Anacostia Playhouse

Tickets

Driving Miss Daisy

 

 

 

Driving Miss Daisy

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Driving Miss Daisy rolls into the Anacostia Playhouse for the holidays!
It’s the deep south in 1948 and Daisy Werthan has just demolished another car. Over her protestations (“I still have rights!” she says), her son Boolie has hired Hoke Coleburn, a black man, to be her chauffeur. So begins a 25-year relationship that starts with distrust at the dawn of the civil rights era, but through the years grows into a loving interdependence neither could have predicted (or admit to).
Directed by Ella Davis who helmed this past summer’s hit Happy Ending, Daisy promises to be just what you need for the season at the end of a turbulent year. It will leave you with a smile on your face and feeling hopeful about the world.
On Stage
James Foster, Jr. as Hoke Coleburn
Adele Robey  as Daisy Werthan
Matty Griffiths as Boolie
Artistic Team
Lighting Design: John D. Alexander
Set Design: Emily Lotz
Costume Design: Nora Dahlberg
Sound & Projections: Tewodross (Teo) Melchishua Williams 
Stage Manager: Rachel Walsh
10 performances only!
December 13 (preview) through December 23
Thurs-Sat at 8pm, Sat and Sun at 3pm
Anacostia Playhouse
2020 Shannon Place SE
Washington DC 20020
202.290.2328
Tickets $40 general. $30 East of the River/Senior/Student. Limited PWYC one hour before.
Click here for tickets.

Yo-Yo Ma’s Bach Project

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Yo-Yo Ma’s Bach Project

Exploring How Culture connects us.

 

A day of conversation and action

How can culture and the arts build local equity in Southeast Washington, DC?

 

November 30, 2018

 

The Events

 

Mural Creation

Anacostia High School, 1601 16th St SE

9:30 AM

A mural celebrating Anacostia will be designed and painted in partnership with students from Anacostia High School and Turner Elementary, with support from Kennedy Center and Project Create. Free and open to the public.

 

Prelude to Activities

We Act Radio, 1918 Martin Luther King Ave SE

12:00 PM

Yo-Yo Ma plays the Prélude from Bach’s first cello suite to open the day. A moment of reflection on the past, celebration of the present, and hope for the future.

Imagining Equitable Futures

 

Town Hall Think-In

Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Pl SE

3:00 PM

District leaders, small business owners, artists, and community members come together to discuss building local equity in a conversation using Playback Theater models, which encourage personal storytelling and reflection. Representatives from across sectors, including business, government, and arts and culture, will participate in an engaging public forum followed by panel conversation. Free and open to the public; space is limited.

 

Small Business Happy Hour & Gallery Opening: “In Between & Black Gold”

Anacostia Arts Center, 1231 Good Hope Road SE

5:30 PM

The Anacostia Arts Center opens a double exhibit in partnership with two Southeast DC galleries, representing six local artists on themes of Afrofuturism and black equity. The small businesses in the arts center and in downtown Anacostia, all with a cultural focus (fashion store Nubian Hueman, micro-business collective and theater space The Den Reading Room & Artist Exchange, Mahogany Books, We Act Radio, Check It, an LGBTQ fashion label, and more) will participate in an open house, with local beer and food, a DJ, and special offers for attendees. A boutique concert featuring celebrated bassist Esperanza Spalding and local performers will pop up in Nubian Hueman, and Yo-Yo Ma will lead the gallery artists in a short public conversation about their work. Free and open to the public.

 

The Bach Project

Yo-Yo Ma set out to perform Johann Sebastian Bach’s six suites for solo setting, in one setting in 36 locations around the world. Alongside each concert is a day of action, a series of conversations and collaborations that explore how culture can help us imagine and build a better future.

 

A Project of

The Bach Project

The Kennedy Center

The Anacostia Arts Center

Nubian Hueman

WE ACT Radio

Anacostia Playhouse

The Den

HBC Theater Company

TribeFest DC

The Heart & Soul of Magic

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Kick off your holidays with some magic!

 

The Heart & Soul of Magic returns to the Anacostia Playhouse to kick off the Holiday season!  International Magicians Ran’D Shine and Jamahl Keyes are known for “A Different Kind of Deception.” Their show combines music, sleight of hand and psychological illusions that will have you questioning reality in an intimate space. The Heart & Soul of magic is an unforgettable show that audiences of all ages will enjoy. Adults’ minds will be blown and children will be amazed. One audience member described the show as “Mesmerizing and entertaining… A must see act.”  Bring the entire family and kick off the most Magical time of the year.

 

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Youth show at 5pm

Adults (and big kids) at 8

Adults $30, Kids $15.

Purchase Tickets Here!

 

The puppets are in residence!

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Shows are free and are at 10:30 on Saturday mornings!!

The Shakespeare for the Young puppet show, led by Annie Houston, will be performing at the
Anacostia Playhouse this Saturday, September 22. This theatrical company of puppeteers is dedicated to bringing Shakespeare to young children, ages 2 and up, through a fun and interactive experience. All shows feature group activities after the performance with song, movement and interactive play. Stay tuned for our next show on November 3, 2018! No tickets or reservations are needed.

Auditions for Young Actors!

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Anacostia Playhouse announces auditions for young actors for our spring youth production!

 

 

We are excited to announce this year we will be partnering with REACH Incorporated, a program of professionally-led teen tutors who have published 21 books through their own publishing arm, Shout Mouse Press. Our young actors will be bringing their young authors’ works to life adapting 4-5 of these short stories for the stage. Our director this year is Thembi Duncan, a long-time friend of the Playhouse who directed Yellowman for us in our 2016 summer season. She was also lead teaching artist at Ford’s Theatre, and Creative Programs Director at Young Playwrights’ Theater, with tons of experience bringing young people and their stories to the stage. Thembi is an actor, writer, performing artist and teaching artist and we are super excited to have her on board.

 

Audition info:

 

Saturday, February 24

 

Noon-4pm

 

Anacostia Playhouse

2020 Shannon Place, SE

Washington, DC 20020

 

Ages 6-14

 

No special preparation necessary

 

Five performances April 19-22

 

 

If interested, please email Adele Robey at arobey@fusemail.com. We are seeing actors on first-come first-served basis. No appointment necessary.

Visions/Revisions: Anacostia Playhouse New Works Festival

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Anacostia Playhouse New Works Festival

Anacostia Playhouse is pleased to announce the winners of our first-ever new play festival, Visions/Revisions! Eight new and non-produced 10-minute plays have been selected and will be presented as staged readings with professional actors and directors.

These plays address the themes of deterioration and renovation, both physically and socially, over the course of Anacostia’s long history. Anacostia has undergone many physical and social changes from the time of the Nacochtank Native American settlement along the Anacostia River, to the founding of Union Town, to today. These submissions examine the impact of revisionist history on Anacostia and its residents.

This New Works Festival will be held November 15–17 at the Anacostia Playhouse located in historic Anacostia in Washington DC. The festival is an opportunity to introduce new playwrights to Washington’s theater community and establish relationships between writers, producers and directors.

Our winning line up:

Anacostia Bound

Playwright: Debbie M. Jackson

Director: Bryanda Minix

 

Struggles on the Stoop

Playwright: Breonna Young

Director: Bryanda Minix

 

Anacostogia

Playwright: Deidre “Creative Soul” Gantt

Director: Jared Shamberger

 

What to Old Ana is the Lion of Anacostia

Playwright: John H. Muller

Director: Jared Shamberger

 

Modern Geography

Playwright: Darien Mitchell

Director: Charlotte La Nasa

 

The Water of Her Noblest Rivers

Playwright: Andrew Martineau

Director: Charlotte La Nasa

 

Grand Opening

Playwright: Alan Sharpe

Director: Teshonne Powell

 

The Eight

Playwright: Rahima Rice

Director: Teshonne Powell

 

Plays are separated into Group A and Group B.

 

Group A, performing November 15 at 8 PM and November 17 at 3 PM includes

Anacostia Bound, Grand Opening, Modern Geography, and What to Old Ana is the Lion of Anacostia

 

Group B, performing November 16 at 8 PM and November 17 at 8 PM includes

Struggles on the Stoop, Anacostogia, The Water of Her Noblest Rivers, and The Eight

 

All tickets are PWYC and available by clicking here.

Young Playwrights’ Theater- Silence is Violence: Mothering While Black

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Young Playwrights’ Theater presents,
Silence is Violence: Mothering While Black
True stories and reflections on Black motherhood from the young women of Olaiya’s Cradle through spoken word poetry, monologues and more. Featuring Zipporah Brown, Tamieka Chavis, Ayesis Clay, Kenya D. Morris and Chinna Palmer.

Healer and activist Erika Totten, co-creator of Black Lives Matter DC and founder of Unchained Visioning, will facilitate an interactive discussion following the performance.

We’re proud to partner with Sasha Bruce Youthwork and its program Olaiya’s Cradle, a service program for young women who are mothers.

Dates: October 23 & 24
Time: 7pm – 9pm

This event is $15 for adults and FREE for young people 18 and under.

Attention: CASTING CALL for New Works Festival

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Audition Announcement 

Anacostia Playhouse will host a series of staged readings of new short plays as part of the Visions/Revisions New Works Festival November 15-17. Plays are 10 – 15 minutes long and address the history of Anacostia as well as present day changes in the city’s landscape and population.

Open auditions will be held October 20 from 10am to 3:30pm. There are no audition appointments but please arrive no later than 2:30pm in order to be seen.

We are looking for actors able to play characters between the ages of 18 and 70.

To audition please prepare a 90-second monologue and be prepared for cold readings as well. Please email your headshot and resume in advance to Adele Robey at: arobey@fusemail.com

Evening performances will be held November 15, 16, and 17 with a matinee performance on November 17. Limited rehearsals will be scheduled between October 22 and November 13.

All actors will receive a $100 stipend.

Audition location:
Anacostia Playhouse
2020 Shannon Pl SE
Washington, DC 20020

 

 

 

 

Word Becomes Flesh

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With brutal honesty and raw physicality, Word Becomes Flesh is a series of letters from a young black man to his unborn son. The award-winning performing ensemble, director, and design team will return to Theater Alliance for this encore production that uses hip-hop, dance, and music to explore what it means to be a black man in the 21st century.

Word Becomes Flesh is being presented as part of the Words Becomes Action Festival, a series of new works from local artists, workshops, and conversations that articulate the diversity of the African-Diaspora, asks important questions, invite action, and incite change! Theater Alliance will partner with a number of nonprofits to provide our audience the resources to put words into tangible action and bring real change to our community!

Website:
https://theateralliance.com/portfolio/word-becomes-flesh/

Ticket:
https://theateralliance.secure.force.com/ticket#details_a0S0P000004KMOSUA4

District Community Playback: Sharing stories and dreams

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District Community Playback
Being The Dream…

We’d love to hear what you think it means to live out Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream! As a community, we are now preparing ourselves for what the new year brings. Our city and country are constantly in change, there are new occupants moving into the White House, the Black Lives Matter Movement is still in effect and the work to celebrate  MLK’s dream is still needed. This Playback performance is rooted in the sharing of our stories and dreams. We are inviting people from different walks of life to come out and share their stories.

Please join us at the Anacostia Playhouse Saturday, January 14 at 2pm for an afternoon of improvisational story telling that uses theater to bring your thoughts to life. Hope to see you there!‎

Admission is by donation at the door.

Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Place, SE, Washington, DC 20020

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