Sunday Salon: Literature

Veterans Room

Jocelyn Bioh (School Girls, MCC Theater), Aleshea Harris (Is God Is, Soho Rep and the upcoming What to Send Up When it Goes Down, A.R.T./New York Theatres), and Antoinette Nwandu (Pass Over, Lincoln Center Theater) have all produced new works to critical acclaim this past season. Their plays reveal a rich exploration of themes, including beauty, female adolescence, responses to racialized violence, and dreams of a better existence. Gathered together for the first time, these three award-winning playwrights reflect on the inspirations that drive their writing process, as well as the joys and challenges surrounding their New York premieres. Introduction by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.

Board of Officers Room

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins hosts a session introducing the boundary-bending work of some of the finest emerging playwrights. Michael R. Jackson (writer, composer, and lyricist of A Strange Loop, premiering at Playwrights Horizons in Spring 2019) will share a sample of his work with a set of songs, featuring special guest vocalist L. Morgan Lee. Following the performance, three playwrights will read from their latest works-in-progress: Geraldine Inoa (writer for AMC’s The Walking Dead and SCRAPS which will have its 2019 world premiere at The Flea Theatre), Jeremy O. Harris (Daddy, Vineyard Theatre and Slave Play, New York Theatre Workshop, both premiering in 2019), and Princess Grace Award-winning playwright Jonathan Payne (Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll’d, which recently debuted at The Duke on 42nd street).

Veterans Room

Jocelyn Bioh opens Session Two with an introduction to choreographer Raja Feather Kelly (Fairview, New York Theatre Workshop and Everybody, Signature Theatre) who presents a special site-specific installation showcasing his signature dance style, insatiable imagination, fascinations with pop culture, performance history and Andy Warhol. Performance artist Narcissister (America’s Got Talent, The Mannequin, Self-Gratifier), who herself works at the intersection of dance, art, activism and a range of media, previews the selection of her films (on view in the Parlor Room for the duration of the Salon), as well as her current theatrical collaboration with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Finally, Loy A. Webb (The Light, The New Colony, Chicago) and Patricia Ione Lloyd (former Sundance Institute residence and current staff writer for AMC) discuss developing their work across the nation and internationally.

Board of Officers Room

To end the evening session, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins hosts a conversation about the state of American theatre with multi-Pulitzer Prize winning playwrights Lynn Nottage and Suzan-Lori Parks.