Tennessee Playwrights Studio Presents Don't Look Black By Preston Crowder This Summer
Don't Look Black was developed during Crowder's Fellowship with TPS in 2020.
By: Grace Cutler Jul. 31, 2022
Tennessee Playwrights Studio (TPS) has announced the world premiere production of Don't Look Black by Preston Crowder - directed by Alicia Haymer.
Everybody wants to be Black until they face Black problems. Four white friends learn this when they decide to enter an underground "Black Immersion Experience."
Don't Look Black was developed during Crowder's Fellowship with TPS in 2020. TPS presented a workshop reading of this script as part of the TPS 2020 Virtual Reading Festival.
The cast of Don't Look Black includes: Gabe Atchley, Candace-Omnira, Dianne DeWald, Chantea Kirkwood, Sawyer Latham, Leonard Ledford, Taryn Pray, Elliott Winston Robinson, Chandra Walton and Gillión Welsh.
Other theatre artists contributing to Don't Look Black include: MeJah Bahams (Scenic Design), Dee Benn (Costumer), Daniel DeVault (Lighting Design), Tia Lewis (Stage Manager), Enjoli Morgan (Assistant Stage Manager), Grange Simons (Lighting Tech), and Gabe Suico (Sound Design).
This show contains adult themes and language.
Dates and times for Don't Look Black are: August 19, 20, 25 (pay-what-you-can night), 26, 27 and September 1, 2, and 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the Darkhorse Theater - 4610 Charlotte Avenue, Nashville, TN 37209. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. The final weekend of Don't Look Black is presented as part of the 16th Annual Shades of Black Festival, which runs August 28th through October 1st and includes theatre productions from Destiny Theatre Experience, Dream 7 Productions, Global Education Center, SistaStyle Productions and more.
Visit tnplaywrights.org for ticket information, photos/bios of cast and creatives. Proof of vaccination/negative test within 48 hours and masking for audience is required at the Darkhorse Theater.
About Preston Crowder (Playwright) Born and raised in Nashville, TN, Preston Crowder (He/They) is a playwright-actor-director-songwriter with a passion for telling stories surrounding the vast experiences of being Black and Queer in the United States. Production history includes Don't Look Black (Tennessee Playwrights Studio, 2022), Break Your Chains (Juilliard School, 2017), and Flames (University School of Nashville, 2016). Acting Credits include Is God Is (Scotch, The New School), Night Into Morning (Xavier, Short Film), Maidens (Figure 3, Tennessee Playwrights Studio), Sweat (Chris, Humanity Theater Project) and Clybourne Park (Kevin/Albert, Circle Players). Directing credits include Night Into Morning (Short Film) and Detroit '67 (Assistant Director, Karamu House). Preston is a past fellow for the Tennessee Playwrights Studio and was named a semi-finalist for the 2022 Obsidian Theater Festival (Bocking). Preston holds a MFA degree from The New School of Drama and a BFA degree from Oberlin College, where they currently serve as a visiting Professor of Theater and Africana Studies.
About Tennessee Playwrights Studio TPS is a playwright development lab and theatre production company that was co-founded in 2018 by co-directors Kenley Smith and Molly Breen to offer in-state playwrights the opportunity to develop fresh, incisive scripts that reflect a changing world. In 2019, TPS broadened our scope to include theatre production of projects developed in Tennessee, and our first World Premiere production was Maidens by Kenley Smith. In January of 2021, we formed a partnership between TPS and two of the most productive and dynamic Black-owned theatre companies in Nashville: Destiny Theatre Experience and SistaStyle Productions for collaboration on the production of new works and educational programs.
TPS's 2022 season at the Darkhorse Theater includes four world premieres of new works by Tennessee playwrights/creators: Our first two shows were That Woman - The Monologue Show & That Woman - The Dance Show (stories from the perspectives of women involved with JFK created by multiple Nashville theatre and dance artists), which were presented in tandem in June to enthusiastic audiences. Reviewer comments included:
What astonishes (but given the talent level doesn't surprise) is 'That Woman: The Dance Show' was seamlessly woven together in terms of the choreography and performances. There was no 'dip' in either quality or energy throughout the 100-minute, two-act piece. It was moving, entertaining, thrilling, stunning and beautiful to watch. - Evans Donnell, stagecritic.com, That Woman - The Dance Show
"The performances delivered by the actors who breathe life into the women are stunning. No matter how well you think you know each of the actors personally or from previous onstage performances, you will be staggered by their bold and brash performances, the authenticity and honesty each woman brings to the stage will leave you breathless and hoping for more." - Jef Ellis, BroadwayWorld Nashville, That Woman - The Monologue Show
More information about the TPS 2022 Season can be found at: https://tnplaywrights.org/2022-season.
Comments
Videos