New Federal Theatre Partners With NC Black Rep For Rolling World Premiere BLOOMING IN DRY SEASON

The North Carolina Black Repertory Company (NC Black Rep) will partner with Woodie King Jr.'s New Federal Theatre on the rolling world premiere of Eljon Wardally's Blooming in Dry Season, winner of the 2024 International Black Theatre Festival (IBTF) Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin Rolling World Premiere Award.

Set in a rum shop on the Spice Isle of Grenada and peppered with music that defines a culture, Blooming in Dry Season tells the story of Fitz, a failed Calypsonian, who faces losing everything when he and his wife, Rose, butt heads over their daughter Garland's path in life. A gifted steelpan player, Garland has been offered the opportunity to tour with the most famous Calypso group in the Caribbean, but Fitz fears the outcome will repeat his own disappointments in life. As tensions grow and secrets are revealed, the family struggles to mend broken dreams and find their lost harmony.

Blooming in Dry Season will feature original Calypso music by Trinidadian musician Etienne Charles, a Guggenheim Fellow and Creative Capital Awardee recipient, who in November 2024 France awarded the Chevalier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) Medal. Playwright Eljon Wardally reflected on the upcoming rolling world premiere:

"It's truly an honor to be the recipient of the Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin Rolling World Premiere Award, and I'm deeply grateful to the theaters championing the power of Caribbean stories. It's time for our narratives to take center stage."

Blooming in Dry Season will represent Woodie King Jr.'s New Federal Theatre's (NFT) inaugural participation on the Sylvia Sprinkle-Hamlin Rolling World Premiere Award. NFT Producing Artistic Director Elizabeth Van Dyke shared the following on the theatre's partnership with NC Black Rep:

"North Carolina Black Repertory Company's, Producing Artistic Director, Jackie Alexander, initiating a partnership with New Federal Theatre to co-produce the North Carolina & New York premiere of Blooming in Dry Season, during these arduous times, strengthens both organizations by sharing expenses & resources, by combining our experiences and skills, by broadening our audiences, by creating community, and establishing life-long artistic comrades and friendships. This partnership is a gift and we at New Federal Theatre are ever grateful."

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