AIN’T NO MO’ by Jordan E. Cooper / February Feature: February 13, 2017

Featuring:

About the Play:

Ain’t No Mo’ is an uproarious odyssey that portrays The Great Exodus of Black Americans out of a country that is plagued with injustice.

A kaleidoscope of scenes (One for each year of Obama’s presidency) lead us to the moments before, during and after this outrageous departure.

Blackboard Plays: What made you write this play?
Jordan E. Cooper: The day after Barack Obama’s election, I remember being in middle school, in my Texas History class and we discussed the historic moment. I remember beaming with pride, full of joy and optimism about my blackness and everything I could be. The conversation that we had in class, left with me coming back to my locker at the end of the day with a note: “Go Back To Africa”.  For years I’ve pondered on that moment and that overused phrase, until a few months back I sat down at my computer and thought… why not?

The reading will be followed by a twenty-minute talk-back

Wine / Refreshments provided

$10 Suggested (Reserve below)

About the Playwright:

JORDAN E. COOPER is an award winning playwright who lives in Brooklyn and is currently obtaining his BFA degree at The New School For Drama. His last play Black Boy Fly was voted ‘Best New Play’ by BroadwayWorld.Com. He can be seen starring in the critically acclaimed feature film WOLF, which is now available on Amazon and iTunes .His musical Alice Wonder premiered in concert previously this year at 54 Below.

About the Director:

STEVIE WALKER-WEBB is a director, multidisciplinary artist, and cultural worker. He is a Co-founder of the non-profit CAST where he served as Executive Director from 2006-2008. CAST creates theatre for social change. He has served as the Artistic Director of the Jubilee Theatre. He is currently a 2050 Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop. He received his MFA in Directing from the New School for Drama and holds a B.A. in Sociology and Performance Studies from the University of North Texas. Stevie is also a Hemispheric Institute Emerge-NYC alumnus where he trained in Theatre of the Oppressed. Stevie is a recipient of the Princess Grace Award- Gant Gaither Award for theatre (2015). Stevie has developed work with Samuel French OOB Festival, La Mama Experimental Theatre, Lincoln Center Education, TONYC, Theatre Row, Dixon Place HOT Festival, Baby Crow Productions,Home Base Theatre Collective, Wide Eyed Productions, Petit Jean Performance Festival, Jubilee Theatre, Texas Playhouse, New York Fringe Festival, and the American Civil Liberties Union. Stevie was born in Waco, Texas and is the creative love child of James Baldwin and Audre Lorde.

About the Cast:

Ramad Carter

Dria Danitra

Ebony Marshall-Oliver

Blake Morris

Blake Morris is thrilled to be collaborating with this amazing group of black artists & thinkers! The native Chicagoan recently completed his MFA in Acting at the University of California, Irvine, and believes that storytelling is the greatest act of self-love there is. He’d like to thank his family, classmates, and closest friends for their unwavering support.

 

Tasneem Nathari

New York Credits: Alice Wonder (Dir. Jordan E.Cooper) By The Way, Meet Vera Stark (Vera Stark, The New School for Drama, Dir. Lamin Leroy Gibba). She Kills Monsters (Tilly Evans, The New School for Drama, Dir. Glynis Rigsby). New Jersey Credits: The Color Purple (Nettie, Cicely Tyson Theatre, Dir. James Lemon). For Colored Girls (Lady in Blue, Cicely Tyson Theatre, Dir. Michelle Rae-Dudley). Hairspray (Dynamite 2, New Jersey School of Dramatic Arts, Dir. Gary Lynch). Most Likely To… The Superlative Musical (Tabbie, Cicely Tyson Theatre, Dir. Terri Gorgone).

Lili Stiefel