Mother Africa - 2017 - West End Articles Page 12

Sundance Institute announces the slate of theatremakers from the U.S. and Middle East / North Africa who will convene at the Theatre Program's second annual Theatre Lab in Morocco next month. The Lab, which will take place from May 6 - 27 at the Fellah Hotel outside Marrakech, comprises three uninterrupted weeks of consultation, mentorship and workshop performance of new work for the stage. The Theatre Lab alternates locations each season, moving between the Sundance Resort in Utah, and a venue in the Middle East/North African region, as part of a multi-year commitment to international work and a means of facilitating cultural exchange between artists. Led by Sundance Institute Theatre Program Director Philip Himberg and Producing Director Christopher Hibma, teams of creative advisors, actors and dramaturgs will collaborate with writers and directors, independent from commercial or public pressures, as they develop their projects.  

Rehane Abrahams's bold and provocative one-hander Womb of Fire, directed by Sara Matchett, comes to the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio for a short season, from 18 April to 5 May at 8.15pm.

Seattle Theatre Group (STG) announces the following shows going on sale:         

Mosaic Theater Company of DC announces an eclectic lineup for the 2018-2019 season, offering serious comic release alongside searing indictment; sustaining its commitment to local writers alongside its long-running Voices from a Changing Middle East Festival, while championing intercultural encounters and honoring iconic figures in African-American culture. In addition, Season Four is the first season to achieve gender parity for Mosaic's playwrights: four of the plays are written by men, and four by women.

Company One Theatre (C1), in collaboration with American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) presents, Wig Out! by Tarell Alvin McCraney. Previews begin Thursday, April 26, with press opening on Saturday, April 28 at 7pm. Performances continue through May 13 at OBERON (2 Arrow Street, Cambridge, MA). Tickets $25 - $35 are now on sale at americanrepertorytheater.org, by phone at 617-547-8300, an in person at the Loeb Drama Center Ticket Services Office (64 Brattle Street, Cambridge). Group, student, and senior discounts are available.

Viacom Inc. today announced a strategic partnership with Day Zero Productions, an international production and distribution company led by Trevor Noah, host of Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.' Under the long-term deal, Viacom will have exclusive 'first look' rights on all projects developed by Noah and Day Zero Productions in all media, including television, feature films, digital and short-form video content. Viacom will also make an investment in Day Zero.

From Thursday, April 26 through Sunday, April 29, BAMcinématek presents the eighth annual New Voices in Black Cinema, one of a variety of New Voices Arts & Media programs presented in partnership with BAMcinématek since 2009. The series provides a showcase of new and established voices in black independent cinema reflecting the wide spectrum of stories by and about African diasporic communities in the United States and beyond. This year's series includes 10 feature length films and three short film programs comprising diverse work from up and coming talent.

Before Mel was born, Wanda was on track to stardom. All that changed when the realities of single parenthood caused her budding career to flat - line. Now, 17 years later, she's reinvented herself and brought Mel with her, returning to the stage as half (3 / 4) of a sassy, quirky ( but low - key reluctant ) mother - daughter cabaret duo. If you loved the movie Ladybird, you'll love Wanda and Mel !

What does it mean to be a woman in the times of the #metoo and #timesup movements? What would our historical sisters have to say about it? From Sappho and Hildegard von Bingen to present day, this classical cabaret explores some of the innermost thoughts, desires, dreams, and experiences of women through music and poetry. Opera on Tap makes its' Flea debut as an Anchor Partner, presenting a diverse program of classical song in their signature fresh, heartfelt, and entertaining style.  

A Woman Alone deals with a woman entrapped by domesticity and an abusive husband. The play moves through farce to tragedy to a shocking climax.

The New Black Fest and The Lark, two theater organizations dedicated to celebrating and advocating for stories that explore the intersection of art and social justice, are proud to announce the fifth annual The New Black Fest at The Lark. This week-long event is aimed at showcasing diverse and provocative work in a festival of Black theater artists from throughout the Diaspora, and will feature talkbacks, a panel event, and staged readings of four plays-in-progress. The festival will take place April 9-13, 2018, and will include works by 2017 Djerassi Writer in Residence France-Luce Benson (Deux Femmes On the Edge De La Revolution), 2018 Laurents/Hatcher Foundation Award recipient Donja R. Love (soft), 2015 Princess Grace Award-Winner Jonathan Payne (Brother Rabbit), and artist, activist, and The New Black Fest alum Liza Jessie Peterson (Sistergurls and the Squirrel) who has performed excerpts of her one-person play The Peculiar Patriot in over 35 penitentiaries across the country.

BRIC, the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, announces its 2nd Annual BRIC OPEN festival of arts and ideas, this year themed around Borders (April 26-29). The BRIC OPEN was borne in 2017 out of BRIC's core values of creativity, inclusion, and community, bringing people together to imagine a more equitable future through four days and nights of art, music, film, and performance; readings and conversations; and neighborhood tours and shared meals. This year's festival theme, Borders, reveals complex experiences of moving across geo-political and ideological borders, illuminates the way real and imagined borders intersect, and celebrates our capacity to create connection across boundaries. To maximize accessibility of the BRIC OPEN, all events are free and open to the public, subject to space availability.

Trevor Noah is the most successful comedian in South Africa. He is currently the host of Emmy and Peabody Award winning television show The Daily Show. In 2017 The Daily Show was nominated for a Writers Guild Award (Comedy/Variety Series). Noah also recently won Best Host at the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards as well as a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series for his hosting of The Daily Show. He returns to Australia for a national tour starting in Melbourne on 23 August.

For more than five decades the Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards together with Fleur du Cap Wines have been honouring excellence in theatre, at this theatrical spectacular that is a highlight of the Mother City's cultural calendar.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is ready to il-lumos-nate your mind, tug at your dragon heart strings, and most importantly, welcome you back home to Hogwarts as it begins previews tonight. Get to know the cast below as they begin Broadway performances!

Actor/writer/director and comedian Upasana Beharee has made it her mission to portray women's myriad of experiences on screen; in provocative work that often deals with hypocrisy in society, she explores themes like female sexuality and how society wants to dictate what a woman's sexuality should look like.

The Geffen Playhouse today announced the full cast for its production of Joshua Harmon's (Bad Jews) critically-acclaimed hit play, Significant Other, directed by Stephen Brackett. The cast features Melanie Field (Paramount Network's Heathers) as Laura, Vella Lovell (CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) as Vanessa, Preston Martin as Zach/Evan/Roger, Keilly McQuail (Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) as Kiki, John Garet Stoker (CBS's Code Black) as Will/Conrad/Tony, Concetta Tomei (Deep Impact) as Helene Berman and Will Von Vogt as Jordan Berman.

The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago, partnering with national and local community organizations, artist practitioners and scholars, continues its B-Series, a biannual celebration of hip hop and street dance, with Under 1 Roof: A House & Hip-Hop Convergence featuring B-Bout It, a street-dance jam and battle. Partnering with Kuumba Lynx, Urbanized Music, BraveSoul Movement, Modern Dance Music Research and Archiving Foundation, New Rhythm Arts Center and The Community Schools Program, the B-Series presents a mini hip-hop and street dance festival featuring presentations, workshops, dialogue sessions and a community dance jam and competition.

A courageous musical reverie that propels audience members through the joy of '80s power ballads, spontaneous rap and the low- key Millennial angst of modern pop, Wanda and Mel is a cathartic journey that navigates the turbulent waters of diversity, sacrifice and motherhood while being funny AF. Srsly fam, this show is frickidy-fresh - and guaranteed to appeal to mothers and daughters of any age.

Mean Girls is taking Broadway back to the clique-life of high school starting tonight! Get to know the cast below as they begin Broadway performances!

The League of Professional Theatre Women (Kelli Lynn Harrison & Lisa Rothe, Co-Presidents) will present the 2018 Theatre Women Awards at The TimesCenter (242 West 41st Streetbetween 7th and 8th Avenues) on Friday, March 16 beginning at 6:30pm. Tickets ($85-$250) are available for advance purchase at www.theatrewomen.org.

The 2018 McCammon Voice Competition judges have chosen the semi-finalists for the eighteenth biennial competition, to be held on March 16, 2018 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. The finals will be held March 17, 2018 at Bass Performance Hall. This year's competitors are David Araujo, Amanda Blue, Nicolette Book, Ryan Bradford, Rachael Braustein, Kathleen Buccleugh, Chelsea Coyne, Danielle Davis, Peter Scott Drackley, Helen Huang, Hao Hu, Emily Michiko Jensen, Abigail Kempson, Chonghwa Kim, Abigail Levis, Brandon Morales, Elizabeth Moran, Langelihle Mngxati, Chong Yoon Noh, Brittany Nickell, Yulan Piao, Anthony Reed, Michael St. Peter and Andrew Wannigman.

PRIMARY STAGES (Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Shane D. Hudson, Executive Director; Casey Childs, Founder) is proud to announce its complete 2018/19 Season, which will kick off in Fall 2018 with FINAL FOLLIES, by A.R. Gurney (Love Letters, Sylvia, Black Tie at Primary Stages) and directed by David Saint (Clever Little Lies). DOWNSTAIRS by Theresa Rebeck ("Smash," Dead Accounts, Poor Behavior at Primary Stages), directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt (What We're Up Against) in November 2018 will star Tyne Daly (Mother & Sons, Master Class) and Tim Daly ("Wings," "Madam Secretary") sharing the New York stage for the first time. Early 2019 will bring GOD SAID THIS by Leah Nanako Winkler (Two Mile Hollow), directed by Morgan Gould (Kentucky); and the season will conclude in Spring 2019 with LITTLE WOMEN, written by Kate Hamill (Pride and Prejudice), based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott, and directed by Sarna Lapine (Sunday in the Park with George). Performance schedules, additional casting, and full creative teams will be announced at a later date.

The American Sephardi Federation's NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival showcases contemporary voices steeped in the history, traditions, and rich mosaic culture of Greater Sephardic communities. The ten-day Festival features premiere film screenings, intriguing stories, evocative documentaries, Q&As with filmmakers, as well as special honorees and guests. The Pomegranate Awards Ceremony on Opening Night celebrates Sephardi excellence in the arts. Past recipients include Senior Counselor to the King of Morocco Andre Azoulay, French-Algerian recording legend Enrico Macias, Kuwaiti star and human rights activist Ema Shah, and Morocco-Israeli poet Erez Bitton.

Based on the short story by Isak Dinesen (and made famous by the 1987 Academy Award-winning film), Babette's Feast will begin performances Wednesday March 14th at the Theatre at Saint Clement's (423 West 46th Street, between Ninth & Tenth Avenues) for an open-ended Off-Broadway engagement.  Opening Night is set for Sunday March 25th (5pm).  The performance runs 90 minutes with no intermission.