L. Williams News

American Repertory Theater has announced virtual Fall 2020 Programming including the Civically Speaking discussion series; the Behind the Scenes series; and Kidding Around family programming.

A new season of survival begins in 2021. All new episodes of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, coming soon to Netflix.

651 ARTS, Brooklyn's premier institution for the African Diasporic performing arts, today announced details for its Fall 2020 season to include a virtual mix of feature presentations, performances and the launch of new initiatives.

The day of reckoning has come for Mr. J.L Williams and he has gloriously met the challenge with harmonies befitting the gods and melodies manifested in the heavens.

Netflix has shared the first teaser for Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous!

As the world continues to adjust to a new normal in the midst of the global pandemic, renowned Brooklyn-based organization 651 ARTS today announced a major step forward in reimagining its programmatic strategy to ensure that the institution will thrive in a post-pandemic arts and culture space with the appointment of Monica L. Williams in the new role of Director of Programs and Chief Curator (DPCC).  Additionally, the institution also announced the expansion of its Board of Directors welcoming new members Claude Johnson, Bahia Ramos and Lisa Suino. 

The Movement Theatre Company has announced a second round of 1MOVE: DES19NED BY... commissions for theatrical designers, co-curated by Dede Ayite, Stacey Derosier, and Tony Award winner Paul Tazewell. This round of 1MOVE will amplify the work of Black designers and creative collaborators.

Summer L. Williams, associate artistic director and co-founder of Company One Theatre is, among other goals, using this time as a chance to reset. She ponders, a?oeHow do I take advantage of this chance to reimagine the way I think or work? I am finding things that I thought were internal pressures that are actually external pressures.a??

The Monterey Jazz Festival announced today that it will present a virtual version of its 63rd festival, September 25-27, 2020. Musical content from the Festival's archives will be featured over three days, including legendary contemporary and historic performances. The Virtual Festival's content will be streamed online each day beginning at 5PM Pacific Time on the Monterey Jazz Festival's YouTube channel. Featured artists and performances will be announced beginning July 21, 2020.

Isle of Shoals Productions, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit theatre company, is celebrating its 25th Anniversary with THE LANCE SERIES. The Series is named in honor of the late Lance Hewett, Founding Artistic Director and Guiding Light of IOS for 19 memorable years, and will consist of staged readings of 5 wildly diverse new plays, chosen from nearly a hundred submitted in a nationwide search.

This past weekend, Audible Theater celebrated the intersection of Black History Month in February and Women's History Month in March with a three-night-only event, In Love and Struggle.

For a long time within their history, Company One has cornered the market in Boston for selecting those cutting-edge new works that are able to effectively spark conversations and juxtaposing them against each other in ways that are both productive and incendiary. Hats off to Director of New Work, Ilana M Brownstein, as well as National New Play Network (NNPN) Producer in Residence, Jasmine Brooks, and the entire administrative staff for selecting, through NNPN, such a well-crafted text for a rolling premiere. Jung, who may be best known in Boston for her equally nuanced play, Cardboard Piano, does not stoop to begin with a message, as seems to be in vogue for playwrights right now. She does not set out to teach us anything in a certain, straightforward lecture subdivided into all-too-interchangeable dialogue. Instead, the genesis of her play seems to center around the hypothetical. As one character explains in a moment of meta-theatricality, the evening is nothing more than a series of 'what if?'s. What if a young boy was adopted from Korea by a a?oenot-future-orienteda?? white couple who have given up on having any biological children of their own? What if, once that couple is able to conceive, the boy is again put up for adoption? What if he is adopted by a lesbian couple, and his adoptive father is not entirely thrilled with the prospect of two women raising a boy? By asking these questions and not providing answers, Jung has effectively done what so many playwrights and their commissioners claim to want. She has created a work with the potential to generate conversations that lead to growth and change. Set against the thorough dramaturgical work one can expect from Company One, the production introduces issues within the idea of transracial adoption, America's systems for adoption, and the thin line between a?oevulnerability and violencea??.

Nickelodeon is setting off into new territory with the greenlight of The Astronauts (working title), a brand-new, live-action series following a group of kids who embark on the adventure of a lifetime when they are mistakenly launched into space. Marking Nickelodeon's first production with Imagine Kids+Family, The Astronauts (10 episodes) is currently in production in Vancouver, Canada, with a premiere slated for this summer.

New Repertory Theatre presents Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill. This biographical play with music by Lanie Robertson tells the incredible story of an icon who consistently battled racism, abuse, and addiction for her chance to sing. The production runs March 28 through April 19, 2020 in the MainStage Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA. Tickets start at $25 and may be purchased by calling the New Rep Box Office at 617-923-8487 or visiting newrep.org. Student, senior, and group discounts are available, as well as free tickets for WIC/EBT cardholders.

This past Saturday, to celebrate Black History Month, Union County Performing Arts Center, the County of Union, and the City of Rahway hosted an award ceremony to honor Chester Holmes Humanitarian Award recipient Councilman David Brown, followed by a presentation of Raisin: A Musical.

Audible, the world's largest producer and seller of original spoken-word entertainment and audiobooks, today announced two new limited engagement events this February and March at the Minetta Lane Theatre, Audible's creative home for live performances in New York.

a?oeRecklessa?? will be presented on the Nancy Gehrke Stage in the Herbert L. Williams Theatre at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Marinette Campus, 750 West Bay Shore Street. Performances will run November 15-17 and 22-24, with Friday and Saturday curtains opening at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for patrons 65 and older, $10 for non-UW-Green Bay students and free to current UW-Green Bay students from all campuses with campus ID.

On the heels ofBET's new original series, “Tyler Perry's The Oval” claiming the #1 spot as the new scripted series for general market P18-49, P2+ for ALL of cable TV,* Tyler Perry expands his content offerings with two new original series for the network's premium streaming service BET+, “Tyler Perry's Bruh” and “Tyler Perry's Ruthless.” The first series to complete production, “Tyler Perry'sBruh,” produced by Perry exclusively for BET+, examines the world of dating, career, and friendship in a present-day society for a group of 30-something-year-old college friends. The second series currently in production, “Tyler Perry's Ruthless,” will serve as a spin-off to the popular linear series “Tyler Perry's The Oval.” The new one-hour drama follows a young woman named Ruth into the dark underworld of a fanatical religious cult. “Tyler Perry's Bruh” and “Tyler Perry's Ruthless” are written, directed and executive produced by Tyler Perry. Michelle Sneed will also serve as Executive Producer of the series for Tyler Perry Studios.

Theatre Odyssey's One Act Play Festival has announced its Best Play and Runner-up. IMMUREMENT by David L. Williams is Best Play and J. Lois Diamond's GROWL is Runner-up.