Mainstage Casting And Directors Announced for 4th ANNUAL OBSIDIAN THEATRE FESTIVAL

The Obsidian Theatre Festival has announced Mainstage casting for the 4th Annual Obsidian Theatre Festival, taking place at 3 different locations in downtown Detroit.

As previously announced, this collaboration between GhostLight Creative Productions & Nicely Theatre Group, now in its fourth year, features plays from four playwrights, a new musical, and a special opening night cabaret and fundraiser.

Each of the 4 plays will have two performances at The Boll Family YMCA on 1401 Broadway St, while the Musical Theatre Showcase will perform twice at The Chrysler Black Box inside the Detroit Opera House on 1526 Broadway St. The weekend begins with an Opening Night Cabaret and fundraiser, featuring a one-night-only evening of music and poetry at the GEM Theatre on 333 Madison St, Detroit, MI 48226 on Thursday, June 27th.

The festival follows GhostLight Arts Initiative's inaugural 3-day Detroit IMPACT Arts Conference. Registration for the inaugural conference is available at www.ghostlight.art/impact. The conference takes place from Monday, June 24th to Wednesday, June 26th.

Performances for the 4th Annual Obsidian Theatre Festival begin Thursday, June 27th and end on Sunday, June 30th. In an effort to continue to be accessible to all, this year's festival will begin to stream beginning in August of 2024.

All passes and tickets are available via the website at www.obsidianfest.org.

General Admission tickets are free of charge for the mainstage shows and the musical theatre showcase. Festival Passes begin at $50 for all shows, excluding the Opening Night Cabaret and Fundraiser. Each tier includes access to our streaming platform, which includes festival content from the first 3 seasons, priority seating, and access to special gifts and events.

In lieu of admission, we ask all audience members to consider making a donation to Obsidian 

"Many venues have closed their doors due to the pandemic, limiting opportunities for playwrights to be heard and produced. This is why the Obsidian Theatre Festival is important to the artistic community. It ensures that writers have a space to bear witness to their realities and to share their perspectives with the world." Aaron Mays, playwright "Black Santa."

Over the past 3 seasons, The Obsidian Theatre Festival has featured 22 productions and over 100 individual segments including panels, interviews, behind-the-scenes videos, original music performances, and educational opportunities for students across the country, with viewership in 48 states and 28 countries.

"As a Black writer and mother, I am elated that 'The Sisters Grey' has been selected as a Finalist for the 2024 Obsidian Theater Festival. It is with incredible pride that my play will be produced among shows that explore the multiplicity of roots, identity and experience among Black people. The Sisters Grey provides insight into the rich intertextuality of cross cultural relationships among Black, Jewish, African, and European people. As the characters in the play wrestle with the universality of struggle and triumph, we are taken on a journey through the tender turmoil of seeking understanding amidst tragic circumstances. It is deeply meaningful to have my work supported, elevated and amplified by such a thoughtfully curated theatre festival as OTF. All of this is particularly poignant because my play Sheridan Avenue, which was a 2023 Semifinalist for the Black Motherhood and Parenting New Play Festival (BMPFest), received a rich virtual reading that was a co-production of the OTF, BMPFest and Blackboard Plays. To work and create with such an authentic collaboration of artists and producers once again is a joy." Lori Roper - Playwright, "The Sisters Grey".

Musical Theatre showcase and cabaret company announcements will be shared in a separate release.

THE 4TH ANNUAL OBSIDIAN THEATRE FESTIVAL MAINSTAGE LINE-UP:

"Black Santa" by Aaron Mays, Directed by Will Bryson

Before Abbott Elementary, there was Patrice at Dartmouth Day School....Shortly before Christmas break, a third grader named Sharifa stands in front of her class and says, "Santa Claus is a black man from Detroit," sending the school into an uproar. To quell the storm, Patrice Patterson, the school's only black teacher, is asked to create an ad campaign within the school to make Santa white again. As events unfold, Sharifa's enrollment is placed in jeopardy, and Patrice must decide how to protect Sharifa and ultimately herself. This absurdist comedy examines how race and racial bias can have a foothold on one of the most benign figures-Santa Claus. Will Bryson directs this new play. Hallie Bee Bard, Carman Cooper, Frank Sawa, Sean Paraventi, Sarah B. Stevens and Johnathan C. Williams join the company. "Black Santa" runs Thursday, June 27th at 6:30pm EST and Friday, June 29th at 2pm EST.

"The Golden Loc" by Prentiss Matthews III, Directed by Asia Mark

"The Golden Loc" is a TYA (Theater for Young Audience) play inspired by African Mythology. The story centers on a little Black girl (Zia) who learns to embrace her unique locs, beauty, and magic within. The show explores Aziza Faires which are magical African Fairies who have elemental abilities. The Aziza Fairies also offer spiritual and emotional guidance to young Zia as she trains to become a Fairy protector. Will she succeed and learn to harness her power from within? We shall see. The play explores themes of Afrofantasy, Afrocentricity, Self Love, Healing, and sisterhood. Asia Mark directs this new play. Khalia Damali, Jarquita J. Evans, DeNetria Gibson, Princess B. Jones, Tayler Jones, Chelsea Waddles-King, QueenMakeeda Taylor join the company. "The Golden Loc" runs Friday, June 28th at 1pm EST and Sunday, June 30th at 7:30pm EST.

"Crooked Parts" by Azure D. Osborne-Lee, Directed by Asia Hicks

"Crooked Parts" is a family dramedy set in yesterday and today. Freddy, a Black queer trans man, returns to his family home in the South after his fiancé breaks up with him. Once there, Freddy must navigate the tension created by his transition and his brother's serial incarceration. Meanwhile, in his past, 13 year-old Winifred struggles to balance her relationship with her mother with her desire to better fit in with her peers. Crooked Parts is poignant, queer, funny, and definitely definitely Black. Asia Hicks directs. Anthony T. Dunkley, Danté Jones, Jonathan Jones, Phoenix Alyn Jones, Simone Marie Thompson, and CJ Williams join the company. "Crooked Parts" runs Friday, June 28th at 8pm EST and Sunday, June 30th at 2:30pm EST.

"The Sisters Grey" by Lori Roper, Directed by Kerstin Vaughn

"The Sisters Grey" is a comedic drama that tells the story of two sisters-in-law - one Black and one Jewish, who both believe that their family histories of racial oppression require retribution and sacrifice from others. A funeral sets the stage for turmoil when the true ownership of an heirloom ring which survived the Holocaust comes into question. As the family members grieve, old secrets begin to brew and controversy boils over in this play that investigates why we still question love outside our own tribe and argue over anguish.

"The Sisters Grey", provides a true illumination of the relationships among African American and Jewish people. In addition to an honest discussion about race, The Sisters Grey unveils the unspoken complexities within female relationships; especially those which are interracial - while embracing the clever role that humor can have in healing old wounds. Kerstin Vaughn directs this new play.

Jessica Annunziata, Shelby Bradley, Erika Franklin, Linda Rabin Hammell, Grover McCants and David Moy join the company. "The Sisters Grey" runs Saturday, June 29th at 8:30pm EST and Sunday, June 30th at 12pm EST.

ABOUT GHOSTLIGHT CREATIVE PRODUCTIONS

GhostLight Creative Productions is a Detroit-based, full service production company specializing in the creation of original film, theatrical, and performance content. Ghostlight offers high end, wrap- around event production services at a Broadway calibre that uplifts the underrepresented, and tells stories that are both compelling and complex.

For more information, please visit: www.ghostlightinc.com

ABOUT NICELY THEATRE GROUP

Nicely Theatre Group is a professional, non-profit theatre company dedicated to increasing public access to live theatre with affordable, diverse performances. Our productions will be inclusive and representative of our community while growing and supporting the arts in metro Detroit. For more information, please visit: www.nicelytheatregroup.org

ABOUT BLACKBOARD PLAYS

Since 2008, Blackboard Plays has been devoted to Black Playwrights throughout the African Diaspora. Blackboard Reading Series was incubated @ Nancy Manocherian's the cell in Chelsea's Manhattan as a resident series for 10 years, before making their new physical home pre-pandemic in The Mary Rodgers Room at The Dramatists Guild in 2018. Feature Readings and Community Nights are two ways that Blackboard supports the development of new work by Black Playwrights. Since 2020, Blackboard has been in partnership with the Parent Artist Advocacy League (PAAL) to produce the Black Motherhood and Parenting New Play Festival, supporting the work of Black artists with Families and their stories. Blackboard was founded by Garlia Cornelia Jones. www.blackboardplays.com

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