Anacostia Playhouse

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Thank You

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Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Words cannot express how truly grateful and humbled we are by the sheer volume of support and care we have received over the past few days. When we returned to the Playhouse the day after Christmas to discover we had been burgled, it was a blow. Not only did we have to process the physical shock of being victims of a crime, we were faced with the harsh realities that come with a break-in. As with all nonprofits, resources are limited, and the financial and tangible losses were significant. 

We have spent over five amazing years Anacostia. It is both our work and home. And it has been an overwhelmingly positive experience and the best community we could wish for with our Ward 8 neighbors being partners and friends. In no way will this incident will disrupt our ability to bring quality arts programming to the community. We will continue to be a home for performers, theater companies and all artists to showcase their craft. 

We are so honored that so many amazing people thought enough of us to give so generously of their time and money. Please know that every cent of the funds raised will be used thoughtfully and responsibly. Your gift will not only replace everything was stolen but will allow us to make security improvements, install new doors and come back better than ever.  

So from the entire Anacostia Playhouse family—everyone who performs, designs, works, and volunteers—thank you. Thanks to you, the show will go on! 

Adele Robey

How you can support Anacostia Playhouse through COVID-19

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Theater is all about community, gathering, celebrating, connecting.
We can’t do that in the traditional way right now. But we can remind you of the great work done at the Anacostia Playhouse, by us and by all of the companies and artists who perform here, and assure you that it will be back. Like the old saying goes,
“The show must go on.” And we have faith that it will.
Although our city is reaching out to help us in this time, we need your help, too. It’s really important now as our beloved community of Anacostia and all of Ward 8 is especially fragile and making sure we can assure the future of the arts here is vitally important.
Please consider a gift of any size to help us all weather this storm and support the artists, designers, technical personnel and production staff who call us home.
Meanwhile, please be careful and stay well. Adhere to the guidelines of hand washing, staying home if not feeling well, covering your cough or sneeze and avoiding crowds. Check in often with Mayor Bowser’s corona virus updates at
   PS: The photos are from the Playhouse’s 2018 Helen Hayes Recommended production of Douglas Turner Ward’s Happy Ending. If you were there, you laughed yourself silly.
If you missed, it we look forward to bringing you more of this kind of fantastic and important work well into the future. Photos courtesy of Jabari Jefferson.

POSTPONED-Silenced Voices New Play Festival Postponed

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And the winners are…

In summer 2019, the Playhouse posed the following question to area writers and playwrights:

What happens when the creation is valued more than the creators? This city’s neighborhoods once captured good food, great music, beautiful art, and a warm, welcoming environment in which to enjoy it all. 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. Now, 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 what drew them to it.

Now, Anacostia Playhouse is pleased to announce this year’s winners of the new play festival, Silenced Voices, and final dates for the staged readings of the plays.

On March 26 and 27 at 7:30 PM, come hear these works-in-progress that examine the future of our community and then join in the discussion to follow. We proudly present:

 

Corner Store by Thaddeus Johnson and directed by Teshonne Powell

View From the Porch by Khadijah Z. Ali-Coleman

Bus Trip by Deidre CreativeSoul and directed by Bryanda Minix

New Complex by Helen Claytor and directed by Teshonne Powell

The New Congress Heights by Kelvin Prather and directed by Bryanda Minix

 

Tickets are PWYC and can be purchased here.

PLAYHOUSE CLOSED due to Covid until April 27

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COVID 19 ANNOUNCEMENT
For the safety of our patrons, staff and artists, and keeping in line with the mayor’s guidelines, the Anacostia Playhouse will shut down operations through April 27.

It is an incredibly difficult decision to close our doors, even for what we hope
is a short time, but the health and well-being of the entire Anacostia Playhouse
extended family is our highest priority.

With that, we know the following will be canceled or postponed:
Theater Alliance’s This Bitter Earth, the monthly Shakespeare for the Young Puppet Show, The Anacostia Playhouse New Play Festival Silenced Voices and the upcoming Young Playwrights’ Theater production Silence is Violence.

During the time we are closed we will be doing a deep cleaning and disinfecting of the building. Although we will generally not physically be in the office, please feel free to leave us a voicemail or send an email. As soon as we have any details on reopening or any cancellations, we will announce them here and on all of our social media platforms.

Meanwhile, please be careful and stay well. Adhere to the guidelines of hand washing, staying home if not feeling well, covering your cough or sneeze and avoiding crowds. Check in often with Mayor Bowser’s corona virus updates at
coronavirus.dc.gov.

We hope to see you in the theater as soon as possible.

PS: As you can imagine, closing the theater and canceling performances inflicts a severe financial hardship on small arts organizations such as the Playhouse. Please consider a gift to help us weather this storm and support the artists, technical personnel and staff who call us home.

Donate here http://www.anacostiaplayhouse.com/support/

 

 

CANCELLED-Theater Alliance presents THIS BITTER EARTH February 22- March 22

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This Bitter Earth 

by Harrison David Rivers

February 22, 2020 – March 22, 2020

Directed by Otis Ramsey-Zöe

Jesse, an introspective black playwright, finds his lack of activism questioned by his white boyfriend, Neil, an impassioned member of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Tensions between them continue to grow with each headline announcing another extrajudicial killing. But the human heart can hold complex and often contradictory things, and the two men find themselves at a crossroads. This Bitter Earth explores the quiet revolutions of normalcy, reminding us of the intractable bind between the personal and political and the strength of love in today’s turbulent world.

For tickets click here.

CANCELLED- Shakespeare for the Young: The Tiniest Tempest March 21

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The Shakespeare for the Young puppet show, led by Annie Houston, will be performing at the

Anacostia Playhouse next on March 21.

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

This theatrical company of puppeteers is dedicated to bringing Shakespeare to young children, ages 4 and up, through a fun and interactive experience.

Annie’s and her gang’s new show, The Tiniest Tempest, will be on stage so don’t miss it!

Based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, four puppeteers bring the characters of Miranda and Prospero, Antonio and Alonso, and Caliban and Ariel to life with their story of hurt and love as well as revenge and forgiveness. The puppets are both large-bodied and shadow puppets with actors also playing the roles of Prospero and Antonio/Alonso.

All shows feature group activities after the performance with song, movement and interactive play.

No tickets or reservations are needed.

 

Their next show, The Merry Mechanicals: Playful Players and Mischief Makers, will play on April 25!

RS/24

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Clayton LeBouef’s RS/24 makes a return visit to the Playhouse

Since its inception, the mission of the Anacostia Playhouse, nestled in the heart of the historic Anacostia community, has been to focus on producing quality and relevant works that appeal to every generation.  Keeping with this tradition, we are proud to announce that kicking off 2020 will be the return of RS/24, the riveting original work of Clayton LeBouef.  Recognized for his brilliant performances on TV, film, and stage, with roles in NBC’s Homicide Life on the Streets, HBO’s The Wire and Something the Lord Made, Mr. LeBouef’s ethereal drama explores how the lives of characters Hubie, a record shop owner and a distressed Street Worker, collide one night on a chance meeting. Each is unaware of how this encounter will play a significant role in carving out their destinies.

 

In reverence to the African Diaspora, RS/24 also draws upon ancestral wisdom, vintage music and the return of vinyl to show the connection of how African American music has shaped world culture.  Opening on January 25, 2020, RS/24 runs for three weeks at the Anacostia Playhouse.  It’s a must-see.

 

RS/24 at the Anacostia Playhouse runs for 18 performances:

 

Previews, Thursday, January 23 and Friday January 24 7:30 p.m.

 

Saturday January 25 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (Opening weekend)

Sunday, January 26 Matinee at 3:00 p.m.

Monday, January 27 (Industry Night) 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, January 29 at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, January 31 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 1 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m..

Sunday, February 2  Matinee at 3:00 p.m.

Wednesday, February 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, February 7 at 7:30 P p.m.

Saturday, February 8 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, February 9 – Matinee at 3:00 p.m. (Closing)

 

 

Tickets found HERE.

$35 – General Admission

$30 – East of the River, Seniors and Students

$25 – Groups of 10 or more (Contact Anacostia Playhouse @ 202-290-2328)

 

Shakespeare for the Young presents Adventures in Arden January 25

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Based on Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Adventures in Arden been created by Shakespeare For The Young as an interactive show for 3 to 10 year olds.

Children are introduced to a puppet of William Shakespeare, who helps start the story. Large bodied puppets, small hand-held puppets, and shadow puppets help tell the story of unkindness turned to love. Set in Africa, the story takes place in both city and country, in particular in the healing forest of Arden where love between two people blossoms and forgiveness between two sets of brothers takes place. Aided by interactive play with the audience, the actors engage children’s imaginations through Shakespeare’s words, using music of many African instruments as an additional medium. A short workshop for the children follows the play. Children use their bodies and voices to explore the rhythms and beats they heard in Shakespeare’s language during the play.

This is a free event open to the public.

January 25, 2020 @ 10:30 AM at Anacostia Playhouse

 

 

For more information on Shakespeare for the Young, click here. 

Anacostia Playhouse presents Black Nativity December 14- January 5

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Anacostia Playhouse presents Black Nativity by Langston Hughes

Directed by Stephawn Stephens

Music Direction by William Knowles

Tickets HERE

 

Black Nativity

Langston Hughes’ song-play is a retelling of the Christmas story from an Afrocentric perspective, infused with rich gospel, blues, funk, jazz music and dance, with griot-style storytelling from an ensemble cast. Using the sounds, energy and the enthusiasm of Gospel music to tell the Nativity story. The original title of the play was Wasn’t That a Mighty Day, but was changed to Black Nativity before the show’s opening. On December 11, 1961 the show was first performed Off-Broadway, and then performed at President Kennedy’s International Jazz Festival. Later the show had tours through Europe including in Spoleto, Italy, where it performed at the Festival of Two Worlds. The show then toured London, Oslo, Brussels, Copenhagen and Rotterdam before returning to America. Since the sixties, the show has been performed annually at several theaters around the holiday season, and was performed annually at the Kennedy Center before moving to perform with H Street Playhouse and Theater Alliance.

 

About Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist who was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes began his writing career in the 1920s and lived in Washington DC for a few years in that decade. In one of Hughes’ most famous works, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” he called for confident, uniquely black literature. He travelled through the American South to decry cases of racial injustice, and then later travelled to the Soviet Union, Haiti, and Japan and worked as a newspaper correspondent. His first play Mulatto premiered on Broadway in 1935, and he later founded theater companies in Harlem and Los Angeles. Hughes served as a war correspondent during the Spanish Civil War in 1937.

In 1961 Black Nativity premiered Off-Broadway, and in 2013 the filmed version was produced. Hughes also wrote for newspaper columns including the Chicago Defender and the New York Post. He often wrote fiction vignettes of his renowned comic column character Jesse B. Semple, who became a symbol of the day to day troubles of a poor black man living in a racist society. Hughes won several awards and fellowships, among them the Guggenheim Fellowship, Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the NAACP Spingarn Medal, National Institute of Arts and Letters, and received honorary degrees from Lincoln University, Howard University, and Western Reserve University. In 2012 he was inducted into the Chicago Hall of Fame. Hughes died in 1967 from complications of prostate cancer.

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.

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 most recently directed A Nite at the Dew Drop Inn at Anacostia Playhouse.

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

Kendall Claxton

Marcel Miller

LaSharon Johnson

Tre’mon Mills

Michael Nesbitt-Gaines

Fashad Tyler

David Hammett

Catrina Brenae

Sherice Payne

Jacquelyn Hawkins

André McKamey

Shawna William

 

DESIGN AND PRODUCTION TEAM                   

Set Design: Leah Mazur

Lighting Design: Jonathan Alexander

Costume Design: Alison Johnson

Choreography: Rodni Williams

Properties: Andrew Reilly

Stage Manager: Jen Bryant

 

MEDIA

To engage with Anacostia Playhouse and follow Black Nativity please visit, follow and like:

www.anacostiaplayhouse.org

Facebook: /AnacostiaPlayhouse

Twitter: /AnacostiaPHouse

Instagram:  @anacostiaphouse

Performances:

Preview: December  12

Gala Fundraiser: December 13

Saturday, December 14, 2pm (PRESS)

Saturday December 14, 2019 7:30pm OPENING (PRESS)

Sunday, December 15, 2019 3pm (PRESS)

Continues

Wednesday-Saturday 7:30

Saturdays at 2pm

Sundays at 3pm

Extra performances

December 26, 11:00 AM

Through Sunday January 5, 2020

PLUS Industry Night, Monday, December 23 at 7:30pm

 

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets HERE

Group Tickets: $30 tickets for groups of 10 or more. For group tickets, please call 202-290-2328

 

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