Image of Asia Martin, Tafadzwa Diener and Ayanna Bakari
Come to Definition Theatre’s Amplify Series Two Showcase of Black Bone to see one of my plays in progress, directed by Chuck Smith.
BLACK BONE is about four academics at a PWI who find out that one of them is passing for Black. How does one perform or prove their Blackness? And who gets to judge? Come on down and find out.
On an express train home to watch Scandal, Isis gets all the elements of her favorite show – drama, passion, and heart-stopping suspense when she collides into a professor who dares to swirl into her orbit and take her breath away. A heady mix of Baraka’s The Dutchman and the mythos of Isis and the Seven Scorpions, PULLED PUNCHES investigates identity politics in the age of being woke and well-intentioned. How long should we pull punches before we let them fly? Does that choice promote true connection, violence, insanity or freedom?
Sankofa: A Journey into Bronzeville’s Poppin’ Past
Runs July 1, 2021 – August 1, 2022
Come to Bronzeville and take a neighborhood tour with Gwen and Haki! I recently wrote and directed a “Walkie Talkie” audio play about the rich legacy of Bronzeville for the Chicago Children’s Theatre and Night Out In the Parks (Chicago Park District). I had the honor of working with two spectacular young actors, Pe’Tehn Raighn-Kem Jackson (Gwen) and Zachary L. Riley (Haki), and can’t wait for you to hear them bring this story to life! I had so much fun working on this project with the amazing Chicago Children’s Theatre staff and Daniel Etti-Williams, our wonderful sound engineer! What a way to start the summer!
A developmental radio play version of Dandelions is being generously funded by Theater on the Lake and the Chicago Park District through the 2020 Theater on the Lake Play Commission and the show will be produced in fall 2020 by MPAACT for their Radio Series. The radio play of Dandelions will be directed by Erica Faye Watson.
Dandelions bears witness to how we deal with trauma as a community. In this play, set in 2018, King Davis is a recovering addict whose only legacy is the six-flat building in Bronzeville that his mother owns and it is in immediate threat of being taken from his family due to mounting back taxes. King swoops in to save the day only to find out his mama has entrusted the building’s future to a new neighbor. How can King finally show who he is when the people around him only see him for who he was? Stay tuned for more production updates!
Dandelions will be featured (in two parts) Oct. 26-Nov. 8th through the Chicago Park District, #NightOutInTheParks and MPAACT! Listen in if you can and share widely!
Tina Fakhrid-Deen 