All-Local, All Black Femme Creative Team Leads #WTFOTHELLO

WTF presents OTHELLO featuring an all Black femme creative team. Tickets are on sale now for the 5 live performances. Live performances will be followed by a 3 day Video On Demand recorded version.

About her production of OTHELLO, Director Jameeka D. Holloway says: "We're using theatrical expression as a tool to explore the impacts of violent and aggressive encounters often faced by Black women in institutions upheld by whiteness. This production mirrors the violence of whiteness and tokenism, examines anti-blackness- the different ways it manifests & how it invades communities of color, the struggle of internalized misogyny + oppression and how White supremacy is at the root of all of it."

To bring this version of OTHELLO, a new modern verse translation by Mfoniso Udofia, to life at fictional Venice College, an elite all-women PWI institution, HOLLOWAY has built a team of Black femmes who consist of some of the Triangle area's most talented and sought-after creatives, including Monèt Noelle Marshall in the roles of both Dramaturg and Intimacy Director.

Marshall shares, "I am excited by the generative challenge of reshaping the rehearsal process into something that centers care; care for ourselves, care for the cast and crew, and care for those that will witness." By partnering in creating systems of care within the process, MARSHALL and HOLLOWAY lay the groundwork for the rest of the team to safely, bravely work through complex, racially-charged terrain.

Creating the sonic landscape, Sound Designer Aurelia Belfield calls "this perspective of a centuries old story fresh and needed," and goes on to say "there has never been a better time to showcase the breadth and power of folks of marginalized identities, especially Women of Color." Rounding out the design team is Keyanna Alexander (Production Designer/Creative Technical Director) and Aquila Butler (Costume + Hair Design) who skillfully transform the actors and their individual environments into a rich, cohesive visual world for streaming.

The collaboration and ethic of care from the leadership of this team extends to the Black femmes in supporting roles with whom this production's success also lies. From the stage manager (Didi Fields) and ASM (Taylor Murrell) to the assistant director (Terra Hodge) and assistant dramaturg (Sha-Lamar Davis) to the text coach (Tia James), Udofia's translation of OTHELLO belongs to the Black women at its core.

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