Nikiya Mathis News

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater welcomed Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad with Event Chair and Arena Stage Board member Shawna Watley (Senior Policy Advisor with Holland & Knight) as the Honorary Chair for THE BLOOD QUILT World Premiere Celebration last night, May 7, 2015. The new play by Katori Hall (The Mountaintop, Our Lady of Kibeho) is directed by Kamilah Forbes and runs now through June 7, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater. Scroll down for photos from the opening celebration!

It's evident upon meeting Nikiya Mathis and Afi Bijou to talk about their roles in Arena Stage's world premiere production of The Blood Quilt, currently in previews, how much they love what they do.  Some tangible evidence? The women gave up a good part of their dinner break on one of the final days of rehearsals to talk with me.  

Olivier Award-winning playwright Katori Hall returns to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater with the world premiere of her most personal project to date-the fierce comedy-drama The Blood Quilt. Hall is an inaugural resident playwright of Arena Stage's American Voices New Play Institute, and The Blood Quilt is one of three plays from Hall receiving world premieres around the country this season. Hall reunites with director and Howard University alumna Kamilah Forbes (artistic director of the Hip-Hop Theater Festival) following their Broadway collaboration on The Mountaintop. The Blood Quilt runs April 24-June 7, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater. Check out a first look at the meet and greet below!

Olivier Award-winning playwright Katori Hall returns to Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater with the world premiere of her most personal project to date-the fierce comedy-drama The Blood Quilt. Hall is an inaugural resident playwright of Arena Stage's American Voices New Play Institute, and The Blood Quilt is one of three plays from Hall receiving world premieres around the country this season. Hall reunites with director and Howard University alumna Kamilah Forbes (artistic director of the Hip-Hop Theater Festival) following their Broadway collaboration on The Mountaintop. The Blood Quilt runs April 24-June 7, 2015 in the Kreeger Theater.

The Public Theater welcomes the return of PUBLIC STUDIO, which will present two new plays this spring by emerging and up-and-coming playwrights. The two plays will run in repertory from today, February 20 to March 1 in The Public's Shiva Theater and will be presented as pared-down productions with the low ticket price of only $10.

The Public Theater announced the return of PUBLIC STUDIO, which will present two new plays this spring by emerging and up-and-coming playwrights. The two plays will run in repertory from February 20 to March 1 in The Public's Shiva Theater and will be presented as pared-down productions with the low ticket price of only $10. Following in the footsteps of the acclaimed Public Lab series, PUBLIC STUDIO continues to build on The Public's mission to support new and emerging artists and to continue making new work accessible to all audiences.

Sundance Institute today announced the acting company and creative advisors that are participating in its 2014 Theatre Lab, which is now taking place and runs through July 27 at the Sundance Resort in Utah. The Lab is the centerpiece of the Institute's year-round work with the theatre community and is one of 10 residential Labs hosted by Sundance Institute this summer, collectively representing 15 weeks of residency support and mentorship for the most promising new independent theatre and film projects from the United States and around the world.

The Alliance Theatre just announced its production of BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK, the Off-Broadway hit by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage. Described by The New York Times as "a fitful comedy," BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK tells the story of an aspiring actress trying to break the mold of stereotypical African-American film roles in 1930's Hollywood and the legacy she leaves on the film industry seventy years later.

On the eve of his assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., cools down in a lonely Memphis hotel room after delivering the speech of a lifetime - when an unexpected visit from a feisty, young hotel maid pushes King into a confrontation with his doubts, fears and haunting premonitions. A soul-stirring hit in London and on Broadway, The Mountaintop's humorous, magical storytelling fuses theatricality with spirituality to reach a summit that will leave audiences breathless. The Mountaintop is written by playwright Katori Hall and will be directed by Rep Artistic Associate May Adrales, who returns to The Rep after directing last season's critically-acclaimed production of Yellowman. The Mountaintop opens tonight, September 28 and runs in The Rep's Stiemke Studio through November 4.

On the eve of his assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., cools down in a lonely Memphis hotel room after delivering the speech of a lifetime - when an unexpected visit from a feisty, young hotel maid pushes King into a confrontation with his doubts, fears and haunting premonitions. A soul-stirring hit in London and on Broadway, The Mountaintop's humorous, magical storytelling fuses theatricality with spirituality to reach a summit that will leave audiences breathless. The Mountaintop is written by playwright Katori Hall and will be directed by Rep Artistic Associate May Adrales, who returns to The Rep after directing last season's critically-acclaimed production of Yellowman. The Mountaintop runs in The Rep's Stiemke Studio from September 26 - November 4, and opens Friday, September 28.

Gutenberg! The Musical! runs in the Stackner Cabaret from tonight, August 24 - October 14.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater announced casting today for Gutenberg! The Musical, the first production in The Rep's 2012/13 season, and The Mountaintop, which opens this September.

Denise Burse (Peace Love and Understanding, Brother to Brother, "House of Payne"), Harriett D. Foy (Mamma Mia!, The American Plan, Once On This Island), Lynda Gravatt (Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Doubt), Nikiya Mathis (Milk Like Sugar), Dennis Parlato (Salome, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Chess), Saycon Sengbloh (Fela!, Hair), and Tracie Thoms (Rent, Stick Fly) join Vassar & New York Stage and Film's 28th Powerhouse Theater season in the workshop of award-winning playwright Marcus Gardley's The House That Will Not Stand, directed by Marion McClinton (July 20-22). Check out photos of the cast in rehearsal below!

Now approaching the end of their first year in the program, the current ensemble will present Bringing Down the House, an evening of six one-acts written for the kids by theater professionals tonight June 1 and tomorrow June 2 at the Project's Five Angels Theater (789 Tenth Avenue, NYC).

Now approaching the end of their first year in the program, the current ensemble will present Bringing Down the House, an evening of six one-acts written for the kids by theater professionals on June 1 & 2 at the Project's Five Angels Theater (789 Tenth Avenue, NYC).

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director), Women's Project (Julie Crosby, Producing Artistic Director) and La Jolla Playhouse (Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director; Michael S. Rosenberg, Managing Director) has announced a one-week extension of its critically-acclaimed, sold out New York premiere production of MILK LIKE SUGAR, a new play by Kirsten Greenidge, directed by Rebecca Taichman. Originally set to play a limited engagement through Sunday, November 20, the production extended through Sunday, November 27 at Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp Theater (416 West 42nd Street). The additional week represents the only extension possible.

Playwrights Horizons (Tim Sanford, Artistic Director; Leslie Marcus, Managing Director), Women's Project (Julie Crosby, Producing Artistic Director) and La Jolla Playhouse (Christopher Ashley, Artistic Director; Michael S. Rosenberg, Managing Director) has announced a one-week extension of its critically-acclaimed, sold out New York premiere production of MILK LIKE SUGAR, a new play by Kirsten Greenidge, directed by Rebecca Taichman.