Tony Award Nominee Pascale Armand Joins Reading Of David Heron's AGAINST HIS WILL

Tony Award nominee Pascale Armand has joined the cast of the staged reading of David Heron's controversial legal drama Against His Will, to be held at The Billie Holiday Theatre on Monday September 17 at 7pm.

The reading will be directed by Timothy D Stickney and is the premiere offering of the 2018 -19 season of the Frank Silvera Writer's Workshop. The workshop runs from September through June with play readings once per month at the Billie.

The reading will be followed by a talk back with the playwright, director and cast. A Caribbean Cuisine Cocktail reception sponsored by Golden Krust Restaurant and Grill will climax the evening's proceedings.

Set in modern day Jamaica, Against His Will explores the legal and social controversy that explodes when a young computer salesman , Daniel Bryan, accuses his female boss of having had sex with him without his consent- and decides to pursue legal action against her.

Armand will play the role of Heather Bryan, the accuser's wife, who is heavily pregnant at the time of the play's alleged crime.

Armand is an alumna of NYU's Graduate Acting Program. She earned an Outer Critics Circle Award and a Tony Award nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in the 2016 Broadway production of Danai Gurira's Eclipsed , opposite Academy Award winner and Black Panther star Lupita N'yongo.

In her career, she has already played some of the most coveted roles in classical and contemporary literature, including Rosaline in Shakespeare's Loves Labor's Lost, Ophelia in Hamlet, Celia in As You Like It, and Beneatha in A Raisin in The Sun, as well as roles in a trio of August Wilson plays- The Piano Lesson, Gem of the Ocean and Jitney.

She made her Broadway debut opposite Tony Award winner Cicely Tyson in The Trip to Bountiful and as was last seen on the New York stage in the Off Broadway production of JC Lee's Relevance.

Her film and television credits include roles in The Blacklist, American Odyssey, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

Armand was personally approached by playwright Heron to be part of the reading of Against His Will and admits to being intrigued by the play's unusual subject matter.

"This is an interesting premise to look at," she says. "Given the Jamaican male, heterosexual bravado we've come to know, one would think a Jamaican man would never normally be found in this situation, and yet here we are with this story. The gray areas cause you to really pause and think about this #MeToo movement and what is judged as sexual assault, especially with these characters. I'm sure audiences will be talking about this for days after seeing and hearing it."

Additional casting for the reading will be announced shortly.

The Billie Holiday Theatre is located at Restoration Plaza, 1368 Fulton Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11216.

Admission to the reading is Free.