Daphne Rubin-Vega Hosts Benefit Performance of Ayodele Casel's DIARY OF A TAP DANCER V.4 Tonight

Royal Family Productions, a non-profit theatre company known for its innovative productions and development of new original work, concludes its week-long workshop of Ayodele Casel's DIARY OF A TAP DANCER V.4, directed by Torya Beard at the Royal Family Performing Arts Space (145 West 46th Street, 3rd Floor) with a benefit performance tonight, November 16, hosted by Daphne Rubin-Vega.

We are all here and we have something to say. We have something to give. Something to communicate about who we are and where we've been. Diary of a Tap Dancer is predicated on the belief that by revealing our stories we expose our shared humanity and provide a deeper understanding of how we each choose to move through the world and why.

Diary of a Tap Dancer V.4 features Emma Bigelow, Ayodele Casel, Andre Imanishi and Tony Merriwether, with assistant direction by Zhailon Levingston, general management by Emilie Koenig, lighting design by Betsy Chester, original music by Chester Moon III and sound design by Danny Erdberg.

Royal Family's mission is to galvanize the Times Square community by cultivating raw talent, collaborating with seasoned artists, and inspiring audiences with a diversity of lion-hearted theatre. To us, everyone in the theatre community is not only royalty, but family. Our programs and productions lift artists at all stages of their careers. We don't want to tell just any story: we want to best serve artists in telling their own stories. In today's political and social climate, it is also more important than ever to celebrate all voices-especially those underrepresented in the traditional theatre space. At Royal Family, we celebrate the work of female artists, playwrights of color, works with LGBTQIA themes, and artists of all ages and body types.

Royal Family has been a creative incubator of original, humanistic plays for over a decade. Bravery and fearlessness are imperative to our process. Artists and audiences alike are challenged in a creative safe space to explore the humor and the tangled truths of the human condition. As actor and first-time playwright Anthony Rapp (Rent, Dazed and Confused, Star Trek: Discovery) observes, "Royal Family is committed to truthful, heartfelt, alive, theatrical storytelling. It's vital to the human experience and hard to come by."

Royal Family was established in 2007 as a home for artists wishing to challenge and transform the traditional theatre canon. Since its launch, Royal Family has developed lasting relationships with highly regarded theatre professionals such as Kathleen Chalfant (Angels in America, Tony-Nominee Wit) and Anthony Rapp (Rent, If/Then, Dazed and Confused), and has partnered with artists including Scott Adsit (30 Rock), Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, Orphans, The Hunt For Red October, The Departed), Elizabeth A. Davis (Tony-Nominee Once, Caucasian Chalk Circle, 39 Steps), and J. Robert Spencer (Tony-Nominee Next to Normal, Jersey Boys). Our productions have been reviewed by The New York Times, Time Out, The Village Voice, The Boston Globe, Time Out London, The London Times, and The Irish Times and featured three years in a row in the esteemed Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Recent highlights include a collaboration between stage and television star-turned-choreographer Taye Diggs, choreographer Jenny Parsinen, and Royal Family's Emerging Artist Program on 2017's thoughts of a COLORED MAN on a day when the sun set too early by playwright Keenan Scott II. The play weaves the story of twelve African American men searching for their identity in a conformist world. Through the Emerging Artist Program, Scott is now partnering with commercial producers to workshop the play under the direction of Taye Diggs. In 2016, Royal Family premiered Rock and Roll Refugee, a biographical musical about Geyna Ravan, who also wrote the music and lyrics. The Polish World War II refugee and Holocaust survivor broke into the rock scene at a time when it was a predominantly male field, forming the first all-girl band and becoming the first female music producer. The New York Times' Laura Collins-Hughes praised the production as "exciting" and lauded its "strikingly female gaze."

Royal Family is led by Artistic Director Chris Henry. Over the past ten seasons, Henry has produced over 550 performances, created 1,900 employment opportunities for artists, been twice nominated for the Zelda Fichlander award from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and won the New England Theater Conference Regional Directors Award. Jessica Wu became Associate Artistic Director in 2017.

Royal Family celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2017 with 2017 Hoofer Award Winner Ayodele Casel's development of a new piece called Diary of a Tap Dancer, the premiere of Anne of Green Gables, Part 1, a workshop of the critically acclaimed Rock and Roll Refugee, and a new piece by Emerging Playwright Miles Orduna.

Ayodele Casel (Concept, Choreographer, Performer) premiered her one-woman show While I Have The Floor at the Spoleto Arts Festival this season to rave reviews. She most recently served as choreographer for Carole King and Maurice Sendak's musical Really Rosie being presented at New York City Center's Encores! Off Center this summer under the direction of Leigh Silverman. The 2017 recipient of the "Hoofer Award", Ayodele is a native New Yorker and began her professional training at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and is also a graduate of The William Esper Studio in NYC, having studied directly with the masterful William Esper.Hailed by the legendary Gregory Hines as "one of the top young tap dancers in the world," Casel has been creating and presenting her work since 1999 and added Spoleto Festival USA to her list of eager recipients this season in her World Premiere. Ms. Casel's television and film credits include "Third Watch", "Law and Order", "The Jamie Foxx Show", "Bojangles", "Savion Glover's Nu York". Ayodele originated the role of Yvonne in Nelsan Ellis' heart-wrenching play UGLy to great reviews at NYC's Fringe Festival and Santa Monica Playhouse. She also originated the role of "The Doll" in Derick Grant's Imagine Tap! which premiered at The Harris Theater in Chicago. Ayodele currently serves on the Artist Board for New York City Center's Encores! under the artistic direction of Tony Award winner Jeanine Tesori.

She has earned her commissions from Aaron Davis Hall/Harlem Stage and the Apollo's Salon Series, where she presented "Diary of a Tap Dancer". She was also selected by acclaimed composer Rob Kapilow to collaborate on a Tap dance concerto which premiered at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Ayodele co- choreographed Tap Into Peace; a show with the incredible music of Stevie Wonder as its inspiration and soundtrack. The show has been presented at NY City Center's Fall for Dance and PlayhouseSquare in Cleveland. She has performed at New York City Center, The White House, Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Madison Square Garden, and Off- Broadway in Savion Glover's Downtown: Live Communication. Ms. Casel also co-choreographed and was featured on PBS' "Rodgers and Hart Story: Thou Swell, Thou Witty". She has been creating and presenting her own works since 1999 in venues that include The Apollo, New York's City Center, Aaron Davis Hall/The Gatehouse, The Lisner Auditorium, Lincoln Center "Out of Doors", Symphony Space, Joyce SoHo, Dance Theater Workshop, The Triad Theater and Joe's Pub at The Public Theater. Ms. Casel has appeared on the cover of Dance Spirit, American Theater Magazine, The Village Voice and has been featured in many other magazine articles. She has worked and performed with the greatest tap dancers and companies including the late great Gregory Hines, Jazz Tap Ensemble, American Tap Dance Orchestra and Savion Glover as the only female in his company N.Y.O.T.s. (Not Your Ordinary Tappers). Her work has been presented nationally and internationally, and she continues striving to make Tap Dancing a relevant presence in the arts.Ayodele, also a Capezio Athlete, was featured alongside Sutton Foster and Jonathan Groff in Off-Center Encores! Jamboree! at New York City Center and performed her work "While I Have The Floor" at City Center's Fall for Dance 2016 season. Recent performances include "Broadway For Hillary" Fundraiser at the St. James Theater in NYC for with Michael Mayer as director. She is on faculty at A BroaderWay, LA Dance Magic, and Marymount Manhattan College. She is the co-director of Original Tap House and Operation: Tap. www.ayodelecasel.com

Torya Beard (Director) is a New York-based creative consultant, choreographer, and producer specializing in dance and theater. She studied dance at The University of Michigan and toured as a dancer with Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, David Rousseve/ Reality, The Kevin Wynn Collection, Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater, Ronald K. Brown/Evidence, Earl Mosley's Diversity of Dance, Deeply Rooted Chicago Dance Theatre, the National Tour of Donald Byrd's The Harlem Nutcracker, and was a featured dancer in the film "Idlewild". Theater credits: Broadway; "Disney's The Lion King" (swing, dance captain, understudy Sarabi); Favorite regional: "The Wiz," Arkansas Repertory Theater. Torya currently serves as Creative Director of A BroaderWay Foundation and Original Tap House and is a Producer at Siena Music. Recent projects: Classical Theatre of Harlem's The First Noel (Associate Choreographer), Ayodele Casel's While I Have The Floor & Jesus Christ SuperStar - In Concert, (Producer), Idina Menzel 2017 World Tour (Creative Director), and City Center Encores! Off-Center production of Really Rosie (Assistant Choreographer). Beard is also a public relations professional with more than 15 years of experience in the areas of dance and theater. Past/present clients; Ayodele Casel, Rod Gailes OBC, Roger C. Jeffrey, Evidence, A Dance Company, Savion Glover, Classical Theatre of Harlem, Harlem Stage & Tiffany Rea Fisher. She is a member of Brooklyn Dance Festival's Advisory Board and City Center Off-Center's Artist Board. www.toryabeard.com

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