Bishop Arts Theatre Closes 30th Anniversary Season With JET FUEL

 Bishop Arts Theatre Center (BATC) will close its award-winning 30th Anniversary season with the world premiere of Jet Fuel by Amy Evans beginning September 12 – 22, 2024. Embark on an unforgettable journey through the world of elite sports with Amy Evans' groundbreaking new play. Inspired by the extraordinary tale of Olympic sprinter Caster Semenya, this captivating production casts a brilliant spotlight on the intricate intersections of gender, race identity, and the quest for fairness in the realm of athletics. More than just a play, Jet Fuel serves as a catalyst for conversations that matter. It brings together people from all walks of life to celebrate diversity and inclusion while pondering the true essence of fairness in the world of elite athletes. Tiana Kaye Blair with Dallas Theater Center’s Brierley Acting Company joins to direct and choreograph this premiere production.

Amy Evans, based in Brooklyn, New York, is a distinguished playwright and Associate Provost of Academic Affairs and Assessment at The Juilliard School. Her notable plays include The Champion (TheatreSquared), Achidi J’s Final Hours(Finborough Theatre), Many Men’s Wife (Tricycle Theatre), and The Big Nickel(Soho Theatre). She has earned recognition through a 2019 NYFA/NYSCA Fellowship in Playwriting and is an alumna of prestigious residencies such as Hedgebrook Women Writers’ Residency and BRICLab Performing Arts Residency. Amy's work has appeared in anthologies and academic publications internationally and has contributed to Shelterforce Magazine. Current projects include The Goat, commissioned by the Audible Emerging Playwrights initiative, and Jet Fuel, a play about elite sports inspired by Olympic sprinter Caster Semenya. She holds an MA in Theatre Arts from Goldsmiths College, University of London.

Tiana Kaye Blair is a director, actor, educator, and culture worker based in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Her directing credits include Spell #7, Dutchman, Mlima’s Tale, Libra Season, Working: A Musical, Hurt Village, Rage, Trouble In Mind, and No Child. Some of her acting credits include Penny Candy, Steel Magnolias, In The Heights, The Great Society, Hair, and The Mountaintop. Blair is also a member of Progress Theatre, an international touring ensemble committed to using art to encourage social consciousness, cross-community dialogue, and cultural awareness amongst audiences diverse in race, age, and spiritual background.

She is a Professor of Practice of Acting and Movement at Southern Methodist University where she teaches a Methodology called  SoulWork. SoulWork is a comprehensive theater-making methodology and pedagogy based on generations-old African American performance traditions and aesthetics, developed by Dr. Cristal Chanelle Truscott. This ensemble-based method engages the artist’s cultural knowledge of self and community to inspire social consciousness for artistic practice, performance, and curricula. Blair holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from Prairie View A&M University and a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from Southern Methodist University. 

To post a comment, you must register and login.