I’m a director, actor, playwright, and teaching artist with over 25 years of experience on and around the stage. My passion lies in synthesizing theatre, American history, and social justice to create meaningful experiences for myself and others. Throughout my career in Washington, DC and Buffalo, NY, I’ve remained dedicated to using the arts as a powerful tool for education, community building, and positive change.
Theatre Practice
Stage experience includes productions with Round House Theatre, Studio Theatre, African Continuum Theatre, Washington Shakespeare Company (now Avant Bard), Imagination Stage, and Theatre Alliance. Favorite productions include CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY by Lynn Nottage, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING by William Shakespeare, FROM THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA by Dr. Endeasha Ida May Holland, MUFARO'S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS by Karen Abbott (based on the book by John Steptoe), LOVE AND ANGER by George Walker, and August Wilson’s JITNEY.
Directing work includes LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR AND GRILL by Lanie Robertson, DISGRACED by Ayad Akhtar, EVERYBODY by Branden Jacobs Jenkins, MY VESSEL by Dior Ashley Brown, WTF HAPPENED TO BABY SISTER?!! by Thembi Duncan, and YELLOWMAN by Dael Orlandersmith.
Leadership
Leadership positions include serving as Director of Arts Engagement and Education at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, Creative Programs Director of Young Playwrights’ Theater, Producing Artistic Director of African Continuum Theatre Company, and Lead Teaching Artist at historic Ford’s Theatre.
Highlights and Recognition
Recent highlights include recognition as the Keynote Speaker, 2023 Arts Services Inc. Creative Professionals Exchange; Co-recipient, 2022 Best of WNY Award for Best Theater Education Programming with Second Generation Theatre; Recipient, 2022 Mayor Byron W. Brown Black History Month Art Award; Co-recipient, 2021 Arts Services Inc. Spark Award for Arts Integration with the Buffalo Police Department; Member, Leadership Buffalo Class of 2020; and 2019 Cullen Foundation Arts Leadership Fellow.
Community
Adjudication and mentorship experiences include projects with the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Prince George’s County Theatre Festival, the Mead Theatre Lab Program, the Junior Theater Festival, and National History Day. I proudly served on the TheatreWashington Helen Hayes Awards Board of Governors for two terms and co-founded the biannual Black Theatre & Dance Symposium at the University of Maryland with UMCP Head of Performance, Scot Reese.