From my friend the gifted David Heron ...
New York – June 6, 2013: Not About Eve, the award winning play by Jamaican actor and playwright Karl O' Brian Williams and which was produced Off Broadway late in 2012, has been selected for the world famous National Black Theater Festival.
The 2013 edition of the festival, which is the largest black theater festival in the world, will be held in Winston Salem, North Carolina from July 29 to August 4.
Williams will become only the third Jamaican playwright - after David Heron and the late Trevor Rhone – to receive a full production of his work at the prestigious event.
Not About Eve will play at The Summit Black Box Theater, Winston Salem, on Friday August 2 and Saturday August 3 at 3pm and 8pm both days.
Due to popular demand, the play will also return for a brief run in New York City prior to the festival, playing in Brooklyn at The St Francis College, 180 Remsen Street, from Friday July 12 to Sunday July 14, and at The Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, 161-04 Jamaica Avenue, from July 19 to 21.
Showtimes will be Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 6pm, both weekends.
The three character drama, which was the winner of the 2006 International Theater Institute Actor Boy Award for Best New Jamaican Play, is produced by Braata Productions and directed by Williams himself.
The cast includes Sharon Tsahai King, Ilana Warner and Stacey Ann Brissett - who appeared in the play's Off Broadway run and who will also perform at the festival and in Brooklyn- as well as the alternate cast of Dianne Dixon, Carlene Taylor and Danielle Winters, who will perform in Queens.
After its award winning world premiere production at the Pantry Playhouse in Kingston Jamaica in 2006, and several successful subsequent productions and staged readings, Not About Eve 's limited Off Broadway run last November attracted packed houses and excellent reviews, leading scouts for the National Black Theater Festival to recommend the show to event organizers.
The biennial festival, founded in 1989 by the late producer and theater impresario Larry Leon Hamlin, has grown to become the largest and most renowned event of its kind in the world, attracting over 50,000 theater enthusiasts and celebrities to Winston Salem for each staging.
Several hundred productions are considered for each edition of the festival, with less than forty making the final cut.
Williams' colleague and fellow Jamaican playwright, David Heron was "Happy beyond words- but not at all surprised," to hear of his friend's major accomplishment.
"I know the thrill of being invited to perform at the festival and I am very happy and proud of Karl and his talented cast, as well as his producer, Andrew Clarke of Braata Productions. They labored tirelessly for this and staged their Off Broadway run last year with very little resources. This is a another triumph for Jamaican theater and I know that brother Rhone- the very first to go and fly our flag high in Winston Salem many years ago- is extremely proud, wherever he is."
Williams himself was overjoyed –and overwhelmed- at the news.
"When you sit at your desk to start writing, you are neve r quite sure where the path will lead. But I am so very grateful for all the support Not About Eve received in New York last year and from audiences over the years, all of which has helped bring this moment about. Coincidentally, we will be performing during Jamaica's independence celebrations in August, and we are determined to represent our country to the best of our ability on such a major stage."
END
See also www.braataproductions.org
www.nbtf.org
SURE THING PRODUCTIONS
Contact-Rachel Damarr Williams
718-444-4656
radarr26@hotmail.com
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