Nataki Garrett

Yale Repertory Theatre to Present BETWEEN TWO KNEES

Yale Repertory Theatre will conclude its 2022 season with Between Two Knees. The play, written by the intertribal sketch comedy troupe The 1491s and directed by Eric Ting, is presented with Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Between Two Knees will be performed May 12–June 4 at Yale Repertory Theatre (1120 Chapel Street).

One-Week Extension Announced for Dominique Morisseau's CONFEDERATES

Signature Theatre has extended the New York premiere of Dominique Morisseau’s Confederates, directed by Stori Ayers to April 24. The production, running in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 W. 42nd Street, New York), opened March 27.

THE GREEN ROOM WITH NADIA BROWN to Premiere on Ovation TV

Be An #ArtsHero/Arts Workers United has announced a partnership with Ovation TV, America’s premiere arts network, to debut The Green Room with Nadia Brown, a five-part original comedic journalism series celebrating and exploring the creative economy.

Creative Teams and Casts Announced For 2022 Oregon Shakespeare Festival

The imminent start of the 2022 Oregon Shakespeare Festival season—Artistic Director Nataki Garrett’s first full season—marks a celebratory return to repertory producing. The 2022 lineup features eight on-stage plays and musicals, from classic Shakespeare to works by some of today’s most exciting playwrights.

Portland Opera Presents The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Opera THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE

Portland Opera continues the 2021/22 season with The Central Park Five, composed by Anthony Davis with a libretto by Richard Wesley. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2020, The Central Park Five is set in New York City in the late 80s—when five Black and Latino teenagers were falsely accused of rape and assault and coerced into confession. Their high-profile case spiraled out of control, turning the accused, and their families, into victims of prejudice and grave injustice.  

OPERA America Awards Opera Grants For Women Stage Directors And Conductors

OPERA America has announced the recipients of the 2022 Opera Grants for Women Stage Directors and Conductors. The program incentivizes companies to hire women in these key artistic roles in order to enrich the production and performance of new operas and works from the inherited repertoire; introduce audiences to the talent and insight of new artists, and inspire future generations of creative artists who identify as women. 

Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Black Lives Black Words to Present FILMS FOR THE PEOPLE

Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Black Lives Black Words are partnering to produce Films for the People (previously titled Plays for the People), supported by the Black Seed Fund and co-presented with Stellar (Jim McCarthy, Co-Founder/CEO).

VIDEO: Be An #ArtsHero Testifies Before Congress

The hearing gathered artists and creative workers led by Carson Elrod, co-founder of Be An #ArtsHero/Arts Workers United, to testify on the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their industry and ways that Congress can better support the creative economy moving forward.  

Be An #ArtsHero Will Testify Before Congress

Be An #ArtsHero / Arts Workers United is proud to announce its co-founder Carson Elrod will testify in a Congressional House Hearing before the Small Business Committee (SBC) chaired by Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07) on the Arts and Culture Sector titled “The Power, Peril, and Promise of the Creative Economy.” 

Portland Opera To Receive $30,000 Grant From The National Endowment For The Arts

Portland Opera has been approved for a $30,000 Grants for Arts Projects award to support the company's upcoming production of The Central Park Five.

VIDEO: Behind the Scenes with BLKS Playwright Aziza Barnes

Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents the world premiere production of BLKS by award-winning poet and playwright Aziza Barnes and directed by Nataki Garrett. An uproarious and frank play, the acclaimed Chicago-based cast features ensemble member Namir Smallwood (Justin /Sosa/Dominican Dude) with Leea Ayers (June), Nora Carroll (Octavia), Celeste Cooper (Imani), Danielle Davis (Ry) and Kelly O'Sullivan (That Bitch on the Couch/White Woman). Below, check out an interview with playwright Aziza Barnes as she talks about BLKS!

Video: Steppenwolf Announces BLKS SALON SERIES

In conjunction with the world premiere of BLKS by acclaimed poet/playwright Aziza Barnes this December, Steppenwolf Theatre Company has collaborated with Barnes to bring a beautiful lineup of Black artists, queer artists, women-identified artists, artists of color and their communities to Steppenwolf's LookOut Series. The BLKS Salon Series celebrates the themes and conversations sparked by Barnes's play an ingenious portrait of a day in the life of four young black women in New York City.