Cast and Artistic Team Revealed for THE BALDWIN | GIOVANNI EXPERIENCE
Learn more about the individuals who bring this captivating show to life and get an exclusive glimpse into their creative process.
Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre, has revealed the cast and creative team for THE BALDWIN | GIOVANNI EXPERIENCE. This fully staged limited-run production devised by Tim Rhoze and Bria Walker is inspired by a 1971 televised conversation between James Baldwin and Nikki Giovanni. The ideas of these two literary giants about racism, manhood, writing, and teaching are as relevant today as they were then. Rhoze and Walker have taken this important conversation and created a dynamic theatrical experience infused with spoken word, prose, original music, choreography, and mural artwork. THE BALDWIN | GIOVANNI EXPERIENCE will be performed twice only, on September 2 and 3, 2023, and will be an intellectual and artistic journey of a lifetime.
Rhoze, who has been Producing Artistic Director of Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre since 2010, has in addition to his many directing credits at FJT, also authored the company’s WHY NOT ME? A SAMMY DAVIS JR. STORY, and MAYA’S LAST POEM, both produced at FJT; and BLACK BALLERINA, produced at FJT and Pittsburgh Public Theatre. He was co-writer and director of A HOME ON THE LAKE, co-produced with the Piven Theatre Workshop. Walker, an artistic associate with FJT and Assistant Professor of Acting at Carnegie Mellon University, directed FJT’s recent production of OBAMA-OLOGY and co-directed FJT's production of CROWNS.
The performers include Sean Blake, representing James Baldwin; and Rachel Blakes, representing Nikki Giovanni. Sean Blake, who is also the production’s choreographer, has previously appeared at FJT in GEE'S BEND and WHY NOT ME? A SAMMY DAVIS JR. STORY. He also has credits with such companies as The Goodman Theatre, Court Theater, Northlight Theatre, and Seattle Rep. His television credits include EMPIRE and CHICAGO PD. Rachel Blakes appeared in FJT’s 2022 production of HOME, for which she received a Black Theater Alliance Award nomination. The artistic team for THE BALDWIN | GIOVANNI EXPERIENCE also includes composer and sound designer Ethan Korvne (Ohio Shakespeare Festival, About Face Theatre), lighting designer David Goodman-Edberg (FJT’s AMERICAN SON and HOME), scenic mural artist Sholo Beverly.
Performances will be Saturday, September 2 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, September 3 at 3:00 pm, at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre in the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., Evanston. Tickets for all productions are $30.00 and are on sale now at www.fjtheatre.com.
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