Video: Inside Rehearsals for SLEEPOVA at Olney Theatre
SLEEPOVA runs March 26 - April 27, 2025 in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab at Olney Theatre Center.
Go inside rehearsals to learn about the U.S. Premiere of "Sleepova" by Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini, directed by Paige Hernandez, and featuring Jasmine Proctor, Ciara Hargrove, Nykila Norman, and Tymetrias L. Bolden. Also in the video are Assistant Director Dannielle Hutchinson, Production Stage Manager Kelsey N. Jenkins, and Assistant Stage Manager Ebony Gennes.
SLEEPOVA runs March 26 - April 27, 2025 in the Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab at Olney Theatre Center.
The play arrives in the DMV having won the 2024 Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Affiliate Theatre and the UK Critics’ Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright for author Matilda Feyiṣayọ Ibini. Paige Hernandez directs the four-actor ensemble of Tymetrias L. Bolden (Funmi), Ciara Hargrove (Elle), Nykila Norman (Rey), and Jasmine Proctor (Shan).
Whether or not sleepover parties with friends were part of your upbringing, you’re invited to join Elle, Shan, Funmi, and Rey at theirs. These four Black British teenagers are growing up fast, each coping with their unique challenges of disability, sexuality, religion, and family. But even these issues – whether living with sickle cell disease, coming out, a crisis of faith, or a romantic misadventure, are confronted with humor, sincerity, and optimism. The Guardian said the show has, “All the clumsiness and wide-eyed excitability of the best coming-of-age dramas… an exhilarating tableau of imperfect young friendship and you leave wanting an invite to their next party.”
The artistic team, in addition to Hernandez, includes Scenic Designer Shartoya R. Jn. Baptiste, Lighting Designer John D. Alexander, Costume Designer Danielle Preston, Sound Designer Cresent R. Haynes, Projections Designer Zavier Augustus Lee Taylor, Intimacy and Fight Choreographer Sierra Young, Dialect Coach Gerrad Alex Taylor, Assistant Director Dannielle Hutchinson, Assistant Lighting Designer Niya John, Stage Manager Kelsey N. Jenkins, and Assistant Stage Manager Ebony Gennes. Understudy swings for the production are Leilani Clendenin (Funmi/Rey) and Courtney Simmons (Elle/Shan).
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