PlayCo 2021 Residency For Black Women Theatre Makers Culminating Events Begin Today

PlayCo presents the culminating events of their 2021 Residency for Black Women Theatre Makers, a four-month period of process-oriented creative support provided to artists from around the world. With a group panel on September 17 followed by individual presentations by each artist, these public-facing, free, and online events provide artists with the indispensable insight that comes from opening incubating ideas to an audience.

They simultaneously offer viewers glimpses into the dynamic new projects and explorations that have emerged this summer from the minds of playwright and theater-maker Daaimah Mubashshir (September 27); scholar, playwright, and portrait photographer Zainabu Jallo (September 28); award-winning, Botswana-born interdisciplinary artist, activist, and founding director of the Queer Shorts Showcase Festival, Botswana's premier LGBTQ theatre festival, Katlego Kai Kolanyane-Kesupile (September 29); and Brazilian playwright, screenwriter, actress, and curator Dione Carlos (September 30).

The residency program, launched this year, provides financial support, time for new work development and artistic experimentation, and connectivity and community-building with fellow resident artists and PlayCo's local and international networks. Selected through an invitation to apply process in collaboration with curatorial consultant Kathy Perkins, the artists receive an $8,000 stipend, as well as a $4,500 project budget. Support in the form of community is built through biweekly virtual meetings between artists as well as frequent communication and collaboration with and guidance from the PlayCo artistic team (including Founding Producer Kate Loewald and Artistic Associate Charlene Adhiambo) and the rest of the PlayCo staff. PlayCo also facilitates individual coffee dates, group meetings, teach-ins/Q&As, feedback sessions, and more with artists and theatre makers the resident artists are interested in meeting with.

Kate Loewald says, "This new residency project is a wonderful opportunity for PlayCo to further our mission of supporting extraordinary artists to create bold new work and build new connections between our local and global communities."

Charlene Adhiambo says, "Daaimah, Dione, Katlego and Zainabu are accomplished artists whose varied perspectives, backgrounds, and creative energies we are thrilled to bring together, especially as they all live in different countries. We've been honored to host this one-of-a-kind cohort."

While the residencies are geared towards process and incubation rather than finalizing work for production, they conclude with these free-with-RSVP, digital presentations of works-in-progress, conceived by the artists in collaboration with PlayCo. All events will be recorded and available for a limited time via PlayCo's website. RSVP here.