FOUR LITTLE GIRLS: BIRMINGHAM 1963 Staged Reading Set for First Corinthian Baptist Church, 2/3

Actors' Equity Association ("AEA" or Equity) and its Eastern Region Equal Employment Opportunity Committee, together with First Corinthian Baptist Church and Executive Producer and Artistic Producer Project1Voice present "FOUR LITTLE GIRLS: BIRMINGHAM 1963," a one night only staged reading event to be held on Monday, February 3rd at 7:30pm at First Corinthian Baptist Church (1912 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd., between West 115th & 116th Streets, Harlem NYC). This Black History Month event is free and open to the public (doors open at 6:45pm; ticketing and entry will be handled on-site, day of show, on a first-come, first-served basis) and will be sign-language-interpreted for theatregoers who are deaf or hard of hearing. A panel discussion will take place immediately following the reading.

Written by Christina Ham and directed by Seret Scott, "FOUR LITTLE GIRLS: BIRMINGHAM 1963" commemorates the church bombing that took the lives of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley. This seminal event in American history helped to galvanize the American Civil Rights Movement in 1964 only weeks after the historic March on Washington where Martin Luther King delivered his famous "I Have a Dream Speech."

"FOUR LITTLE GIRLS: BIRMINGHAM 1963" examines the lives of four children in a time of intense political and civil unrest. The play centers on Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Wesley, four little girls bursting with promise who share their hopes and dreams against the backdrop of the civil rights movement. While Denise dreams of becoming a doctor, Carole looks forward to the dress she will one day wear at the cotillion. Cynthia imagines her life as a mathematics professor at the local university, and Addie Mae envisions a life as a professional baseball player. The realities of the segregated political climate swirl around them and eventually culminate in the fateful events of September 15, 1963.

"FOUR LITTLE GIRLS: BIRMINGHAM 1963" will feature a cast of Actors' Equity Association members (subject to change): Nia Ashleigh (Addie Mae Collins), Khail Bryant (Cynthia Wesley), Eden Duncan-Smith (Denise McNair) and Madai Monica Williams (Carole Robertson). The female ensemble is Inga Ballard, Stephanie Berry, Terry Burrell, Leanne Cabrera, Alex Chester, Britney Coleman, Mamie Duncan-Gibbs, Olivia Ford, Tanesha Gary, Alexis Holt, Michelle M. Robinson, Desiree Rodriguez, Danette Sheppard, Imani Smith, Gayle Turner and Virginia Woodruff. The male ensemble is Adrian Bailey, Chris Berry, Austin Ku, Andrew Mayer, Kevyn Morrow, Gregg Mozgala, Eric Mark Olson, Paul Thomas Ryan and Hansel Tan.

CHRISTINA HAM (Playwright). Ham's plays have been developed both nationally and internationally with the Center Theater Group, The Goodman Theater, The Guthrie Theater, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Summer Play Festival/Theatre Row, SteppingStone Theatre and the Tokyo International Arts Festival among others. She holds an MFA in playwriting from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and is a member of the Dramatist Guild of America.

Seret Scott (Director) is an associate artist at The Old Globe in San Diego, having directed more than a dozen of its stage productions. Her directing credits include Second Stage, Playwrights Horizons, Actors Theatre of Louisville, South Coast Rep, ACT-San Francisco, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Arena Stage, Ford's Theatre, Long Wharf and National Black Theater among numerous others. Scott is on the Executive Board of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC).

Kathryn Bostic (Original Music & Arrangements) is a singer-songwriter and composer for film and stage. Her credits include Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo starring Robin Williams (Drama Desk Award, Tony Nomination). Bostic has also collaborated with renowned playwright August Wilson, writing the score for the Broadway production of Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner's Come and Gone at the Mark Taper Forum and several productions of Wilson's last play, Radio Golf.

PRODUCTION STAFF: Supervising Producer: Erich McMillan-McCall; Executive Producer: Gwen Gilliam; Producer: Desiree Allen; Musical Director: Greg Watkins; Production Supervisor: Denise D. Saunders Thompson; Stage Manager: C. Renee Alexander; Asst. to the Director: Michelle M. Robinson; Asst. Musical Director: Yan Li; Panel Discussion Producers: Kimberly Dillon, Tony Melson; Panel Discussion Moderator: Flo Wiley; Sign Language/Braille Coordinator: Alexis Marnel.