Charly Evon Simpson
(PLAYWRIGHT, she/her) is a playwright and TV writer based in Brooklyn. Her plays include Behind the Sheet, Jump, form of a girl unknown, it’s not a trip it’s a journey, and more. Her work has been seen and/or developed with Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Lark, P73, The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Chautauqua Theater Company, Salt Lake Acting Company, and others. She is a recipient of the Vineyard Theatre’s Paula Vogel Playwriting Award and the Dramatists Guild’s Lanford Wilson Award. She is a core writer at The Playwrights’ Center and this fall, she will begin her seven year residency with New Dramatists. Charly has a BA from Brown University, a master’s in Women’s Studies from University of Oxford, New College, and her MFA in Playwriting from Hunter College.
Summer L. Williams
(DIRECTOR, she/her) is an award-winning director and Co-Founder/Associate Artistic Director of Company One Theatre in Boston, where she has directed more than 20 productions, including the world-premieres of Downtown Crossing and Leftovers; Wolf Play; Miss You LIke Hell (with OBERON at American Repertory Theatre); Wig Out! (with OBERON at A.R.T.); Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again; and An Octoroon and Colossal (2016 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director for both productions). Other credits include The Arboretum Experience at American Repertory Theatre, Daddy Issues at Salt Lake City Acting Company New Play Sounding Series, School Girls, or The African Mean Girls Play at SpeakEasy Stage Company, Smart People at Kitchen Theatre Company and Geva Theater; Barbecue at Lyric Stage Company of Boston (2018 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director); Bootycandy at SpeakEasy Stage Company; Intimate Apparel at Lyric Stage Company; the New England Premiere of We Are Proud To Present…; How We Got On; By The Way, Meet Vera Stark at the Lyric Stage Company; The Brothers Size and Marcus; Or The Secret Of Sweet (2012 Elliot Norton Award-nominated for Outstanding Production; 2012 IRNE Award for Best Play); Neighbors; Grimm; The Good Negro; Voyeurs De Venus (2009 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director); The Bluest Eye (IRNE and Elliot Norton Award nominated); The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot; Spell #7; Jesus Hopped The A Train (2004 Elliot Norton Award for Best Fringe Production); and Twilight: Los Angeles 1992.
Marinda Anderson
(ODESSA) Off-Broadway: The Cake (MTC), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Mobile Unit), Teenage Dick, Miss You Like Hell (The Public); The Treasurer, Bella: An American Tall Tale, A Life, Far from Heaven (Playwrights Horizons); Sex of the Baby (Access Theatre); Obama-ology (The Juilliard School). Regional: Airness (Humana); A Doll’s House (Huntington); Three Sisters (Playmaker’s Rep); Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Intimate Apparel (Dorset Theatre Festival); Fairfield (Cleveland Play House). TV: “A League of Their Own,” “New Amsterdam,” “High Maintenance,” “Madam Secretary,” “Gotham.” BFA: Howard University. MFA: NYU Graduate Acting Program. marindaanderson.com
Brittany Bellizeare
(ANGELA) is a native of Philadelphia who currently resides in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. Her New York City credits include an audio play Retreat (Constance) with National Black Theatre in Harlem, an interactive play In The Blue Hour (Emily) at La Maison d’Art Gallery in Harlem, Blacken the Bubble (Kanese) at Harlem School of the Arts, A Raisin in the Sun (Beneatha) at The Gallery Players and various festivals including The Fire This Time, 48 Hours in… Harlem, NY Fringe, and Samuel French. Regionally she’s worked at Chicago Shakespeare Theater as Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Two River
Theatre in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars (Ruby) and King Hedley II (Tonya), The Geva Theatre Center: The Magician’s Daughter (Miranda), The Portland Center Stage (Oregon) JAW Festival: three girls never learnt the way home (Edith), Baltimore Center Stage: Skeleton Crew (Shanita), The Guthrie: The Bluest Eye (Pecola), where she was named one of the Top 10 Actors of the Decade in The Star Tribune (Dec 2019), TheaterWorks Hartford: Sunset Baby (Nina), a co-production with La Jolla Playhouse and Berkeley Repertory Theatre: The Last Tiger in Haiti (Rose) [NAACP Theatre for Best Ensemble nomination] and Northern Stage: Its a Wonderful Life, a radio play (Mary) and The Mountaintop (Camae). Her TV credits include American Rust, The Blacklist, Eye Candy, and The Knick. For film she’s appeared in shorts “Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul” [which was featured on Issa Rae’s YouTube Channel for #ShortFilmSundays], “Everything Absolutely” and “But Rosita, I love you” to name a few. She received her MFA in Acting from The New School for Drama and her BS in Mathematics from Spelman College. www.brittanybellizeare.com
Andy Lucien
(JAMAL) is an artist and advocate originally from New York City, New York. He received both his bachelors and masters in theater. He has been featured in several TV shows including “The Blacklist,” “Madam Secretary,” “Elementary” and Netflix’s “Daredevil.” He has been a part of productions at Lincoln Center Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Berkeley Rep, La Jolla Playhouse and Studio Theater as well as the Grahamstown Theater Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa. Andy also wrote the article “Why I Broke Up with the American Theater” in which he details the permanent injuries he sustained performing in the show “The Rape of the Sabine Women by Grace B. Mathias.” In the years since this injury he has been a vocal proponent for actor safety and empowerment.
Rolonda Watts
(ADAH) For almost four decades, her name, face, and distinctive voice have been known by audiences everywhere, thanks to her many award-winning works in television, radio, film, digital media, comedy, and her romance suspense novel, DESTINY LINGERS, which is endorsed by Dr. Maya Angelou. Most know her by one name, Rolonda, under which she launched her own internationally syndicated talk show (1994-1998), produced by King World Productions in association with her company, Watts Works Productions. Years before her talk show, Rolonda was an Emmy Nominated investigative news reporter, anchorwoman and producer for Inside Edition, WABC-TV Eyewitness News, WNBC, New Jersey Nightly News, and WFMY-TV. Ro’s deep, rich, and raspy voice is one of the most recognized in the VoiceOver business where she is also a top voice coach with her Voice Acting Master Class. Rolonda was the Announcer and Promo voice for Divorce Court (FOXTV), Judge Joe Brown (CBS), The Daily Helpline and Temptation, the game show. In animation, Rolonda voices the role of Professor Wiseman on Curious George (Universal), Mary Sinclair in LEGO City Adventures, Madagascar, King Fu Panda, Cannon Busters, and stars with Tyler Perry in his first animated movie, Tyler Perry’s Medea’s Tough Love (Lionsgate) In video games, Rolonda is the voice of Warrior Priestess Illaoi in League of Legends. In TV & movies, Rolonda stars in the new MCLyte sitcom, Partners in Rhyme on ALLBLK and guest stars as Adaline Palmer, Chunk’s mother, on BULL (CBS). Ro was recently seen on Lifetime TV’s Psycho Nurse and My Daughter’s Psycho Friend and played the recurring role of FBI Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Melissa Meyers, on Criminal Minds (CBS) In stand up comedy, Ro has headlined from NY at Caroline’s on Broadway to The Comedy Store in LA, The Ice House, Flappers, Ha! Ha!, The Comedy Union, The J Spot and more. The McDonald’s Corporation honored Ro as “a Broadcast legend.” Facebook & Business magazine calls her “the queen of all media.” There are official “Rolonda Days” in New York City and Newark, New Jersey Rolonda holds degrees from Spelman College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and an Honorary Doctorate from Winston-Salem State University. Check out Rolonda’s podcast – Rolonda on Demand. Visit Ro’s website at rolonda.com. Follow Rolonda on social media @rolondawatts.
