New! Friday Night Live is an evening of entertainment with artists you know and love!

From H Street and Anacostia Playhouse, we love providing opportunities for these loyal artists to create and present something special just for you.

Friday Night Live Artist Series will feature some of Anacostia Playhouse favorites David Hammett (Black Nativity 19’) Neo-Soul and Jazz Artist, Fashad Tyler (Black Nativity 19’) Helen Hayes nominee for best actor in a musical, Kendall King (H St. Playhouse Concert 10’) songwriter and gospel recording artist, and Nova Y. Payton (Wasn’t that a Mighty Day!) Helen Hayes winner Best Supporting actor in a Musical. These concerts can be viewed from the comfort of your living room for a donation of $20. Because you are a valued member of the Anacostia Playhouse family, we are offering this concert series of all four artist at $65. When purchasing all four concerts you will enter Promo Code BUNDLE.

First up!

Our first Friday Night Live Artist Series concert will feature the incomparable talents of Nova Y. Payton. She is a celebrated jazz vocalist, cabaret artist, worship leader, and vocal coach. Nova is also one of the most familiar faces in the DC acting scene, having been nominated for 5 Helen Hayes awards and winning in 2012 for her portrayal of Motormouth Mabel in Hairspray at Signature Theatre. She was last seen at Anacostia Playhouse in “Wasn’t that a Mighty Day.”
We are excited to have her back at the Anacostia Playhouse and look forward to many more collaborations.

Tickets are $20. Click here to purchase.
Click here to buy individual concerts.
Click here to buy the bundle. Use promo code BUNDLE

All four concerts:

March 12 Nova Y. Payton
April 17 David Hammett
May 14 Kendall King
June 25 Fashad Tyler

The First Look Series kicks off with Collected Stories

Behind the scenes gets out in front! In our First Look presentation, Natasha Preston and Adele Robey take the virtual stage to read Collected Stories, by Donald Margulies. The Playhouse’s First Look series tries out plays, new, old and in between that we are considering for future live productions. Collected Stories is directed by Bryanda Minix who recently directed our New Play Festival.

Collected Stories examines the conflict between the established artist and the young fan who becomes protégé, disciple, colleague and friend and finally threatening rival.  Ruth Steiner is a teacher and respected short story writer. Her student and protégée is Lisa Morrison. Over the course of six years, Lisa journeys from insecure student to successful writer. After publishing a well-received collection of short stories, Lisa writes a novel based on Ruth’s affair with the poet Delmore Schwartz. The women deal with the moral dilemma of whether a person’s life events are suitable for another to use in their own creative process.

March 25 streaming live at 7:00 with an encore March 29 at 7:00.

For PWYC tickets click here. 

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 until further notice.

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.

The Show

Africa-dabra is an intimate journey exploring the lost, yet amazing stories of three African-American magicians from the past.  In this brand-new show, magician, producer and educator Ran’D Shine, along with author, storyteller and magician Rory Rennick will share with you through performance and story the fascinating lives of the Richard Potter, Henry Box Brown and Black Herman.  Learn how each of these performers overcame adversity to become the greatest African American magicians of their time.

The Magicians

RORY RENNICK

For nearly 20 years Rory Rennick has performed professionally as a magician following a 15-year career in the mental health field. For over a decade he has combined his acting, motivational speaking and prestidigitation skills to present the incredible story of the slave-turned-magic entertainer Henry “Box” Brown. Besides writing, producing and being featured in a full-length stage play about “Box” Brown, Rory has performed with various theater groups and has lectured to thousands as an arts educator with the Ohio Alliance for Arts Education and We’ve Known Rivers. He is also a member of the Ohio Storytellers Network and the Ohio Local History Alliance. He is a founding member and historian of the International Association of Black Magical Artists. Rory is considered one of the foremost authorities on black magicians and Henry “Box” Brown in particular. His upcoming book Henry “Box” Brown’s Legacy and My Life With Him is due out this spring. He was a consultant and a voiceover artist featured on the award-winning documentary: “Quiet Masters—The History and Relevance of the Black Magical Artist.” Among Rory’s other varied interests are writing articles about the world’s largest niche collection of African diaspora/black-imaged playing cards, which he owns.

RAN’D SHINE

A two-time visitor to the Anacostia Playhouse, Ran’D has become one of the most sought after performers in the industry with a show that is highly entertaining and hilarious. Mr. Shine’s magical style draws from his playful interactive relationship with his audience combined with his psychological engaging illusions and sleight of hand.

A few of his accomplishments include: featured performer at the South African Arts Festival, two time A.P.C.A. College Magician of the year, selected to perform for the Military Month of the Child on Navy bases in Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. Ran’D has appeared on the CW network’s “Penn & Teller: Fool Us,” and B.E.T. network “Man on the Street” segment.  As one audience member put it “He is so much more than a magician he’s CHARISMATIC, FUNNY; he is an ENTERTAINER!” He knows you want to see more and has already read your mind. Come find out how.

ICE MCDONALD

Kenrick Ice McDonald (Master Magician/Master Entertainer) As an international award-winning entertainer/master magician, Kenrick Ice McDonald gives stellar stage performances and has earned a reputation for his grand illusions. He has been nick named “The Magical Phenomenon”. Ice has sold out performances, as well as broken audience and box office records around the globe. His sheer mastery of illusion has astonished audiences in London, Wales, India, Singapore, Jamaica, Canada, Bahamas, Japan, United Kingdom and throughout the United States of America.

Ice has been featured on several top rated programs, such as NPR with host Steve Inskeep, Masters of Illusion (series on FOX TV), Masters of Illusion Int’l (France) and the documentary The Art and Soul of Magic – The Story of America’s Black Magician. Ice was also featured on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Roland Martin’s News One Now. In addition to his appearances on several networks, he has been featured in articles in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and many other publications. Ice has graced the cover of numerous national and international magic magazines including two of the world’s largest magic publications; The Linking Ring (3 times) and M.U.M. (2 times). He has also been featured in Genii and Magic magazine along with the international magazines Vanish and Magicana in New Zealand. February 2020, Ice was listed as one of the Most-Influential Magicians of the Decade.

Ice’s talent has also led him to produce and direct several films and documentaries. His most recent project is a documentary entitled “Quiet Masters – The History and Relevance of the Black Magical Artist”. Quiet Masters has been recently released on Amazon Prime Video Direct.

Virtual performance

Sunday, February 28 at 3pm

For tickets, click HERE. 

This is a virtual performance. Ticket holders will be sent a Zoom link the week before the performance and on the day of the performance.

Grant Writer

Anacostia Playhouse seeks a dependable free-lance contract-based grant writer and researcher. The function of the grant writer is to write and submit grants on behalf of the theater company. Responsibilities will also include researching grant opportunities suited to the theater’s goals and mission. The grant writer will also be responsible for compiling data and information to complete grant applications by working with the theater leadership team and submitting applications in a timely manner.

The Anacostia Playhouse is a non-profit theater company that produces, rents, and works within the Anacostia community to bring art to the area. As a non-profit theater company, the playhouse depends on grants to accomplish its goals and mission, and the grant writer will be integral to the theater’s mission and future plans. While the grant writer does not need to have worked in the theater world, they should have a passion and understanding of the importance of the arts in the Washington DC area. Prior experience in non-profit work is a requirement.

The grant writer should have excellent communication skills and writing skills, as well as a desire to take initiative in finding new funding opportunities for the theater. The grant writer will work closely with the executive director and the board to accomplish the theater’s funding goals through writing and submitting grants.

Pay will be on a contract basis and hourly. Prior experience in grant writing is preferred.  To apply, send resume and brief cover letter to the Associate Managing Director at natasha.anacostiaplayhouse@gmail.com

Thank you so much to our Compass volunteers Ali Cumber, Loren McKenzie, Benjamin Shtuhl, Sydney Levine, and Leanne Reisz who have been working through the pandemic on a sustainability plan to help us chart our path forward. Thanks also to the Compass Foundation for this outstanding opportunity!