Who's Who
Cast
Technical Staff
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(Author) is the author of two Dear America books, Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, The Great Migration North and A Picture of Freedom: The Diary of Clotee, A Slave Girl. She was inspired to write A Picture of Freedom , because her great-great-great grandmother was a slave. She has written more than 60 books, including Christmas in the Big House, Christmas in the Quarters . Among her many awards are a Newbery Honor, a Boston Globe/Horn Book Award, a Jane Addams Book Award, four Coretta Scott King Awards, and an NAACP Image Award. Ms. McKissack lives in St. Louis with her husband, writer Frederick McKissack.
(Playwright) Originally from Yorktown, Virginia, Jerome Hairston received his BA from James Madison University and is a graduate of Columbia University's MFA playwriting program. His play a.m. Sunday premiered in the 26 th Annual Humana Festival at the Actor's Theatre of Louisville and was later produced at Center Stage in Baltimore. His > other plays include: L'Eboueur Sleeps Tonight , Forty Minute Finish , and Method Skin . His work has been developed and presented at theaters such as Playwrights Horizons, The Atlantic Theater Company, Hartford Stage, Arena Stage, The Underwood Theater, New York Stage and Film, as well as The Sundance Theater Lab, and The Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference. He was featured twice in the Young Playwrights Festival in New York (‘93, ‘94) and was also the recipient of the 1998 Kennedy Center/American College Theater Festival's National Student Playwriting Award. He has received commissions from The Kennedy Center, Baltimore Center Stage, The Guthrie Theater, The Public Theatre/NYSF, and Manhattan Theatre Club, where he was a 2001 playwriting fellow. He currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife > Cindy.
(Director) holds an MFA degree from Rutgers University in both acting and directing. He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Crossroads Theatre Company, which is based in New Brunswick, NJ and under his leadership, was recognized as one of the most important and prestigious professional theatres in America. On national television on June 6, 1999, Mr. Khan accepted the Tony Award on behalf of his company for "The Outstanding Regional Theatre in America," the first in history for an African American company; he was also one of the producing team of the Broadway hit musical, It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues , which was itself nominated in that same year for four other Tony Awards. Khan has mounted numerous new works in his directing career that were groundbreaking, including The Darker Face of the Earth by former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove, Flyin' West by Pearl Cleage, and Black Eagles by Leslie Lee, all of which were produced both on the Crossroads stage and in Washington, DC, at the Kennedy Center and the Fords' Theatre. Directing credits at other major theatres throughout the U.S. include the Negro Ensemble Company ( West Memphis Mojo ) and Manhattan Theatre Club ( Black Eagles ), the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon ( The Darker Face of the Earth ), the Apollo Theatre in Harlem ( Late Great Ladies of Blues and Jazz ), and the Village Gate in New York City ( And Further Mo' ). He is currently involved in an ambitious international musical stage collaboration with South African theatre artists on the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela.
(Scenic Designer) has collaborated on YFP's productions of The Light of Excalibur , Dreams in the Golden Country , The Emperor's New Clothes, The Great Quillow and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse . His recent designs include Anna In the Tropics at Portland Center Stage; The Sea Gull and Arcadia at Rep Stage; Mary's Wedding with Theatre Alliance; Merlin and the Cave of Dreams for Imagination Stage; The Odyssey of Telemaca at Theatre of the First Amendment; The Cripple of Inishmaan at Studio Theatre; Blues for an Alabama Sky at Berkshire Theatre Festival and Actors Theatre of Louisville; Jitney at Indiana Repertory Theatre; and The Comedy of Errors and Melissa Arctic at Folger Theatre. His work has also been seen at Arena Stage, Guthrie Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Delaware Theatre Company, Olney Theatre Center, City Theatre, and Signature Theatre, among others. Tony is a four-time recipient of the Helen Hayes Awards for Outstanding Set Design and holds an MFA in Design from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
(Costume Designer) spent two seasons as the Allen Lee Hughes fellow in costume at Arena Stage where she received the Thomas C. Fichandler Management Trainee Award for exceptional promise in costume design. She was also the resident designer for the African Continuum Theater and designed their productions of Blood Knot and The Wedding Dance performed in the AFI Theater last season. Past credits also include Yellowman at Arena Stage, Three Sistahs at MetroStage, A Clockwork Orange at The Studio Theatre Secondstage, and Tales of Hoffman for Maryland Opera Studio. Lindsay attended The Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, and received her MFA in Costume Design from the University of Maryland, College Park.
(Lighting Designer) is pleased to continue her association with YFP, having designed over a dozen shows for YFP over the last decade, including Leslie Bricusse and Tim McDonald's adaptation of Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka , YFP's production of Ken Ludwig and Don Schlitz's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , Ric Averil's The Emperor's New Clothes , Suzanne Farrell Stages the Masters of 20 th Century Ballet , Paulette Laufer's plays The Great Quillow and Little Women , as well as My Lord, What a Morning… , Red Badge of Courage , and Walking the Winds . She designs extensively around the region for diverse companies including Round House Theatre, Theatre of the First Amendment, Wolf Trap Opera Company, and Concerts from the library of Congress. Ms. Mountain serves as resident lighting designer for Bowen McCauley Dance ( www.bmdc.org ). She has taught lighting design at George mason University and at the University of Maryland, and is a member of United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 (IATSE).
(Properties Artisan) has served as properties artisan for many Kennedy Center Youth and Family Programs shows. Her credits include such diverse productions as Dreams in the Golden Country; The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ; The Snow Queen ; Little Women ; Alice in Wonderland ; The Nightingale ; Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and others; many of which have toured nationally. She has a Master of Fine Arts from Northwestern University and free-lances throughout the metro area.
(Sound Designer) recently moved to Washington, DC from Omaha, NE where he received a BA in Dramatic Arts from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. For 5 years he was the resident Sound Designer/ Composer for the Omaha Theater Company for Young People. He has designed/ composed for many productions such as the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , Babe the Sheep Pig and Stuart Little . He operates his own recording studio where he produces original music, sound design and web-based multi-media audio for such clients as Discovery Channel, TLC and BBC America.
(Production Dramaturg) is currently an Associate Editor for American Theatre Magazine. She has served as an artistic advisor/dramaturg for Sundance Theatre Lab 2000, where she worked on a musical based on Kafka's short stories (by Christopher Drobny; directed by Diane Paulus) and a new play about Carson McCullers (by Sarah Schulman; directed by Craig Lucas). She also worked with Ruth Maleczech in June of 2000 at the A.S.K. Theatre Projects' Creating Theatre from Non-traditional Sources Lab. She recently completed a class on dramaturgy for the Playwrights Horizons Theatre School. Before leaving to join American Theatre, she served as the Literary Manager and Dramaturg for Crossroads Theatre Company, the 1999 recipient of the Tony Award ® for Outstanding Regional Theatre. While at Crossroads, she worked with the writers of It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues , which was nominated for a Tony for best musical. Before Crossroads she served three years as the Consulting Dramaturg for The Cleveland Play House. While there she wrote and designed the Educator's Packets for student audiences and interviewed various writers and directors for the theatre's playbill. She has also been the Resident Dramaturg for Syracuse Stage and a Festival Dramaturg for the Kennedy Center's New Visions/New Voices 2000, 1998 and 1996 new-play workshops and for the New Harmony Project. Ms. Brown helped design and write Jazz Tracks, a jazz and cultural magazine program for the NPR affiliate in Cleveland. In its inaugural year, Jazz Tracks received The Ohio Educational Broadcasting association's award for Best Program in the state. Ms. Brown has served as a performance auditor for NYSCA and a Theatre Panelist/Theatre Evaluator for The Ohio Arts Council. Ms. Brown is a graduate of Dartmouth College and The Yale School of Drama.
(Production Stage Manager) returns to the Kennedy Center, having stage managed last years touring production of The Emperor's New Clothes . Christine was the resident stage manager for the 2002-2003 season at The Studio Theatre. There she stage managed productions of Privates on Parade , The Play About the Baby , Runaway Home , and A Class Act . Prior to that Christine lived in New York City and worked on several national tours including Romeo & Juliet and Footloose, the Musical . Other regional credits include The Rehearsal , Into the Woods , Sweeney Todd , How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying , and Twelfth Night . Christine holds an MFA in stage management from the University of Alabama/Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
(Recording Vocalist) is a vocalist, songwriter and actress. Her recent performances include a Featured Artist role for Royal Caribbean Cruises, Guest Artist and Background Vocalist for the BeBe Winans' Live DVD project and the European Tour of The Original USA Gospel Singers. She is currently performing with Disney Entertainment as a singer/actress for The Festival of the Lion King in Orlando, Florida.
(Freeman Love), President of Work-of Art Projects, LLC Film and Music Production Company, is a native of Washington, DC. Brooks was most recently cast as Negro League baseball legend Satchel Paige in Black Diamond , a Discovery Theatre Production for Smithsonian Institution Living Exhibits. He has appeared in films including At the Second Traffic Light , and on television in The Wire , K Street , The West Wing and The District .
(Tommy Braxton, Sheriff Bell), relative newcomer to the professional world of theater, is very excited to be working with the Kennedy Center's Youth and Family Program. Though he is working out of Washington, DC, Parker's most recent credits include Valentine in The Two Gentleman of Verona produced at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, Massachusetts and Joe Pitt in Angels in America produced at Davidson College in North Carolina. Other credits include understudying Verges in Much Ado About Nothing and supernumerary work for the Washington National Opera's production of Billy Budd.
(Olive Love) This is Aakhu's fifth project with the Kennedy Center. She played Sookey in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof starring George Grizzard and Mary Stuart Masterson, Mom in two national tours of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing , Mom in the national tour of Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse , and Candymaker in The Great Quillow . Other recent roles include Sister Margaret in Amen Corner (ACTCo), Rose Maxon in Fences (Everyman Theatre), Clara Kerr in The Great White Hope (Arena Stage) and Sue Bayliss in All My Sons (Arena Stage) with M. Emmett Walsh. "Gratitude to God, Deities, Ancestors, Family, Friends.”
(Nellie Lee Love) studied American history and theatre in college, so Color Me Dark is the perfect marriage of her favorite interests. She is thrilled to tell the story of such a remarkable family to an audience of new theatergoers. Favorite theater credits: Kilroy was Here; Euridyce; Cabaret and Main (Williamstown Theatre Festival), A Flea In Her Ear ; Love's Labour's Lost (Chautauqua Theatre Company), Fuente Ovejuna ; Woyzeck (Barnard College). Kelly can also be seen on PBS Kids' Cyberchase. A native of Milwaukee, WI, Kelly currently resides in New York City. Kelly thanks her friends, family and Noble for their unbelievable support. Enjoy the show!
(Rosie) Goldie is proud to be making her professional theatre debut in “Color Me Dark”. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Ms. Patrick received her BFA in theatre arts with a concentration in acting from Howard University. Dedicated to sharing the stories of women such as herself with the world, Goldie is truly excited to perform in such an important and exciting production such as Color Me Dark . A former host of BET's Teen Summit , Goldie has spent the last fifteen years of her life honing her passion for acting. Her love for theatre has taken her across the world, traveling and performing in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the production of Sarafina . Some of Ms. Patrick's other theatre credits include, Medea , Shakin the Mess Outta Misery , and A Liberating Prayer a love song for Mumia . Goldie is truly blessed and excited to perform in this beautiful story of family, perseverance, and love.
(Erma Jean Love) is a native Detroiter and a 2004 MFA graduate from The Shakespeare Theatre's Academy for Classical Acting. Audra Alise is very excited about Color Me Dark , her first show with the Kennedy Center, and extremely glad to share to love of children through theater. Other theater credits include Plowshares Theatre Company, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and The Old Globe of San Francisco. She would like to thank God, her family, loved ones and friends who support her in her dreams.
(Uncle Meese, Uncle Pace, Rev. Prince) a native of Cleveland, OH, has been performing theatrically since the age of 5. He received formal training at the Karamu House Theater and Cleveland State University where he majored in Music and English Education. His regional stage credits include Arena Stage and Hartford Stage Company, Crowns ; The Kennedy Center, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , the first national tour; Alexander Who's Not, Not, Not, Not Ging To Move ; Carmen Jones featuring Vanessa Williams; Debbie Allen's Soul Possessed featuring Patti LaBelle and Aurturo Sandoval; Signature Theater, Grand Hotel ; Karamu House Theater, The Black Nativity directed by Vinette Carol, The Swing Mikado , Once On This Island and Runaways ; The Cleveland Opera Company, Die Meistersinger , The Russian Project and Die Fleutermuse ; other credits include Gospel at Colonus with the H St. Playhouse; Amen Corner and Spunk , with the African Continuum Theater Company; The Wiz , Working , Bye Bye Birdie , The Roar of the Grease Paint the Smell of the Crowd and Westside Story . In February 2000, he was ordained an Elder in the Ministry of the Gospel, his greatest accomplishment. Proverbs 18:16 “ A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men”. He is excited for the opportunity to perform in Color Me Dark .
(Lighting Director), after receiving her MFA in Lighting Design from Wayne State University in Detroit, she toured with Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago as their Technical Director. She also worked with Blue Man Group Chicago, as well as designing the lights for several Chicago theatre companies, and is a Resident Lighting Designer at Wagon Wheel Theatre in Indiana. Jen toured with the Kennedy Center for The Emperor's New Clothes and she is excited to be out again with Color Me Dark.
(Wardrobe/Assistant Technical Director) is touring this season for the first time with the Kennedy Center's Imagination Celebration. She is very excited for this opportunity and is looking forward to her time with the company. Emily has had the opportunity to work with several theatrical companies in the past few years in many different aspects of technical theatre. Most recently she traveled to Idaho to work with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival. While in Boise she was also able to work as props master for the Boise Contemporary Theatre. Emily's theatrical credits include The Sound of Music, Shakespeare's As You Like It, Death of a Salesman and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
(Technical/Sound Director) is pleased to join Color Me Dark as his second national tour with the Kennedy Center. Aaron received his BFA in Theatre, emphasizing in lighting design and stage management, from the University of Montana at Missoula. He has worked previously at the Caldwell Theatre (Boca Raton, FL), Montana Repertory Theatre (Missoula, MT), Fort Peck Theater (Fort Peck, MT), and Western Washington University (Bellingham, WA). Some memorable productions include Baltimore Waltz , Oleanna , Pump Boys and Dinettes , and Clue the Musical . In his spare time he enjoys movies, travel, and night kayaking.
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* Color Me Dark: A Story of the Great Migration North is a professional production employing members of Actors' Equity Association
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The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts