New Play Six Nights In The Black Belt To Have Reading 8/12

 The new play Six Nights In the Black Belt written by Lowell Williams, directed by Clayton Phillips will have a staged reading at The Theatre at St. Clements,  August 12th (423 West 46th street) at 3:30PM.

In the summer heat of 1965, in the tiny "Black Belt" town of Hayneville, Alabama, Jonathan Daniels' quest to change the world met an abrupt and violent end. The wake of that smoking gun was the impact Daniels left on those who would become heroes of the coming Civil Rights movement. His legacy swept over Stokely Carmichael and Ruby Sales, future leaders who were just beginning to believe that a white man like Jonathan might really understand their struggle. Six Nights in the Black Belt reminds us of Jon's forgotten sacrifice with music and a story based on eyewitness accounts of an era of hope and change that we should never forget.

The cast includes: Anich D'Jae (IRNE Award nominee for The Black Bubbly Girl), Thursday Farrar (AIDA, Parade, Once Upon A Mattress), Heather Massie (Sickle), Maria Mendez (film: La Quebradita), Rodney Peck (TV: "The Rainmaker," "Angel"), Raphael Rawlins (To Kill A Mockingbird), Lynn Mastio-Rice (New York Lately), and Joe Tuttle ("As The World Turns," "Guiding Light").

Lowell Williams (playwright) is from originally from upstate NY and currently resides in southern NH.  He was been recognized regionally as an award-winning playwright (for The Warmth of the Cold). Lowell serves as Playwright in Residence for Yellow Taxi Productions, a small professional company in Nashua, and is a member of the Dramatists Guild.

Clayton Phillips (director) currently working as Artistic Director for the Commercial Division of Midtown International Theatre Festival and recently served as Producing Artistic Director of The Barnstormers Theatre in New Hampshire.  Clayton has worked as a director nationally and internationally.  He directed tours of Show Boat (nominated for American Theatre Award as Best Direction and Best Musical), and Kiss of the Spider Woman and served as Associate Director for the National tour of Cameron Mackintosh's production of Oliver!  Clayton was Harold Prince's Assistant and Production Manager for Kiss of the Spider Woman, Candide and Parade on Broadway.  He assisted Mr. Prince on the national tour of Parade and has directed Kiss of the Spider Woman in Tokyo (in Japanese) and Buenos Aires (in Spanish) as well as in the round at North Shore Music Theatre.  He directed Empire, the musical in Los Angeles, which was nominated for an Ovation Award as Best New Musical and won for Best Choreography.  Empire was subsequently produced at the Stamford Performing Arts Center in Stamford CT and is currently under consideration for a Broadway production. Clayton directed the workshop of Slow Dance With A Hot Pickup at Florida Studio Theatre and then presented the Professional World Premiere at The Barnstormers Theatre.  On Broadway he served as a Production Stage Manager for Starlight Express and Jerome Robbins' Broadway.  Other directorial credits include: The Scarlet Pimpernel, Dirty Blonde, Breaking Legs, Gypsy, Our Town, Of Mice And Men, An Evening of Original One Acts, The Apple Tree, The Last Five Years and the world premiere of Gauging, the Musical, among others. Clayton has also served as Executive Director for Big Apple Performing Arts, the home of New York City's Gay Men's Chorus, Managing Director for The York Theatre Company in New York City, and as the Artistic Director for Theatre Three in Port Jefferson, LI.  He was also the Executive Producer of NETwork's national tour of The Full Monty.

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