Olney Theatre Center Funds Three Week-Long Workshops In 24-25

Olney Theatre Center announced the three collaborative projects it will develop with week-long workshops as part of its Vanguard Arts Fund (VAF) during the 24-25 season. The first of the projects, In Dahomey (a collaboration between Monty Cole and Breon Arzell), takes up residence in Olney Theatre’s William H. Graham Actors’ Hall, December 9 - 15, 2024. Artificial (by Prince Gomolvilas and directed by Jeff Liu) will work on the regional theatre’s campus, March 3 - 9, 2025. The final project, Okuni (book and lyrics by 24-25 Hermitage Major Theater Award Winner Naomi Iizuka, music and lyrics by Paul Hodge, and directed by Lisa Portes), returns for its second VAF workshop focusing on the musical’s second act, following a June 2023 workshop that developed the first, March 31 - April 5, 2025. All workshops culminate in a final presentation which is closed to the public.

Said Jason Loewith, Olney Theatre Center’s Artistic Director, “This round of Vanguard Arts Fund projects is particularly exciting for the breadth of topics explored, the mix of new and returning collaborators, and the variety of technologies, histories, and mediums being explored. It’s a particular delight to work again with Breon (whose magical choreography for Fela! Was rightly recognized at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards), Prince, and the entire Okuni team.  These workshops are vital to not only our pipeline but the pipeline for new work throughout the country.” 

The projects were selected from over 300 entries that were reviewed by the Olney Theatre Center Artistic Staff in a process coordinated by Senior Associate Artistic Director Hallie Gordon and Associate Artistic Director/Casting Director Irene Martinko. Each winner receives one week of workshop space, $1000 per generative artist, travel and housing, and the support of the Olney Theatre staff for casting, contracting, and management. The application window for the next round of projects opens in early 2025.

Created in 2018 with seed money from the Eugene B. Casey Foundation, several prior VAF projects have gone on to be included in Olney Theatre season including the critically acclaimed A.D. 16, created by playwright Bekah Brunstetter, composer/screenwriter Cinco Paul, and director Stephen Brackett which has Broadway expectations; the world premiere dramatic comedy The Joy That Carries You co-written by Awa Sal Secka and Dani Stoller which captured the Helen Hayes Outstanding New Play Award; and the ground-breaking Deaf and hearing production of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man which was also recognized at the Helen Hayes Awards with wins for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical and Outstanding Direction of a Musical. Ken Ludwig’s Lend Me A Soprano, which received a workshop in 2022, was produced at Olney Theatre during the 23-24 season.

In Dahomey (December 9 - 15, 2024)

Creatives: Monty Cole, Breon Arzell

This project is a resurrection of the first musical, performed on Broadway, written by and starring African Americans, In Dahomey. The 1903 hit was a satire on the American Colonisation  Society’s Reconstruction-era efforts to send formerly enslaved people “back to Africa.” This new revival is a way to honor the legacy of what has been written and bring it into the present.

Artificial (March 3 - 9, 2025)

Creatives: Prince Gomolvilas, Jeff Liu

After a failed career in standup comedy, Simon has taken a soul-sucking job as an AI engineer at his younger brother Jetsada’s thriving chatbot company. But when the artistic bug bites again, Simon decides to leverage the company’s AI technology to write jokes, and he hits open mic nights once again—much to Jetsada’s dismay. The sparring brothers’ sibling rivalry reaches epic proportions in this timely yet timeless exploration of a fractured Thai-American family, the uneasy intersection of art and technology, and the question of what it means to be human in the modern age.

Okuni (March 31 - April 5, 2025)

Creatives: Naomi Iizuka, Paul Hodge, Lisa Portes

Kabuki’s untold story is that it was in fact founded by a woman: Okuni. Though centuries separate us from 16th-century Japan, Okuni’s life sets in motion questions that speak to our present-day in uncanny ways: what is the role of the artist in a totalitarian regime? What does it mean to be a woman in a man’s world? How do you survive the vicissitudes of politics, war, and economic unrest? And beyond surviving, how do you make sense of and challenge a corrupt status quo? Okuni’s story explores these questions and more in compelling, thought-provoking ways.

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