Silenced Voices

The Anacostia Playhouse New Play Festival 2019

What happens when a city loses its soul?

The silence is deafening.

In 1968 more than 3,000 people from the Poor People’s Campaign set up camp on the National Mall for six weeks in an effort to organize collective activism that would bring economic empowerment and a true end to poverty in America.

Unfortunately the memory of that event and the voices of the people who lived, worked and educated their children in that tent city in the hopes of achieving real change were silenced, drowned out by the celebrity-filled success of the August 1963 March on Washington.

Over fifty years have passed. The go-go music on the corner of Florida and Georgia Avenue proved too loud for a resident in a shiny new condo close by. The city acquiesced and silenced the music. But even though the outrage was immediate, owner Don Campbell couldn’t turn the music back on back on until T-Mobile CEO John Légère said so. Weeks later, the noise of outrage rose again against those who chose not to honor, or even attempt to understand, the sacred space that is Howard University’s campus.  The question was posed: Why don’t “they” just move out of the city?

While other American cities have found ways to allow bike lanes, yoga studios and pet friendly coffee shops to coexist with long time residents and low income housing , DC has chosen a different path.

Washington DC has the highest rate of displacing African American residents to make room for developers who serve primarily affluent white residents. According to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition in Washington DC, gentrification does not mean increased investment or physical improvements. In Washington DC, gentrification is removing people of color.

These voices are now going unheard, silenced by the constant noise of construction projects.

What happens when the creation is valued more than the creators?

As artists we  focus on inspiration. Inspiration that, regardless of race, religion, or economic background, allows us to connect on a spark that is foundational to humanity. That spark is why we create art, write songs, and author plays.  It’s the spark that’s found in go-go music, the unique language and fashion of DC’s children, mumbo sauce, and Howard University students. And now, 20,000 of the very people who invented countless ingenuities have been forced out of the city.

This city once captured good food, great music, beautiful art, and a warm, welcoming environment in which to enjoy it all. We had this in Shaw, Petworth, and Anacostia. Unfortunately, in the name of progress and improvement, the creators of these vibrant places were displaced. What they created was appropriated and the creators were no longer needed.

The Anacostia Playhouse asks playwrights to imagine what could happen East of the Anacostia if new residents awoke to find that their new communities no longer had that vibrancy they craved and now they must make a life in a place devoid of the soul that drew them to it.

Let us also imagine the next chapter of the creators as they propose to own their space and, perhaps, to withhold their gifts of soul from the displacers.

Shine a spotlight on the voices that are being silenced: The corner cell phone store that plays a musical genre invented in DC ; the special cuisine that was once a neighborhood cornerstone; and the people themselves who built an amazing culture, despite limited resources, over policing, and a lack of access to financing. The people who were brushed aside and left behind. And whose voices were silenced.

The guidelines:

The play should be short: 10-15 minutes

The play should have no more than 4 characters

The play should focus on neighborhoods east of the Anacostia river

Deadline for submissions September 7, 2019

Winners notified October 1, 2019

Submit online at

Anacostia Playhouse presents A Nite at the Dew Drop Inn

Directed by Stephawn Stephens

Music Direction by William Knowles

August 31- September 21

For tickets click here.

Let the good times roll as you experience a raunchy, raucous night of song filled with laughter, high jinks, and tears of joy. This fun-filled musical journey will take you on a ride of those Unforgettable moments of that first date, first kiss, the one that got away, or maybe the one you kicked to the curb!  A Nite at the Dew Drop Inn is a musical celebration and tribute to the Juke Joint, to those iconic nightspots that were known for good food, music and maybe a little trouble (if you weren’t careful). This cabaret-style presentation highlights themes of love found, love lost and love renewed. It features songs made famous by Big Mama Thorton, Fats Waller, Etta James, and Dinah Washington, just to name a few.

About Stephawn Stephens

Stephawn P. Stephens has become a recognizable presence, as a local actor, singer, and director in the Metropolitan area theater scene.  He is a native of Cleveland, Ohio and received his formal training at the Karamu House, Cleveland State University, majoring in English and Music Education and Bowie State University completing his studies in Musical Theater/Acting.

In his professional endeavors, Mr. Stephens has performed at several local and well-known venues such as Arena Stage, African Continuum Theater Company, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Ford’s Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Round House Theatre, Theater Alliance, Theater J, Signature Theatre and Woolly Mammoth.  He has been a member of Actors Equity Association since 2004. He is currently the Lower School Music Teacher at Creative Minds International PCS.

Throughout his career, Mr. Stephens has developed his craft, gained invaluable knowledge and experience in theater and education. He believes in cultivating an atmosphere where undiscovered talent is trained and perfected.  While building partnerships within the community through volunteering and his faithfulness to his church, Mr. Stephens has been touted by his peers as a “game changer”.  He strives to help build and motivate cross-functional teams that exceed worldly expectations and marries passion to purpose

About William Knowles

William Knowles is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended Howard University and the

University of Massachusetts and now lives in Washington, DC. As a composer, arranger, music director

and pianist, he has worked at regional theaters around the country, including Dallas Theater Center,

Philadelphia Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Northlight (Chicago), CenterStage (Baltimore), Indiana

Repertory Theater, and the Milwaukee Repertory Theater, where he has performed in eight different

productions. He has received five Helen Hayes nominations for Musical Direction, winning twice.

Offstage he has released seven jazz CDs with music partner Mark Saltman. Their latest release is titled

Almost (SaltmanKnowles.com).

ON STAGE

Sherice Payne

Yvette Spears

Jacquelyn Hawkins

Marcel Worrell Miller

Robert Person

Rodni Williams

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION STAFF                         

Set Design: Megan Holden

Lighting Design: Willie J. Blakeney, Jr

Costume Design: Alison Johnson

Choreography: Rodni Williams

Stage Manager: Monica Cook

Production Manager: Rachel Walsh

Pianist: DeAndre Shaifer