Cast Set for Austin Premiere Of PASS OVER at Ground Floor Theatre

Ground Floor Theatre has revealed the cast for Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu's thrilling and acclaimed play Pass Over directed by Simone Raquel Alexander. Pass Over plays August 15-31, 2024 at Ground Floor Theatre.

Pass Over is a rare piece of politically charged theatre by a bold new American voice. In Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu's "powerful and provocative" (Arifa Akbar, The Guardian) new play, Moses and Kitch talk smack, pass the time, and hope that maybe today will be different. As they dream of their promised land, a stranger wanders into their space and disrupts their plans. Evoking heartbreak, hope, and joy over its 85 minutes, Pass Over crafts everyday profanities into poetic and humorous riffs, illuminating the unquestionable human spirit of young men looking for a way out.

“Pass Over has been on my mind since I saw the Steppenwolf production for the first time in 2018,” said director Alexander. “This play has so many layers, but at the heart of it is this loving relationship between two black men who are just trying to get off the block and have hope. I'm so happy Ground Floor is producing this show now and in an election year where we can all be reminded that the progress of our humanity, the hope for a better society, and a better tomorrow is on every one of us. We cannot sit by and watch atrocities happen, we must speak up and act up!” 

The cast includes Sibonelo Shezi as Moses, Adonis Anderson as Kitch, and Nathan Jerkins as Mister/Ossifer.

With direction by Simone Raquel Alexander, the production team includes scenic design and technical direction by Freddie Demps, lighting design by J Mwaki, sound design by Johann Solo, costume design by Desiree Humphries, properties design and set dressing by Liz Tyson, fight direction by Jeffrey Da'Shade Johnson, and graphic design by Erica Morales.

Pass Over | August 15-31, 2024

Written by Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu | Directed by Simone Raquel Alexander

groundfloortheatre.org/passover

Moses and Kitch stand around on the corner – talking sh*t, passing the time, and hoping that maybe today will be different. As they dream of their promised land, a stranger wanders into their space with his own agenda and derails their plans. Emotional and lyrical, Pass Over crafts everyday profanities into poetic and humorous riffs, exposing the unquestionable human spirit of young men stuck in a cycle just looking for a way out. 

Age Recommendation: Fifteen and up for mature themes and language.  

Performances are August 15-31, 2024 at Ground Floor Theatre, 979 Springdale Road, Suite 122, Austin, TX at the corner of Springdale and Airport. Performances are Thursday through Saturday nights at 7:30PM and Sundays at 5:00PM. The “First Friday” performance on August 16 includes a reception. ASL Interpreted Performance on August 29. Ground Floor Theatre believes in “theatre for everyone” regardless of ability to pay, so tickets are always Pay What You Can. Suggested ticket prices are $30 for general admission and $45 for VIP. VIP seating includes a reserved seat, a glass of bubbly and the assurance of helping GFT keep the Pay What You Can policy. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at groundfloortheatre.org/passover.

PRESS: GFT logo and assets, including artists and performances, can be found HERE.

For press needs including access to events, interviews, or reviews please contact nicole.shiro@motleycrewmedia.com

Ground Floor Theatre is supported in part by a grant from the Shubert Foundation.

This project has been financed in whole or in part by the City of Austin's Elevate Grant.

About the Playwright:

Antoinette (“Toni”) Chinonye Nwandu is a New York-based writer for stage & screen. In the summer of 2017, weeks after Trump's election, Nwandu's play Pass Over had its World Premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. A filmed version of that Jeff Award-winning Steppenwolf production—directed by Spike Lee— premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and at SXSW and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. In 2018, Pass Over made its New York debut at LCT3/Lincoln, complete with a new ending. Nwandu has said that if the 2017 ending hits the audience like a sledgehammer, then the 2018 ending is more of a shiv. In 2021, Pass Over ushered in the re-opening of Broadway after the pandemic closure. For this version of the play, Nwandu changed the ending again, this time reversing the lead character's ultimate fate. Nwandu commented that, “after the pandemic, and especially the murder of George Floyd, the idea of sitting through rehearsal after rehearsal of my play the way it ended filled me with dread. I changed the play for myself, first, and then for my audience. We don't need to see anymore dead & dying Black men.”

Additional plays include Breach: a manifesto on race in america through the eyes of a black girl recovering from self-hate (2018 Victory Gardens World Premiere); Flat Sam (Douglas Turner Ward prize); and Vanna White Has Got to Die! (Fire This Time Festival).

Antoinette is a MacDowell Fellow, a Dramatists Guild Fellow, an Ars Nova Play Group alum, and a Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference Literary Fellow. Honors include a Lilly Award (2020); a Lucille Lortel Award (2019); the Whiting Award (2018); the Samuel French Next Step Award (2018); the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award (2017); the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award (2008); and spots on the 2016 and 2017 Kilroys lists. Her work has been supported by the Sundance Theater Lab, Space on Ryder Farm, Ignition Fest, the Cherry Lane Mentor Project, the Kennedy Center, Page73, PlayPenn, Southern Rep, The Flea, Naked Angels, Fire This Time and The Movement Theater Company. Antoinette has a bachelor's degree in English, magna cum laude, from Harvard College; an MSc from The University of Edinburgh; and an MFA from NYU Tisch. Antoinette also writes & produces for film + tv.

Tickets on sale now at groundfloortheatre.org/passover.

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