Aldo Billingslea News

Reprising their roles from the A.C.T. run include JaBen Early (Arena's Junk), Kenn E. Head (Roundabout's Toni Stone), Rodney Earl Jackson Jr. (Broadway's Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of The Temptations), Sean-Maurice Lynch (Arena's Jubilee) and Jarrod Mims Smith (A.C.T.'s The Royale).

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater announces the company for Toni Stone, written by Arena alumna resident playwright Lydia R. Diamond. Set in the 1950s, Toni Stone was the first woman to play baseball in the Negro Leagues, also making her the first woman to play in a professional men's league.

Jeffrey Lo seems to be just about everywhere these days. As if his day job as TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s Director of Community Partnerships / Casting Director weren’t enough, he is also enjoying quite a successful career as a director and playwright. With the recent, tragic spike in prejudice and violence toward the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, Lo decided to take action by calling on his own Filipino American heritage. He spearheaded TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s efforts to stream a benefit reading of his play Writing Fragments Home to raise funds to support and uplift the AAPI community. The comedic play is an unapologetically Filipino American story about art, family, and culture. The top-flight cast includes stage veteran Emily Kuroda, perhaps best known for playing Mrs. Kim on TV’s Gilmore Girls. Co-presented by more than 40 leading theatres and arts organizations in the Bay Area and beyond, the reading will benefit Compassion in Oakland, a nonprofit formed in response to the surge of anti-Asian attacks and dedicated to promoting safety and community in Oakland Chinatown and beyond. Writing Fragments Home will be streamed live at 7pm PDT, Saturday, June 5, 2021 (with streaming on-demand access available June 6 to June 9). For more information, visit TheatreWorks.org.  BroadwayWorld with Lo last week about his impetus to write the play, how the benefit reading came together, his thoughts about Asian American representation in the theatre, and his experience working with some of his personal heroes. Lo is very easy to talk to – laid-back, thoughtful and self-effacing with an underlying gentle humor – all qualities which likely serve him well in his roles at TheatreWorks. At the same time, I got the impression he is someone who knows how to step up to the plate and get the job done.

The three upcoming readings are: Alice Childress’s Trouble in Mind, directed by Awoye Timpo; George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man, directed by 2020 SAG Award nominee, Obie Award winner, and Tony Award nominee Colman Domingo; and Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker, directed by Dawn Monique Williams.

Pear Theatre meets 2021 — a year for change — with Fairfield, Eric Coble's hilarious and somewhat uneasy contemporary comedy. Just in time for Black History Month, Fairfield will be co-directed by Aldo Billingslea and Pear Theatre Artistic Director Sinjin Jones.

Today, The Breath Project—a new theatrical initiative formed by Artistic Director and Co-Founder Gamal Abdel Chasten and Co-Founder Marieke Gaboury in response to the current global spotlight on racial injustice against Black people—announced the line-up for the inaugural The Breath Project Virtual Festival being held on at 5 p.m. both Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25.

In partnership with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and 23 other theater companies across the country, The Breath Project has announced the lineup for its inaugural virtual festival being held on October 24 and 25.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley encourages its audiences to a?oeget out the votea?? and stand up for racial justice as it launches a new online initiative entitled Voices of Democracy. Part of TheatreWorks from Home, a virtual stage for the Tony Award-winning theatre while in-person performances are on hold during the pandemic, Voices of Democracy offers digital theatrical experiences that celebrate diverse voices and build a bridge from empathy to action.

Today, The Breath Project-a new theatrical initiative formed by Artistic Director and Co-Founder Gamal Abdel Chasten and Co-Founder Marieke Gaboury in response to the current global spotlight on racial injustice against Black people-announced the lineup for the inaugural The Breath Project Virtual Festival.

Today, The Breath Projecta?"a new theatrical initiative formed by Artistic Director and Co-Founder Gamal Abdel Chasten and Co-Founder Marieke Gaboury in response to the current global spotlight on racial injustice against Black peoplea?"announced the lineup for the inaugural The Breath Project Virtual Festival being held on Saturday, October 24 (2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET) and Sunday, October 25 (5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET).

Today, The Breath Projecta?"a new theatrical initiative formed by Artistic Director and Co-Founder Gamal Abdel Chasten and Co-Founder Marieke Gaboury in response to the current global spotlight on racial injustice against Black peoplea?"announced the lineup for the inaugural The Breath Project Virtual Festival being held on Saturday, October 24 (2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET) and Sunday, October 25 (5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET).

Today, The Breath Project-a new theatrical initiative formed by Artistic Director and Co-Founder Gamal Abdel Chasten and Co-Founder Marieke Gaboury in response to the current global spotlight on racial injustice against Black people-announced the lineup for the inaugural The Breath Project Virtual Festival.

The New Year joins with Black History Month for the hilarious and somewhat uneasy contemporary comedy Fairfield by Eric Coble, presented by Pear Theatre.

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley will encourage its audiences to a?oeget out the votea?? and stand up for racial justice as it launches a new online initiative entitled Voices of Democracy. Part of TheatreWorks from Home, a virtual stage for the Tony Award-winning theatre while in-person performances are on hold during the pandemic, Voices of Democracy will offer digital theatrical experiences that celebrate diverse voices and build a bridge from empathy to action.

San Francisco's premier Black theatre company Lorraine Hansberry Theatre has announced the appointment of Bay Area theatre titan Margo Hall as its new Artistic Director.

AmiosWest presents a Covid-Era theatrical experience on YouTube live via Zoom.

More than 30 Bay Area theatres are joining forces to present a reading on Juneteenth, encouraging donations to support a bold Go Fund Me Campaign that aims to fundraise one million dollars for Black theatre projects in America. Spearheaded by PlayGround, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, and Planet Earth Arts, these Bay Area theatres (including TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Berkeley Rep, A.C.T, Cal Shakes, and many more) are co-presenting a livestreamed Zoom reading of Vincent Terrell Durham's Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids at 7pm PT on June 19 as part of the Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project, a national theatre movement to produce this reading of Durham's play to commemorate anniversary of the freeing of enslaved Black people. BroadwayWorld spoke with Aldo Billingslea, the longstanding pillar of the Bay Area theatre community who is producing the livestream and also leads the Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project. Billingslea is well-loved throughout the Bay Area as a man of many talents, including actor, professor, producer, collaborator and mentor.

Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. In response to the civil uprising, a reaction to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others before them, Jobsite Theater and Stageworks Theatre have teamed up with Rory Lawrence Productions. They will join a national presentation of the Juneteenth Justice Theatre Project, a nationwide movement by American theater companies striving to 'change the world, one play at a time.'

To commemorate Juneteenth this Friday June 19th, the Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project will present Vincent Terrell Durham's POLAR BEARS, BLACK BOYS & PRAIRIE FRINGED ORCHIDS as a free, live Zoom reading. Juneteenth Theatre Justice Project has gathered groups of regional theatres in various cities to partner in this production. In the Los Angeles Theatre community, co-presenting POLAR BEARS are: IAMA Theatre Company, Celebration Theatre, DOMA Theatre Company, Echo Theater Company, Highways, The Inkwell Theater, Lower Depth Theatre, Skylight Theatre Company and the L.A. Stage Alliance.

IAMA Theatre Company is partnering with Celebration Theatre, DOMA Theatre Company, Echo Theater Company, Highways, The Inkwell Theater, Lower Depth Theatre, Skylight Theatre Company and the L.A. Stage Alliance to present a free, live Zoom reading of Vincent Terrell Durham's bold and timely new play Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids. To view the Juneteenth reading on Friday, June 19 at 6 p.m. PT, register at zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_K3JA0ksmTuODKuU3bL4tsQ.