2023-24: A season of new play development
LEADING TO PRODUCTION!
By RACHEL LYNETT
(World Premiere Production)
Directed by A. Lorraine Robinson
June 8 – 30, 2024
At Universalist National Memorial Church • 1810 16th Street, NW. Washington DC
More new work from our Voices From a Changing Nation series, looking back to the election of 2020, and forward to a whole new world!
A World Premiere full staging of one of America's freshest, most challenging voices, Rachel Lynett, author of last year's Yale Prize winning Apologies To Lorraine Hansberry (You Too, August Wilson), "Letters To Kamala" is set right before election night as three major political women in US history come to visit the Vice Presidential candidate to offer words of wisdom – which she will need. A powerful call to recognize powerful women of color throughout history who have made strides to shatter all kinds of ceilings in the world we live in, we meet CHARLOTTA BASS (played by Kendra Holloway), the first Black woman candidate for Vice President in the United States; CHARLENE MITCHELL (played by Fatima Quander) the first Black woman to run for president of the US; and PATSY MATSU TAKEMOTO MINK (played by Mariele Atienza), the first woman of color to be elected to the house of representatives and first Asian-American woman to run in congress and for president of the US.
The play offers a bracing history and thought-provoking meditation on group identity, allegiance, the cost of breaking barriers, and doing the thorny work of institutional change. The playwright asks, "What can we ultimately never compromise on?” The answer is this blistering play of tough love.
The hour-long "Letters..." is paired with the brand new "Dandelion Peace," commissioned by VFP. At an urban community garden, Moira struggles to preserve civility (and keep her status as garden president) as Zuri and Anita go head-to-head over "invasive species" and the right to grow weeds to make delectably-tasting wine. The result is all-out comic warfare about literal turf battles and the precarity of Women of Color in power – with plenty of sisterly squabbling. In the end, it’s the dangers posed by a manipulative, would-be, female dictator running for board president that poses the gravest threat to the community as the election approaches!
Letters to Kamala/ Dandelion Peace runs 120 minutes
(including one intermission)
MEET THE CAST
FATIMA QUANDER* (CHARLENE MITCHELL/ZURI)’s (AEA/SAG-AFTRA) credits include: FRESHH Inc. Theatre Company, DC Hip Hop Theatre Festival, Rep Stage, Everyman Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage Education, Theater of the First Amendment, Folger Elizabethan Theatre, Imagination Stage, and Discovery Theater; she has also performed in house and on tour with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Fatima is on the theatre faculty at The University of Maryland, College Park and works as a teaching artist with a number of programs throughout the DC area. A native Washingtonian, she received her MFA from Actors Studio Drama School in NYC and her BA from Beloit College in Wisconsin.
*Appearance courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association
KENDRA HOLLOWAY* (CHARLOTTA BASS/ANITA) is an actor, writer, and podcaster, and is grateful to share the stage with the talented cast and crew of Letters to Kamala & Dandelion Peace! Theater credits include Before It Hits Home (Billie Holiday Theatre), Stick Fly (Meadow Brook Theatre), and Salt Pepper Ketchup (InterAct Theatre/Passage Theatre). Notable television and movie credits include "The Best Man: The Final Chapters" (Peacock), "FBI" (CBS), "East New York" (CBS), "For Life" (ABC), and Definitely Divorcing (TVOne). Kendra is the recipient of the 2019 Andes Award for Favorite Female Performer in a Drama for her work at Meadow Brook Theatre. She holds a BA in Mass Media Arts from Clark Atlanta University. Holloway is also the creator and co-host of The Melanated Archives Podcast, which examines the lives and contributions of iconic black actors throughout history, available now on all podcast platforms.
*Appearance courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association
MARIELE ATIENZA* (PATSY MATSU TAKEMOTO MINK/MOIRA) is thrilled to be making her professional theater debut with Letters to Kamala/Dandelion Peace and is honored to play Patsy Takemoto Mink to help color Rachel Lynett’s timely words. Other theatrical credits include: Five Faces Oil on Canvas (Fishwive Productions & The Larking House Theatre), American Beauty (Bridge Production Showcase), UCB Improv (Upright Citizens Brigade), Angels in America (UCLA Theatre), and The Nutcracker (Placer Community Theatre). Mariele will be appearing in “Movie Star” which will be premiering at the Cannes Short Film Festival later this year. Further film credits include “Knowing You” (Lead/Short film), “In, On, At” (Lead/Indie Feature), “Super Mephitic” (Lead/Short); “Lion Eater” (Supporting/Short); “Swim Free” (Supporting, CSUN Film) and Saint Vegas (Support/Short). A special acknowledgement goes to her family and friends who provided not only emotional support on her creative journey but a couch to crash on. Mariele also extends her deepest love and gratitude to her parents, Dee & Gina.
*Appearance courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association.
KENDALL ARIN CLAXTON (SWING - Charlene/Zuri/Charlotta/Anita) Hailing from Detroit, MI, Kendall Arin Claxton is an Alumna of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and has received her BFA from Point Park University’s Conservatory of Performing Arts. Her earlier credits include The Bluest Eye (as Claudia), Uncle Tom’s Cabin as Topsy, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings as Young Maya (Prime Stage). In her career as a DC artist she has appeared in Season of Lights (Discovery Theatre), Page to Stage reading of the Velveteen Rabbit (Doctor) at the Kennedy Center, FRESHH Inc’s Next to Kin Festival, Crowns (as Yolanda) at the Creative Cauldron, Anacostia Playhouse’s Black Nativity, and Discovery Theater’s Lions of Adventure (Madame CJ Walker). Her proudest work is the self-produced one-woman show Epiphany: A Journey to Yes. Some film credits include BET’s “Angrily Ever After” (Bartender) & “Hear Me Say My Name” produced by Kelly Gardner. She expresses great gratitude to Voices Festival Productions for the opportunity to share such a significant and life changing story of black women who shook history! Her faith in Christ and love for people compels her approach to art, with community in mind, she always reminds herself – it’s an US thing! (2 Corinthians 5:21)
HELEN CHENG MAO (SWING - Patsy/Moira) is delighted to be working with Voice Festival Productions for the first time. She was last seen onstage as Monkey in Little Theatre of Alexandra’s reading of Frances Charlie Chan Jr.’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery. Other theater credits include Macbeth (The Rude Mechanicals); Banana Brains; Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus; and A Black & White Cookie (all at Silver Spring Stage); The Emergency Room (Bowie Center for the Performing Arts); Young Frankenstein (Carroll County Community College); The Nutcracker (Olney Theatre Center); and Rated S Sketch Comedy (StageCoach Theater). Helen is also a playwright whose plays and monologues have been produced (in person and virtually) by theaters across the US and in the UK. Some can be seen on her YouTube channel. In addition to working as a freelance writer, proofreader, and editor, Helen instructs clinical skills to healthcare professionals as a standardized patient and physical exam teaching assistant. She can be reached at www.linkedin.com/in/helencmao. Much love and thanks to David, Alexandra, Elizabeth, family and friends!
MEET THE CREATIVE TEAM
RACHEL LYNETT (PLAYWRIGHT) (she/they) is a queer Afro-Latine playwright, producer, and teaching artist. Their plays have been featured at San Diego Rep, Magic Theatre, Mirrorbox Theatre, Laboratory Theatre of Florida, Barrington Stage Company, Theatre Lab, Theatre Prometheus, Florida Studio Theatre, Laughing Pig Theatre Company, Capital Repertory Theatre, Teatro Espejo, the Kennedy Center Page to Stage festival, Theatresquared, Equity Library Theatre, Chicago, Talk Back Theatre, American Stage Theatre Company, Indiana University at Bloomington, Edgewood College, and Orlando Shakespeare Theatre. Rachel Lynett is also the 2021 recipient of the Yale Drama Prize for their play, Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry (You Too August Wilson). Lynett was 2021 recipient of the National Latinx Playwriting award and the runner-up for the 2022 Miranda Family Voces Latinx Playwriting Competition for their play, Black Mexican. Their play, White People by the Lake was also a 2022 Blue Ink Award finalist. Lynett was recently a staff writer for The Winchesters and is working on an upcoming feature.
A. LORRAINE ROBINSON (DIRECTOR) & VFP’s Artistic Producing Partner (she/her) is an award-winning theatre director, dramaturg, and community arts educator. She was Artistic Producing Director of MuseFire Productions, a (501c3) not-for-profit theatre & film company dedicated to multimedia and stylistically challenging work (especially voices of women & individuals of color). Recent Projects include: Director - #Charlottesville and Apologies to Lorraine Hansberry (You Too, August Wilson) [VFP]; The Piano Lesson & Raisin in the Sun [Sitar Arts Center]; Let Me Down Easy and Baltimore [St. Mary’s College of MD], Pott Odds and You Were Mine (Transformation Theatre], Three Strangers Sitting Around a Backyard Firepit at Two in the Morning Listening to Bruce Springsteen's NEBRASKA [Bob Barlett site-specific production]. Dramaturg - TopDog/Underdog [Avant Bard]. She received the Central Ohio Theatre Critics Circle Award: Best Director and Best Production for The Laramie Project (Contemporary American Theatre Company.) In 2017, 2018 and 2019 she received Tony Award: Excellence in Theatre Education Honorable Mention Awards. Memberships: BTN & SDC (associate). Lorraine is also a Board Member & Associated Artist with Transformation Theatre Company. Her full bio
can be found on our Producing Partners page.
DAVID ELIAS* (PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER) has also been SM for VFP's Home?, #Charlottesville, and a half-dozen readings the theater has done over the past year. He recently played Weller Martin in The Gin Game at Compass Rose Theater in Annapolis. David, who is based in the DC area, has been acting and stage managing for 30 years, working with Theater J, Wayside Theatre, Metrostage, Transformation Theatre, Spooky Action Theater, Totem Pole Theater, Edge of the Universe Theater, Theater of the 1st Amendment, Bay Theater, and many more. For over 20 years he has been teaching Voice, Acting, and Script Analysis at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. He has thought about retiring, but as he would continue working in theater as a hobby, sees absolutely no reason to do so.
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association
KHALID Y. LONG (DRAMATURG), PhD, is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Howard University. A scholar, dramaturg, and director, he specializes in African American/Black diasporic theatre, performance, and literature through the lenses of Black feminist/womanist thought, queer studies, and performance studies. Accordingly, his work addresses the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality within marginalized and oppressed communities. He is a co-editor of Contemporary Black Theatre and Performance: Acts of Rebellion, Activism, and Solidarity and has published in several journals and edited collections, including The Cambridge Companion to African American Theatre (2nd edition) and The Routledge Companion to African American Theatre and Performance. Khalid is a freelance dramaturg and his credits include Relentless by Tyla Abercrumbie, Two Trains Running by August Wilson, Kill Move Paradise by James Ijames, Sunset Baby by Dominique Morisseau, and Sweat by Lynn Nottage.
SUNSHINE DE CASTRO (LIGHTING DESIGNER) is a lighting designer and electrician from Batangas, Philippines with a Californian upbringing. For her, light is an essential storytelling vehicle. It is one of the first things we experience when we are born. She hopes to continue in the innately human tradition of storytelling; playing, exploring, and exemplifying it through light. Sunshine is committed to emphasizing equity and diversity in her work. Her undergraduate thesis “Lighting Design for All Skin Tones” was most recently presented at the Juilliard School in collaboration with their Office of EDIB. Recent design/technical credits include Lighting Design Fellow (Hell’s Kitchen, Broadway), Assistant Head Electrician at the Juilliard School (Importance of Being Earnest, Later the Same Evening), Lighting Supervisor at the Santa Fe Opera (Apprentice Scenes), Lighting Designer at the Madera Theatre Project (Anna in the Tropics), Lighting Designer at Fresno State (The Pillowman, Electricidad).
sunnydoeslighting.com
VENUS GULBRANSON (CO-LIGHTING DESIGNER) is a proud Filipino lighting designer based in Brooklyn. Most recent notable works include Broadway’s New York, New York with legendary Ken Billington, Susan Stroman, and John Kander; and Woolly Mammoth Theatre’s production of My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion in collaboration with Wilma Theatre where she received her second Helen Hayes Nomination and featured on Live Design Magazine’s Plot of the Week. Venus's work has been seen at Arena Stage, Signature Theatre, The Public, Ford’s Theatre, The Kennedy Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Santa Fe Opera, and more. She is a member of United Scenic Artists 829 and is an advocate for underrepresented artists in the industry. Current goals include learning to be an average tennis player, and becoming a dog-parent with partner, Kiera. venusgulbranson.com
DARYL EISENBERG (CASTING DIRECTOR) (she/her) is Owner of Eisenberg Casting - an Artios-nominated full-service casting office. Eisenberg Casting is a fast-paced, bi-coastal casting office with extensive experience casting for Film, TV, Broadway, Theater, Commercials, Voiceover, and New Media. Daryl Eisenberg creates a comfortable space for actors to take risks and re-imagine their potential as artists in a progressing industry. Eisenberg Casting connects talent to clients with thoughtfulness and vision while maintaining an efficient and enjoyable process for the artists on both sides of the table. Daryl has covered nearly all the major and minor markets coast-to-coast and her films have played major festivals such as Sundance, Venice, Tribeca, TIFF, SXSW, San Diego, Cleveland, Atlanta, Soho, and have also received distribution theatrically and streaming. In addition to film and television, Eisenberg Casting is also represented strongly in the theater industry, having cast stage productions for Broadway, off-Broadway, National Tours, and major regional theater houses. Daryl is the chair of the Somerset County Film Commission and is a former Watchung Borough Councilmember. She was awarded the 2021 Eleanor Roosevelt Volunteer Service Award by the Somerset County Federation of Democratic Women. Daryl was listed in the Insider 100: Millennial Power List and is a recipient of the Somerset County Business Partnership Top 40 Under 40 Award. Daryl has taught at schools and institutions around the country. She holds a BFA from Tisch School of The Arts/New York University and Playwrights Horizons Theater School. Member of Casting Society of America. @EBCastingCo. www.ebcastingco.com
CHITRA SUBRAMANIAN (CHOREOGRAPHER) is an Indian American dancer, choreographer, and educator residing in Washington, DC. A Pittsburgh native and originally from South India, Chitra currently teaches, choreographs, and performs with a collective of artists called chitra.MOVES.
Her aesthetic draws from Hip Hop and Bharathanatyam foundations to tell stories, elevate artists, and meaningfully engage unseen and new audiences. Chitra's life-long love for Hip Hop culture and community work was forged through nonstop club gatherings of music, dance, and fellowship. Heavily influenced by her immigrant roots and her love for Hip Hop, Chitra has cultivated a depth of experience in youth work, teaching, choreography, performance, and learning.
Most recently, Chitra created/performed an evening-length work, “TEMPLE,” which sold-out three shows. Chitra currently curates and teaches for the Rooting the Dance Hip Hop Dance Class Series. It spotlights the diverse stories and talents of women and femmes in the DC street dance scene and offers a consistent, high-quality training ground.
Chitra’s dance work has also been presented at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Ladies of Hip-Hop Festival, Joe’s Movement Emporium, Dance Place, The Kelly Strayhorn Theater, and Three Rivers Arts Festival.
BRANDEE MATHIES (COSTUME DESIGNER) has been Studio’s Costume Shop Manager since 1994. He is a Helen Hayes nominated costume designer for Nollywood Dreams at Round House Theatre & MountainTop. He has also costume designed Passover, Mother Struck, This Is Our Youth, The Year of Magical Thinking, Stoop Stories, Rimers of Eldritch, A Number, The Syringa Tree, and Comic Briefs for Studio Theatre, as well as Moth, Contractions, A Beautiful View, Crestfall, and Polaroid Stories for Studio 2ndStage. Other DC area credits include Costume designed: One in Two, Birds of North America, Satchmo at the Waldorf, Hooded for Dummies, Blood Knot, Eureka Day, Shame, Vicuna, Inhered the Windbag at Mosaic Theater (Costume Design); Pankr’ac 45 at Atlas Theatre (Costume Designer) This Girl Laugh, Black Nativity, This Bitter Earth at Theater Alliance. (Costume Design) Sonnets and Soul, Anything Goes and & Black Nativity at Howard University; (Assistant Designer) The Wiz at Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Blues for an Alabama Sky and Sunday in the Park with George (Firsthand) at Arena Stage; and Black Nativity (Assistant Designer) at The Kennedy Center. Costume design Government movie (The AD-X2 Controversy).
HEIDI CASTLE-SMITH (SET DESIGNER) has worked as both a set designer and scenic artist in and around the Washington DC area. Currently she is the Visiting Assistant Professor of Scenography at St. Mary's College of Md where she teaches and designs their main stage productions. She is also the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic director of Transformation Theatre Company. Other design credits include, Tender (Transformation Theatre Company and best of Fringe 2023 by DC Metro Theatre arts) These Shining Lives for The Arts Collective @ HCC (made the "Best Of" list for DC Metro Theatre Arts in the category of Set Designer), Spring Awakening, A Year with Frog and Toad, Peter Pan, and Dogfight (Red Branch Theatre Company), Assassins, Mother Courage and Lear’s daughters (Black Box Student Theatre at University of MD), and multiple summer seasons as a company member for the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company.
TYRA BELL (PROPS DESIGNER/ASST. SET DESIGNER-SCENIC) is a Scorpio and native Washingtonian who loves roller skating. She currently works as a prop shop supervisor at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland and has been working in theater the past 5 years. Occasionally, she also works at Anthropologie as an unofficial assistant display artist, building unique, whimsical installations throughout the store. She has spent many years at Sitar Arts Center on both the mural and musical team and has become a skilled painter and resourceful craftsman. Recently, she became an active member in the Local 22 IATSE stagehand union, and occasionally helps to prepare for concerts or Broadway shows. Tyra has a degree from Rhode Island School of Design in furniture design. Someday she hopes to have her own practice as a sculptor in the DMV, but currently loves the fast paced, high-energy atmosphere in theater. In quiet hours you can find Tyra wearing overalls and crocs or under a blanket watching episodes of 90210.
David Lamont Wilson (SOUND DESIGNER) is thrilled to be making his debut with Voices Festival Productions. He is especially thrilled to be working with Ari, Lorraine and this fantastic cast and crew. Wilson’s most recent sound designs include this season’s critically acclaimed production of Confederates at Mosaic Theater, Chicken & Biscuits at the Virginia Repertory Theatre and the off Broadway production of ”Queens Girl In The World” for Abingdon Theatre Company and "School Girls, Or The African Mean Girls Play for Hangar Theatre Company. Favorite sound designs include the Atlanta Alliance Theatre production of "The C.A. Lyons Project" (Suzi Bass Award nominated), “Wig Out” at Studio Theatre, The Welder's "Not Enuf Lifetimes," Charter Theatre’s production of “Am I Black Enough Yet?,” “Dead Man Walking” at American University, and “Titus” for the Washington Shakespeare Theatre. His resume also includes designs at the Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre, Arena Stage, Imagination Stage, the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, Catholic University, and Georgetown University to name a few.
GRACE O. GYAMFI (ASM) (She/Her) is a Ghanaian-American actress and multidisciplined artist excited to join VFP for the first time. Grace has previously worked at the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, first as a Supplemental Extra in “The High Ground”, and secondly as a Production Script Assistant in “Tempestuous Elements.” Grace has a minor in Drama from the University of Virginia and has completed courses at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. For her, artistry is thought-provoking and a reflection of greater society. For that reason, Grace has found herself in several different behind-the-scenes roles. Grace also enjoys singing, modeling, writing, and dabbling in video content creation.
ETHAN HART (ASST. DRAMATURG) is a junior BFA Musical Theatre student at Howard University and is thrilled to be the Assistant Dramaturg for this production. His previous dramaturgical work includes the program note for Howard University’s production of Black Nativity. Professional Theatre: NextStop Theatre’s Ride The Cyclone. Howard University: Sonnets and Soul, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Heathers The Musical. Ethan is grateful for his family, friends, and professors who have helped him grow as an artist and a person. He thanks everyone for coming to the show and hopes they enjoy. @eethanharttt