Donja R Love News

The St. Louis Black Repertory Company opens its 45th Anniversary Season September 10 with an in-person production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Sweat” by Lynn Nottage. Addressing the complexities of race, class and friendship at a pivotal moment in America, the powerful work will be presented in person at the Edison Theatre at Washington University and directed by Founder and Producing Director Ron Himes. Previews begin on Wednesday September 8.

This gripping period drama which launched the theatre company's award-winning run in 2012 recounts the true story of two actors who hired themselves out to the Long Beach Police Department in 1914 to entrap 'social vagrants.” 

Island City Stage, creating quality professional theatrical experiences focused on the LGBT+ community for a universal audience, will host their very own Behind the Red Curtain community forum entitled “Law Enforcement and the LGBT+ Community – Where are we today?” on Tuesday, September 14, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., at its theatre (2304 N. Dixie Highway in Wilton Manors).

MCC Theater announced today that the upcoming engagement of Nollywood Dreams will reunite the entire cast from the 2020 MCC production that was postponed due to the theater shutdown. Nollywood Dreams, the first production of their 2021-22 season, will begin previews in-person at MCC Theater’s Newman Mills Theater on October 21, 2021.

Playwright Donja R. Love has announced the first annual WIO! Prize for playwrights living with HIV. In its inaugural year, the $5,000 award will be funded by Emmy Award-winning actor Billy Porter, known for his roles on the hit TV show Pose and the musical Kinky Boots, and the LGBTQ media nonprofit GLAAD. National Queer Theater, The Lark, Mobilizing Our Brothers Initiative (MOBI), and The Each-Other Project have partnered to coordinate the submission process.

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Donja R. Love, in partnership with National Queer Theater, Mobilizing Our Brothers Initiative (MOBI), The Lark, and The Each-Other Project, has announced the second annual Write It Out! program, a writing workshop for playwrights living with HIV.

Diversionary Theatre has announced their Season 36 lineup of new LGBTQ work. With 4 new works on The Robert L. Granat and Albert J. Mazur Mainstage exploring how our LGBTQ family defines home, Diversionary welcomes the community back to their newly renovated theatre home, and their new social and performance venue The Austin & Joann Clark Cabaret. 

The Black Rep season opens with “Sweat,” a Pulitzer-Prize winning drama fitting for the current times, followed by “Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea,” exploring one young man’s present-day heroic quest. The season continues with “Fireflies,” a telling of the complexities of love and color, and “Behind the Sheet,” the untold story behind the sacrifices made for a significant medical breakthrough. The season closes with “Jitney,” August Wilson's powerful look at one community’s unwavering determination and connection. Each production will include post-show talk backs and intergenerational matinees.

The New Group Off Stage has announced additional weeks for the current streaming-on-demand version of Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett, directed by Scott Elliott, with Ethan Hawke, John Leguizamo, Wallace Shawn, Tarik Trotter and Drake Bradshaw.  

Viral internet sensation Kemar Jewel, a Black Queer director/choreographer from Jamaica and raised in Philadelphia, has released a visual love letter that uses the language of contemporary dance to help Black Queer men heal from trauma and connect as a community.

Donja R. Love (he/him/his) is Black, Queer, HIV-Positive, and thriving. A Philly native, his work examines the forced absurdity of life for those who identify as Black, Queer, and HIV-positive –  a diverse intersection filled with eloquent stories that challenge the white supremacist, heteronormative structures that exist in American culture.

The Dramatists Guild of America has announced they will present the 2021 Horton Foote Playwriting Award to five amazing playwrights – Carla Ching, Kia Corthron, Aleshea Harris, Donja R. Love, and Mfoniso Udofia - at the Dramatists Guild’s awards presentations later this summer. 

MCC Theater has officially announced their 2021-2022 season, which is expected to kick off in October 2021 with Nollywood Dreams by Burnt Umber Playwright-in-Residence Jocelyn Bioh (School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play) and directed by Saheem Ali (Fires in The Mirror).

The Old Globe’s new podcast COCKTAILS WITH THE CANON and its two fun, charismatic, and incredibly smart co-hosts Lamar Perry and Danielle Mages Amato are your new best theatre friends. This interview with them is on their new podcast, the topics they cover,  and why they wanted to create a podcast that invited imagination to collectively dream of what the future holds for American Theatre.

From the true-story scandalous period drama that started it all for the company to the Southern Gothic Tennessee Williams mystery surrounding an elite New Orleans family to an interactive audience introspection about race and diversity in America, Island City Stage offers compelling storytelling in an intimate setting. 

The Old Globe today announced plans for the long-awaited full reopening of its three theatres in Balboa Park. Audiences will be able to once again gather in the Globe’s outdoor theatre starting June 4 and in the two indoor theatres in September.

Northlight Theatre has announced its 2021-2022 season, opening with the tour-de-force musical Songs for Nobodies, by Joanna Murray-Smith, directed by Rob Lindley, featuring Bethany Thomas; the world premiere of Mr. Dickens’ Hat by Michael Hollinger, directed by David Catlin and more.

The Gatekeepers Collective (TGC) is collaborating with award-winning playwright Donja R. Love (Sugar in Our Wounds, Fireflies, one in two) to curate an intergenerational development process in which narrative theatrical works reflecting stories of self-acceptance as a rite of passage on the way to queer/same-gender love are created.

The Old Globe today announced the release of its latest podcast, Cocktails with the Canon, an interview-based series hosted by colleagues and friends, the Globe's Literary Manager and Dramaturg Danielle Mages Amato and Artistic Associate Lamar Perry.