Onyekachi Iwu

Playwright

Onyekachi Iwu (Playwright) is a Nigerian-American playwright and director from Nashville, TN. Drawing from her Southern and Nigerian roots, Iwu’s work often explores themes of love, sisterhood, violence, and transformation. As a playwright, Iwu was an inaugural member of the 2020-2022 American Theatre Group Playlab. She was a finalist for the 2024 Drama League Beatrice Terry Residency, UCROSS +The Blank Theatre’s 2022 Future of Playwriting Prize, 2021 Crossroads Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative, and the 2020 Leah Ryan Fund for Emerging Women Writers. Her plays have been developed and performed with Classical Theatre of Harlem, Eden Theater Company, Two Strikes Theatre Collective, Conchshell Productions, and Columbia University. Her short play, “Georgia Rose”, was one of the winners of the Samuel French 47th Annual Off Off Broadway Festival and was published by Concord Theatricals in 2023. As a director, Iwu was a member of the 2022-2024 WP Directing Lab. She has developed work with Mercury Store, New Dramatists, MCC, The Public Theater, and The Civilians. In 2025, she directed an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice for the Atlantic Acting School. As an Associate/Assistant Director, Iwu has worked with Daniel Aukin (Stereophonic), Anne Kauffman (The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window), and Katie Posner (Strategic Love Play). She is currently the Associate Director for the first national tour of Stereophonic. Website: onyekachiiwu.com.

Ato Blankson-Wood

Director

Ato Blankson-Wood (Director) is a multidisciplinary performance artist and theater maker. As a writer/composer Ato is the winner of the Colman Domingo Award and an artist in residence at The Vineyard Theater. As a director, he is currently developing original works with the support of The Team’s Petri Projects and Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor Residency. As an actor, Ato most recently starred in Pericles (The Public Works) after starring in the off-Broadway premiere of Wole Soyinka’s The Swamp Dwellers at TFANA. Prior to this, he played Clifford Bradshaw in Cabaret on Broadway. He is best known for his starring role in the critically acclaimed Slave Play, for which he was nominated for a 2021 Tony Award. Ato played the titular role of Hamlet in Shakespeare in the Park’s production directed by Kenny Leon. Ato also starred opposite Bill Camp and Elizabeth Marvel in Long Day’s Journey Into Night for Audible, which reunited him with Slave Play director Robert O’Hara. Ato had his breakout performance in the Public Theatre musical The Total Bent (Drama League and Lucille Lortel Award nomination) Ato has also been seen on Broadway in Hair and Lysistrata Jones. Films include Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit, Spike Lee’s BlacKKKlansman, Worth, opposite Michael Keaton, and Peter Hedge’s The Same Storm. Television includes “The Good Fight,” “She’s Gotta Have It,” and Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us.” Ato is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and the Yale School of Drama. 

Imani Pearl

ani campbell

Imani Pearl (ani campbell) (she/they) is a NY-based artist. She appeared in the Broadway production of 1776: The Musical (Revival) and Love + Science Off-Broadway at New York City Center. Their onscreen appearances include Fleishman is in Trouble (Hulu), Law & Order (NBC), and Extrapolations (AppleTV). She has also performed in readings and workshops with Tectonic Theater Project, Abington Theater Company, All Stars Project, and most recently, The People’s Theater. website: imanipearl.com

Seth Hill

ekwensu/titan

Seth Hill (ekwensu/titan) (he/him) is a New York-based actor and artist born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He holds a BFA in Acting from Boston University. Credits include On The Harmful Effects of Tobacco and Other Substances (Theaterlab), P.Y.G., or The Misedumacation of Dorian Belle (Studio Theatre),  ‘Law & Order: SVU’ and ‘Blue Bloods’.

Ms. Marjorie Johnson

grandma/voodoo mama

Ms. Marjorie Johnson (grandma/voodoo mama) has created and recreated a wide range of characters. Some of her favorite roles include; Sojourner Truth & Zora Neale Hurston in The Pen & The Podium (Edinburg Festival, Scotland), Rose in Joe DePietro’s The Last Romance (New Theatre, Overland Park,Kansas), Mrs. Antrobus in The Skin of Our Teeth (Delaware Theatre Co.Wilmington)–Best Supporting Actress Philadelphia Critics Award Nomination), Dotty in Colman Domingo’s DOT (NYC – Best Lead Actress AUDELCO Award), and the Candy Lady in Katori Hall’s HOODOO LOVE (NYC – Best Supporting Actress AUDELCO Award). Some TV and film roles include Bull, Modern Love, Sneaky Pete, Mozart in the Jungle, Nurse Jackie, The Leftovers, Law & Order: SVU, and American Gangster.

Lance Coadie Williams

grandpa leroy/pastor jeffrey

Lance Coadie Williams (grandpa leroy/pastor jeffrey) made his New York theater debut and won an Obie Award for his performance in the critically acclaimed production of Robert O’Hara’s BOOTY CANDY at Playwrights Horizon. Following a roaringly hilarious appearance in SHOWS FOR DAYS and WAR at Lincoln Center, he appeared on Broadway in the Tony Nominated, Pulitzer Prize winning play, SWEAT and in the Tony Nominated revival of KISS ME KATE at Roundabout Theatre. He starred as numerous characters in BLACK ODYSSEY at Classic Stage Company and as Stage manager in OUR TOWN at Baltimore Center Stage both directed by Stevie Walker Webb. His most recent performance was CHIAROSCURO at NBT.  He also appeared in the robust role ” Dax” in the world premier of THE REFUGE PLAYS at The Roundabout Theatre. His regional theatre credits include The Studio Theatre,The Wilma Theatre, Baltimore’s Center Stage, Woolly Mammoth , Ford Theatre, Everyman Theatre, The Berkshire Theatre Festival; The Shakespeare Theatre, The Baltimore Shakespeare Festival. Lance had a recurring role in HBO’s THE WIRE and has guest starred in numerous episodes, including HIGH MAINTENANCE, ELEMENTARY ” and THE GOOD FIGHT. He received his BFA at Purchase College Conservatory of Theatre Arts and Film and graduated from The Baltimore School for the Arts. He is a true powerhouse actor with incredible versatility to transform and breathe life into a range of different characters.

Daryl Bright Clay

deena/madonna-medusa

Hailing from the DMV Metropolitan area, Daryl Bright Clay (deena/madonna-medusa) (she/her) is a performing artist and filmmaker currently based in Brooklyn. She is a founding member of CNT Productions, where she helped write, produce, and star in the digital series, NOT YOUR TYPE, OPEN, and THE SEX SCENE. Her contributions have been recognized by HBO’s Inspiration Room, the American Black Film Festival, Sundance’s Horizon Awards, and AT&T Film Awards for New Forms of Storytelling. She has also made TV appearances in CBS’ Instinct, The Good Fight, and Blue Bloods. Along with being a UCB Diversity scholar, Daryl is a graduate of Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama.

Kyra Shaw-Davis

enyo

Kyra Shaw-Davis (enyo) is a Southern, multidisciplinary theater maker working at the intersection of acting, playwriting, producing and beyond. She is drawn to stories that center underrepresented voices and explore the complexities and legacy of Black women. She was a member of the inaugural class of the Uptown Collective’s Renaissance Playwright Residency, Dramatic Question Theatre Playtime, and Workshop Theater Playwright Development Programs. She is a Mellon Funded Producing Fellow at The Tank NYC, and Producing Resident with National Black Theatre. Selected acting credits include Law and Order: Organized Crime, Jitney (Rena), Intimate Apparel (Esther), and The Christians (Elizabeth). Writings: SugarHill (Playwrights Horizons Downtown), Lot #18 (Brooklyn Art Haus, The Tank) First Day of School (Barter Theatre Company).

Lizzy Brooks

Pamphreeda

Lizzy Brooks (Pamphreeda): Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Lizzy Brooks is an actor, singer and screenwriter based in New York City. She came to New York to receive her Bachelor’s Degree in Art History from Columbia University. From there, she discovered her love of theater, eventually completing her Masters in Fine Arts from Brown University/Trinity Repertory. Her select theater credits include Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole (NYTW); Macbeth (Broadway), Stargazers (Off-Broadway-Page 73), Macbeth in Stride (Shakespeare Theater Company; Philadelphia Theater Company), As You Like It (Milwaukee Repertory Theater), Julius Caesar (The Hanover Theater) and Shoebox: A Roadside Picnic (ASF). TV/Film: “The Storied Life of AJ Fikry” (Hulu/Amazon Prime), “New Amsterdam” (NBC), “Hostages” (NBC). She is a proud member of the Make Good Project, a writing collective of black female artists and a recipient of the Stephen Sondheim Fellowship.

Leland Fowler

apollo

Leland Fowler (apollo) Off-Broadway: Burn Book; The Tune Up (Lincoln Center & Little Island); Sally & Tom, Plays for the Plague Year, Henry V, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (The Public); This Land Was Made (Vineyard); one in two (The New Group); Novenas for a Lost Hospital (Rattlestick); If Pretty Hurts, Ugly Must Be a Muhfucka (Playwrights Horizons); Measure for Measure (TFANA). Leland has also performed at Williamstown, Dorset Theatre Festival, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Westport Country Playhouse, McCarter Theatre Center, Yale Rep, and Alliance Theatre. TV/Film: “Blossoming Wasp;” “City on a Hill.” BA: Morehouse College; MFA: Yale School of Drama. Leland is a member of the Actor’s Center.

Che Kabia

Dion

Che Kabia (Dion) (they/them) is a Northeastern-based actor and [anti]disciplinary artist. As a trans child of immigrants, Che’s work celebrates identity, play, and cultural connection. Currently they are a ‘25-‘26 Folger Shakespeare Library Artist Research Fellow, member of Mercury Store’s Acting Pool, and Apprentice with Theater Mitu. BFA in Theatre Arts from Boston University. Recent credits include Twelfth Night (Folger Theatre), Notice to Appear (Visual Echo/La MaMa), and Richard III (SoHo Shakespeare Company). chekabia.com

Queen Esther

Stage Directions

Queen Esther (Stage Directions) Raised in Atlanta, GA and embedded in Charleston, SC’s Lowcountry – a region with African traditions and Black folkways that span centuries and constantly inform her work – Queen Esther is a generative performing artist who creates aural Southern Gothic tapestries infused with an unflinching honesty for historical truths and an unapologetic Blackness that resonates from the present into the past.  Her body of work sonically is the culmination of several critical Southern elements, not the least of which are years of recording and touring internationally as frontwoman with her mentor, harmolodic guitar icon James “Blood” Ulmer, including a stint in his seminal band Odyssey. A member of Actors Equity, SAG/AFTRA, Dramatists Guild and the Recording Academy, and a TED Speaker with a BA in Screenwriting from The New School, she has written, developed and performed four one person shows + written, produced and self-released seven critically acclaimed albums on her label EL Recordings.  Showcases include The Black Opry, Americanafest, Folk Alliance Intl,  Flushing Town Hall and Lincoln Center, amongst others. Artist residencies/fellowships include the National Arts Club, Keychange, Joe’s Pub Working Group, WP Theater Pipeline PlayLAB in playwriting and The Orchard Project.