malcolm Pelles is a playwright and filmmaker. His plays have been performed in Washington, DC at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Rorschach Theatre, Warehouse Theater and Theater J; and in New York City at such places as the Atlantic Theater. He earned an MFA degree in dramatic writing from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. His new comedy web series Among Thieves debuts October 15th at WWW.AmongThievesTV.com.

About African Continuum Theatre Company
The African Continuum Theatre Coalition was created in 1989 as a service organization to assist the dozen or more small black community theatres in the improvement of the quality and visibility of their work. In 1995, the Coalition transitioned into a theatre company, with a primary mission to produce professional, high-quality programming for the general public that preserves and highlights African-American history and culture.

African Continuum Theatre Company has presented over 35 fully-produced, main-stage plays, seven of which were world premieres, along with numerous public readings of new works by playwrights of color. African Continuum Theatre Company is committed to providing new and traditional performing art forms from main-stage productions to community engagement programs. Its focus and strength is engaging the community with exciting and meaningful theatrical productions, educational programs, partnerships, and volunteer opportunities that bring us to the larger community.

African Continuum has garnered recognition for its artistic endeavors and leadership from the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington and other agencies, including 16 Helen Hayes Awards nominations, 3 Helen Hayes Awards, the Washington Post Award for Distinguished Service to the Community, and the Mayor’s Arts Award.

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