George C. Wolfe's THE COLORED MUSEUM Opens This Weekend At Loft Ensemble

Loft Ensemble in North Hollywood has announced the final production of its ninth season, The Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe. Directed by Jazmine Nichelle, the cast will feature (in alphabetical order), Antwan Alexander II, Cassandra Carmona, Bahasi Chapman, Dorothea Saint Fleur, Sean James, Zenarra James, Matt Lorenzo, Bianca Ostojich, Ravyne Demyra Payne, Jessica Perkins, Twon Marcel Pope, Quan'Darius, Jefferson Reid, and Katisha Sargeant. There will be 12 performances only, beginning Saturday, June 18, and running through Sunday, July 24.

A satire of modern conventions surrounding Black identity, The Colored Museum is set in a fictional museum where a collection of 11 "exhibits" have been mounted for public viewing. The sketches explore themes of slavery, stereotypes, Black identity, generational trauma, and intracommunal conflict. Celebration, satire, and subversion, Wolfe called his play "an exorcism and a party." Of the 1986 Joseph Papp Public Theatre production, New York Times theatre critic Frank Rich wrote, "George C. Wolfe says the unthinkable, says it with uncompromising wit, and leaves the audience, as well as a sacred target, in ruins. Mr. Wolfe is the kind of satirist, almost unheard of in today's timid theatre, who takes no prisoners."

Director Jazmine Nichelle (born Jazmine Nichelle Wilson) began exploring her passion for acting and cinema in the fifth grade in Raleigh, N.C. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance & Economics at Winston Salem State University, she continued by pursuing and completing (in 2016) a Master of Fine Arts degree in Acting for Film and Television from the New York Film Academy. She has lent her talents to stage plays, including James Baldwin's Blues for Mister Charlie, web series, and short films. She continues to work as an actor, writer, associate producer, and board member of Hollywood's largest non-profit for women of color, Women of Color Unite. She is a performing member of improv troupe A Tribe Called Melanin and a Loft Ensemble company member.

General admission is DONATE WHAT YOU WANT. The performance schedule is Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 7pm. Seats may be reserved online at www.loftensemble.org or by phone at (818) 452-3153. Indoor masking is recommended but not required. Loft Ensemble is located at 11031 Camarillo Street in North Hollywood, 91602.

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