Samuel Beckett's NOT I and ROCKABY to be Presented at Broadwater Black Box Theatre

​Plank Productions will present a special Limited Engagement of Samuel Beckett's NOT I and ROCKABY this upcoming weekend, directed and performed by Jeni Jones, at The Broadwater Black Box Theatre in Hollywood, CA.

Jeni Jones has worked in entertainment for 30 years, as a director, screenwriter, playwright, actor, dancer, rapper, producer, editor, martial artist, and radio host, navigating behind the camera and performing in front of it, as well as walking stages of all sizes. She earned her BA in Theatre Directing & English Literature from Fordham University in NYC & her MFA in Directing for Film, Theatre, and Television from CalArts. As a Film Executive she has been credited for her creative contributions to numerous films. (Credits on IMDB: imdb.me/jenijones )

Jeni has previously directed Samuel Beckett's KRAPP'S LAST TAPE, WAITING FOR GODOT, NOT I, and ROCKABY. Her direction of the stage play WOMEN ON THE VERGE earned the production an NAACP Theatre Award. She directed the award-winning film CLUB RAT$, which was used to raise awareness for RAINN and has garnered multiple "Best Direction" Awards. As a rapper and hip-hop producer, Jeni's debut album GAHALLA is available on all platforms.

"It has been a lifelong dream and mission to liberate Beckett texts from the technical and psychological constraints often hindering performances and productions, so that this work may be shared in non-traditional settings with new audiences. In the future, Plank Productions aims for these pieces, as well as others, to be used for inclusive, educational, practical, theatrical public demonstrations. In the past, these two female-driven texts have proven challenging for performers and audiences alike. I enjoy a challenge," shares Jeni Jones, Producer and Owner of Plank Productions.

Samuel Beckett's seldom produced play NOT I delves into the depths of human consciousness, exploring themes of identity, isolation, justice, and existentialism. Set against the backdrop of darkness, the play is a roughly ten-minute rapid fire monologue spewed by "Mouth," who vehemently refuses to relinquish third person. Succinctly hailed as "overpowering" by The New York Times, Beckett's haunting piece ROCKABY charts a woman's journey back into life before she arrives at death.

Saturday's show will feature a "Talk Back Session" moderated by world renowned Beckett scholar, Katherine Weiss, who is a widely published author in the field of Beckett studies, a Samuel Beckett Society member, and the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Letters at California State University Los Angeles.