Sun. November 14 -
This performance is dedicated to inviting Black communities to experience this piece together. We ask that if you do not identify as Black, you look to attend a different performance, and allow this to remain a space for the shared experience of Black communities.
How do Black artists, especially women who are typically asked to portray pain and trauma, leave that experience behind in the theater ? The discussion may provide clues for how to approach experiences in your own life.
Guests include Ann James (Sensitivity Specialist and founder of Intimacy Coordinators of Color), and Joy DeMichelle (Actor and Intimacy Coordinator).
Ann James has an extensive career in international stage direction and theatre education spanning over three decades. James recently made her debut as the first Black Intimacy Coordinator of Broadway for Antoinette Nwandu’s Pass Over. James is an expert in the burgeoning industry of intimacy direction and institutional consent culture for national arts organizations. In addition to her Broadway credit, she served as Intimacy Director and Sensitivity Specialist for the provocative Off-Broadway productions of Moises Kaufman’s Seven Deadly Sins by Tectonic Theatre Project and Seize the King produced by Classical Theatre of Harlem. On the West Coast, James provides consultation and intimacy coordination for the television and film industry most recently working with Rashida Jones, Mark Wahlberg, Issa Rae, Will Ferrell and Cynthia Enrivo. Her intimacy work has featured James as an expert voice for Theatre Communications Group, HowlRound, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, and Lincoln Center’s Directors Lab West. Her company, Intimacy Coordinators of Color, has partnerships with ArtsEquity, Actors Equity, The Broadway League and A.R.T./New York.
Joy DeMichelle (she/her) is a multi-passionate artist working to shift consciousness through dynamic, consensual storytelling. A few of Joy’s acting credits include: the upcoming US premier of Nine Night at Roundhouse Theatre, Aubergine at South Coast Repertory; Sweat (u/s) at Mark Taper Forum; Raisin in the Sun at Actors Theatre of Louisville; Blues for an Alabama Sky and Seven Guitars, at Denver Center Theatre, Piano Lesson, Spirit North and Harriet’s Return at Crossroads Theatre. Television credits: Snowfall, The L Word: Generation Q, I Think You Should Leave, Criminal Minds, Outlaw, and American Gun. Education: Under the tutelage of William “Bill” Esper, Maggie Flanigan and Harold “Hal” Scott, Joy earned her MFA from Rutgers University: Mason Gross School of the Arts and was the recipient of the prestigious Bettenbender Outstanding Performance Award. She earned her BFA from the HBCU, North Carolina A& T State University. Additional Training: Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE), Intimacy Stage and Screen (ISS), Intimacy Coordinators of Color (ICOC), Intimacy Directors & Coordinators (IDC) and Urban Zen Integrative Therapy (UZIT). She is a member of Screen Actors Guild (SAG/AFTRA), Actors Equity (AEA), Intimacy Coordinators of Color (ICOC). She is also the co-host of Live at The Lortel. Live at the Lortel is produced by the Lucille Lortel Theatre, amplifying the voices of artists who stand at the intersection of art and activism. JoyDeMichelle.com Instagram: @actingwithjoy
Information to be added as it becomes available.
Sun. November 21 - Guests and topics to be announced