Casting Announced For Premiere Stages' CERTAIN ASPECTS OF CONFLICT IN THE NEGRO FAMILY, October 13-23

Premiere Stages at Kean University will present the premiere production of Certain Aspects of Conflict in the Negro Family by TyLie Shider, the recepient of the 2021/22 Liberty Live Commission, on October 13-23 under the tent at Kean University's Liberty Hall Museum (1003 Morris Avenue, Union, N.J.).

The Liberty Live commission is awarded biennially, in partnership with Kean University's Liberty Hall, and seeks to develop and produce new plays that celebrate New Jersey's rich and diverse history. The production will feature Kena Anae as Junior, Eddie Gouveia Blackman as Clif, Diane Parker as Peach, and Nicole Prothro as Ruth. Othell J. Miller directs.

In Certain Aspects of Conflict in the Negro Family, as tensions reach an all-time high between Newark residents and police, racial and civil unrest begins spilling into Plainfield, New Jersey in the Long Hot Summer of 1967. Clif and Peach moved their family to Plainfield for the promise of a better future, but as the riots begin, the family contemplates a return to the South.

TyLie Shider is a Minneapolis based writer and a 2022-23 McKnight Fellow in Playwriting at the Playwrights' Center (PWC). He is a recipient of the Liberty Live commission, two consecutive Jerome Fellowships (PWC), and an I Am Soul playwright in residence at the National Black Theatre (NBT). Additional upcoming projects include The Gospel Woman (NBT), Whittier (PWC), and his filmmaking debut Sign O' the Times. Screenwriting credits include: Truant. TyLie holds a BA in Journalism from Delaware State University and an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU. A proud member of the Dramatist Guild, he is currently a Professor of Playwriting at Augsburg University, and a staff writer for Minnesota Playlist.

Othell J. Miller currently oversees the Theater Arts Program at Plainfield Academy for the Arts & Advanced Studies. Past directing credits include: No Child...by Nilaja Sun, Skeleton Crew by Dominique Morriseau, Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage, The Talented Tenth by Richard Wesley, Flyin' West by Pearl Cleage, Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, Zooman & the Sign by Charles Fuller, Miss Evers' Boys by David Feldshuh. Past collaborations with Mr. Shider include: Josiah's Kidd, To the Day of Decision, & One Day at a Time. Mr. Miller holds an MFA in Theater (Acting) from Rutgers, Mason Gross School of the Arts.

The accomplished cast includes Kena Anae, who returns to Premiere Stages after portraying Junior in the staged reading of Certain Aspects...last Fall; Eddie Blackman Gouveia whose theatre credits include Blues for an Alabama Sky at Portland Center Stage and My Children! My Africa! at Luna-Stage/">Luna Stage; Diane Parker who has performed with New Jersey theatre companies The Theatre Project, Luna-Stage/">Luna Stage, and Vanguard Theater; and Nicole Prothro whose theatre credits include Little Shop of Horrors at 5th Avenue Theatre and Porgy and Bess with Seattle Opera.

Certain Aspects of Conflict in the Negro Family runs October 13-October 23 under the Tent at Kean University's Liberty Hall Museum. Performances take place Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 3:00 pm. Opening Night is Friday, October 14.

Tickets are $35 standard, $25 for senior citizens and Kean alumni and staff, $20 for patrons with disabilities and $15 for students. Significant discounts for groups of ten or more apply. To make reservations or to order a season brochure, please call the box office at 908-737-7469 or visit Premiere Stages at premierestagesatkean.com.

Assistive listening devices and sign-interpretation are available upon request; please call 908-737-4077 at least two weeks prior to your desired performance. For more information, please visit Premiere Stages at premierestagesatkean.com.

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