The Hampton Years To Receive Tea at Two Reading at Theater J
On Friday, October 26th at 2:00pm, Theater J will present a staged reading of THE HAMPTON YEARS by Jacqueline E. Lawton as part of their Tea at Two Reading Series.
The reading will take place at Theater J and run for approximately 2 hours. THE HAMPTON YEARS is rated PG and is recommended for teenagers and adults. Tickets are $5.00 and can be purchased in advance.
This breakthrough premiere explores the development of great African-American artists, John Biggers and Samella Lewis under the tutelage of Austrian Jewish refugee painter and educator, Viktor Lowenfeld. Focusing on the pivotal years at Hampton Institute, Virginia during WWII, this richly researched tapestry reveals the dreams and travails of young artists in a still segregated society.
Calendar Information
WHAT
THE HAMPTON YEARS a staged reading presented by Theater J as part of their Tea at Two Reading.
WHO
Produced by Theater J
Written by Jacqueline E. Lawton
Directed by Shirley Serotsky
Dramaturgy by Otis Ramsey-Zoe
Featuring Edward Christian, Lolita-Marie, Crashonda Edwards, Julian Martinez, Sasha Olinick, Colin Smith, Emily Townley and David Lamont Wilson
WHERE
Theater J, located at 1529 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
Metro Station: DuPont Circle (Red Line)
PLAY SYNOPSIS
Set at Hampton University from 1939 to 1946, The Hampton Years examines the impact of World War II on Jewish immigrants living in the United States and their role in shaping the lives and careers of African American students in the segregated south. Viktor Lowenfeld joined the Hampton Institute in Virginia in 1939 as assistant professor of Industrial Arts and studio art teacher. He was later appointed as Chairman of the Art Department and in 1945, he was named curator of the distinguished collection of Black African Art at the Hampton Institute. Burgeoning artists, John Biggers and Samella Lewis. were his students and acclaimed artists, Elizabeth Catlett and Charles White, taught in residence. While it certainly a difficult time for both African Americans and Jews as Jim Crow laws and Anti-Semitism plagued the country, somehow these passionate and brilliant artists rose above all that was standing in their way to create beautiful, poignant, and lasting works of art. The Hampton Years celebrates the legacy of these outstanding artists and honors the stewardship of their great work.
The reading will take place at Theater J and run for approximately 2 hours. THE HAMPTON YEARS is rated PG and is recommended for teenagers and adults. Tickets are $5.00 and can be purchased in advance.
This breakthrough premiere explores the development of great African-American artists, John Biggers and Samella Lewis under the tutelage of Austrian Jewish refugee painter and educator, Viktor Lowenfeld. Focusing on the pivotal years at Hampton Institute, Virginia during WWII, this richly researched tapestry reveals the dreams and travails of young artists in a still segregated society.
Calendar Information
WHAT
THE HAMPTON YEARS a staged reading presented by Theater J as part of their Tea at Two Reading.
WHO
Produced by Theater J
Written by Jacqueline E. Lawton
Directed by Shirley Serotsky
Dramaturgy by Otis Ramsey-Zoe
Featuring Edward Christian, Lolita-Marie, Crashonda Edwards, Julian Martinez, Sasha Olinick, Colin Smith, Emily Townley and David Lamont Wilson
WHERE
Theater J, located at 1529 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
Metro Station: DuPont Circle (Red Line)
PLAY SYNOPSIS
Set at Hampton University from 1939 to 1946, The Hampton Years examines the impact of World War II on Jewish immigrants living in the United States and their role in shaping the lives and careers of African American students in the segregated south. Viktor Lowenfeld joined the Hampton Institute in Virginia in 1939 as assistant professor of Industrial Arts and studio art teacher. He was later appointed as Chairman of the Art Department and in 1945, he was named curator of the distinguished collection of Black African Art at the Hampton Institute. Burgeoning artists, John Biggers and Samella Lewis. were his students and acclaimed artists, Elizabeth Catlett and Charles White, taught in residence. While it certainly a difficult time for both African Americans and Jews as Jim Crow laws and Anti-Semitism plagued the country, somehow these passionate and brilliant artists rose above all that was standing in their way to create beautiful, poignant, and lasting works of art. The Hampton Years celebrates the legacy of these outstanding artists and honors the stewardship of their great work.
ARTIST BIOS
The Playwright
JACQUELINE E. LAWTON received her MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin (Hook 'em Horns!), where she was a James A. Michener Fellow. She participated in the Kennedy Center’s Playwrights’ Intensive (2002) and World Interplay (2003). She is the author of Anna K; Blood-bound and Tongue-tied; Deep Belly Beautiful; The Devil’s Sweet Water; Ira Aldridge: the African Roscius; Lions of Industry, Mothers of Invention; Love Brothers Serenade, and Mad Breed. Lawton’s work has been developed and presented at the following venues: Active Cultures, Classical Theater of Harlem, Folger Shakespeare Library, theHegira, Howard University, Kennedy Center’s Page to Stage Festival, Rorschach Theater Company, Savannah Black Heritage Festival (Armstrong Atlantic State University), Shakespeare Theatre Company, Source Theatre Festival, Theater J, and Woolly Mammoth Theater Company. She is published in Experiments in a Jazz Aesthetic: Art, Activism, Academia, and the Austin Project (University of Texas Press). Lawton is a 2012 TCG Nathan Cummings Young Leaders of Color award recipient. She has been nominated for the Wendy Wasserstein Prize and a PONY Fellowship from the Lark New Play Development Center. She was named one of 30 of the nation's leading black playwrights by Arena Stage’s American Voices New Play Institute. Since 2010, Lawton has served on Round House Theatre's Artists' Roundtable. She is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships including two Young Artist Program Grants from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities for Playwriting. She resides in Washington, D.C.
The Director
SHIRLEY SEROTSKY is the Director of Literary and Public Programs at Theater J,
where she directed the 2010 production of Mikveh, the 2009 production
of The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall (which received a 2009 Helen Hayes
Nomination for Best New Play), and the 2011 production of The History of
Invulnerability. She began her theater education as a performance
major in the musical theater program at the University of Michigan, but
soon detoured into directing which she studied at the North Carolina
School of the Arts. After graduation she moved to New York, where she
worked at the Women’s Project and Productions; interned for the Cherry
Lane Theater; and was employed as an editorial assistant for a Jewish
organization. In August 2001 she moved to Washington, DC to fulfill a
nine-month Kenan Fellowship at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts.
There she worked as an assistant director and dramaturg on several
productions. Since 2002 she has worked as a freelance director and
dramaturg in the Washington, DC area and beyond, directing for the
Source Festival, Theater Alliance, Catalyst Theater, Rorschach Theater,
Catholic University, the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts,
Journeymen Theater, and on several out-of-town productions, including
at the Humana Festival of New Plays at Actors Theater of Louisville.
She has taught young people and adults at The Actor’s Center, the
Musical Theater Center, and Theater Lab. She co-founded Bouncing Ball
Theatrical Productions with Shawn Northrip (which aims to develop and
produce new and innovative musical theater works). Training: BFA, North
Carolina School of the Arts. Member of The 2002 Designer/Director
Workshop with Ming Cho Lee and the 2003 Lincoln Center Director's Lab.
The Dramaturg
OTIS CORTEZ RAMSEY-ZOE is a Lecturer of Theatre Arts at Howard University, Future Classics Program Coordinator at The Classical Theatre of Harlem, Series Editor for NoPassport Press’s Dreaming the Americas Series, a freelance dramaturg, and a Company Member of banished? productions. He has developed new works with such organizations as The Sundance Institute, Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Centerstage and Black Women Playwrights’ Group and by such writers as Colman Domingo, Tarell McCraney, Noah Haidle, Kirsten Greenidge and Tim Acito. He has directed readings including Jacqueline E. Lawton’s The Hampton Years and Blood-bound and Tongue-tied, James Webb’s The Contract and David Emerson Toney’s Kingdom. Previously, he was Literary Manager and First Look Coordinator at Centerstage and an Allen Lee Hughes Dramaturgy and Literary Senior Fellow at Arena Stage. Mr. Ramsey-Zöe holds degrees from New York University and the University of Notre Dame.
|
THE HAMPTON YEARS
May 29 - June 30 A World Premiere by Jacqueline E. Lawton Directed by Shirley Serotsky Dramaturgy by Otis Cortez Ramsey-Zoe Featuring Edward Christian, Sarah Douglas, Crashonda Edwards, Lolita-Marie, Julian Martinez, Sasha Olinick, Colin Smith, and David Lamont Wilson www.theaterj.org |
|