Nailah is a filmmaker intrigued and inspired by the enduring human spirit, whose films span fiction and nonfiction. Her acclaimed work has been distributed domestically and internationally on the film festival circuit, theatrically and televised.
A rare talent who grabs you by the heart and says “Recognize” – Poet, author, performer, songwriter, community “Artivist,” voice over artist, speaker and emcee, Bettina “Poet Gold” Wilkerson is pushing the boundaries of poetry and the spoken word. Living with a chronic illness since childhood, Poet Gold, or as she is affectionately known, “Gold”, brings a soul-searching insight about the human existence, love, dreams, challenges, and triumph.
Lydia Y. Nichols is a multidisciplinary writer native to New Orleans. Her work explores the lived experience, ancestral memory, and historical imagery of race and their impacts on our mobility within the bio-social ecologies of the Americas. Lydia’s art criticism and creative non-fiction have been published in 64 Parishes, Bayou Brief, A Gathering of the Tribes Magazine, theGrio.com, The Lens, Pelican Bomb, and Signals Magazine and on her now-inactive blog modern maroon. Independent Curators International, The National Performance Network, The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, the Platforms Fund, and A Studio in the Woods have supported her work with awards, a fellowship, and a residency. Lydia will make her playwrighting debut in Spring 2022 with Don’t Look Away, a speculative dark comedy audio drama, commissioned by No Dream Deferred NOLA Theater Company.
Sabby is a story about family.
Written by Jessica Lozano. Directed by Lauren E. Turner, and featuring Ilyanette Bernabel as Oralia, Denise Frazier as Norma and Philip Yiannopoulos as Enrique, with sound design and original music by Asher Griffith. This show is produced by Ann McQueen and Asher Griffith with production assistance from Ilyanette Bernabel.
This is the second installment of our show, and we are so happy to present a short piece written by the host of this show and leader of the writer’s lounge herself, Ann McQueen. St@ined is the story of two sisters with a family secret that both of them struggle to bear in very different ways. Directed by Chivas Micheal and starring Constance Thompson and Idella Johnson.
We are so happy to announce the inaugural episode of Writer’s Lounge, hosted by Ann McQueen and featuring an interview with James Ijames! James is a playwright, performer, director and educator. His plays have been produced by Flashpoint Theater Company, Orbiter 3, Theatre Horizon, Wilma Theatre, The National Black Theatre and Steppenwolf to name just a few. Join us!
