Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's NATIONAL BLACK THEATRE, the oldest continually operating black theater in New York, will present the New York City Premiere of DEAD AND BREATHING by GLAAD Media Award winner Chisa Hutchinson (She Like Girls). Directed by Obie winner Jonathan McCrory, previews begin tonight, October 28 with press opening set for November 5. NOTE: this limited engagement is produced on an Off-Broadway contract.
In DEAD AND BREATHING, cranky old Carolyn Whitlock has been in hospice for far too long and just wants to die. When she tries to convince a loud, oversharing, and very Christian nurse to assist her suicide, she has to work harder than she ever has in her privileged life to end it. Through surprising humor and persistent questioning, DEAD AND BREATHING investigates morality, mortality and the intense tug-of-war between the right to die with dignity and the idea of life as a gift. The production stars Lizan Mitchell (Helen Hayes Award for Best Actress) and Nikki Walker with a production team that includes Maruti Evans (scenic design), Alan Edwards (lighting design), Karen Perry (costume design), Justin Hicks (sound design), Valerie Gladstone (Special Effects) Halle Morse (stage management), Belynda Hardin (production manager), Ngozi Anyanwu (production assistant).Chisa Hutchinson was born in Queens, New York and raised in Newark, New Jersey. She earned a B.A. in Dramatic Arts from Vassar College and an M.F.A. in Playwriting from NYU. Chisa's plays include She Like Girls, The Subject, Dirt Rich, Mama's Gonna Buy You, This is Not The Play, Alondra Was Here and Somebody's Daughter. Her plays have been produced by companies including Lark Play Development Center, City Parks' Summerstage, Working Man's Clothes, Partial Comfort, Atlantic Theater Company, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, New Dramatists, Rattlestick Theater, Contemporary American Theater Festival, Midtown Direct Rep, Playwrights Theatre of New Jersey, Working Theater and FilmGym. She is the recipient of numerous awards including GLAAD Media Award, Lanford Wilson Award, Helen Merrill Award, NY Innovative Theater Award, and the John Golden Award for Playwriting. Chisa has written for and performed with the New York NeoFuturists and was a Staff Writer for Blue Man Group.Videos