Burnt-out social worker Anne Simpson wants to retire on a high note, when a gifted twelve-year-old, Chee-Chee, from the last "projects" in Anne's gentrified Harlem neighborhood, collides into her life and forces her to confront the shadows of her past. Much to his mother Latonya's chagrin, Chee-Chee and Anne develop an unconventional friendship, leading to an explosive encounter that threatens Chee-Chee's future. This compelling new play asks us to confront the class and cultural divides in New York's most prominent black community.
Directed by Niegel Smith
Biography
Niegel Smith is a founding member of 425D, a director’s lab. His New York directing credits include SEED (Classical Theatre of Harlem and Hip Hop Theater Festival), Neighbors (Public Theater), Ether Steeds (Fringe Award – Best Ensemble), We Declare You a Terrorist (SPF), Metro Psalm, Rainy Days & Mondays (Fringe Award – Fringe Encores), Maud– The Madness (Phoenix Ensemble Theatre), One For The Road and LIMBS: A Pageant (HERE). He is Associate Director to Bill T. Jones on the new musical FELA! and has assisted directors Jo Bonney, James Lapine, Kristin Marting, Richard Nelson and George C. Wolfe. Niegel, a graduate of Dartmouth College, has received grants and fellowships from Theater Communications Group, the Van Lier Fund, and the Tucker Foundation.
Written by Radha Blank
Biography
Radha Blank (Playwright) Radha Blank finds inspiration in the spirit of her native New York, the pulse of Hip Hop and the voices of underserved communities across the nation. Awards and Fellowships include New Professional Theatre’s Writers Award, NY Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, Nickelodeon’s Writers Fellowship, The Public Theaters Emerging Writers Group and most recently, The 2011 Helen Merrill Award for Playwriting. Her work has been developed and/or presented by The Classical Theater of Harlem, The City Parks Foundation, Dixon Place, Here, The Public Theater, The Lark, Voice and Vision’s Envision Retreat, The Hedgebrook Women Playwright’s Festival, Penumbra Theater, ACT Theater and several seasons of The NYC Hip Hop Theater Festival. Other plays include American Schemes, seed, HappyFlowerNail, nannyland, Reverb and Kenya for which The Village Voice called ‘riveting…immediately alive”. Seeing writing as a path to self-empowerment, Radha has instructed NYC youth in poetry and playwriting for over fifteen years. Her latest play, Casket Sharp, explores gang rites and death rituals in a decaying town
Praise for SEED
“The questions this play asks about race, social status, education, and family make it an important piece of theater.”
-BACKSTAGE CRITIC’S PICK
“This masterpiece of theater explores, challenges, and provokes us to take some action”
-NYTHEATER.COM
“the play illuminates the role of race, class, religion, the meaning of friendship and the breakdown of the nuclear family within the urban Black community in a realistic and insightful…manner.”
-DOMINION OF NEW YORK
The cOMPANY of SEED
Bridgit Antoinette Evans* (Anne Colleen Simpson) International: Suzan-Lori Parks’ VENUS (South Africa), Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls (South Korea), Midsummer Night’s Dream (Brazil). Off Broadway and Regional: Radha Blank’s SEED (Classical Theater of Harlem/HHTF), The Safety Net (Seattle Rep), Landford Wilson’s Moonshot Tape (Brava! Women for the Arts), Andrei Serban’s Taming of the Shrew (La Mama), Twelfth Night, Winter’s Tale (Colorado Shakespeare Festival), Our Country’s Good (Theater at Holy Cross), Kariuki’s Notebook (La Mama). Television/Film: “Law & Order: SVU”, Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled”, Rod Gailes “Camouflage”. Founder of Fuel | We Power Change, a creative studio that produces collaborations between artists and human rights organizations. Graduate of Stanford University (BA) and Columbia University (MFA). Proud member of AEA.
Jocelyn Bioh* (Latonya) is thrilled to be a part of this production of SEED. Previous Theatre credits include: Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet (City Theatre – PA), American Schemes (SummerStage NYC), Neighbors (The Public Theater), Lightskin/Darkskin (Regional Tour). Workshops/Readings at The Public Theater, Soho Rep, Lark Play Development, New York Theater Workshop, Primary Stages, The LABryinth Theatre Co. and The O’Neil Center. Television: One Life to Live. Former Spokesmodel for CoverGirl Queen Collection. BA in English and Theatre from The Ohio State University. MFA in Theatre – Playwriting from Columbia University. For Jackie and Tolu. All my love to my CC.
Jaime Lincoln Smith* (Twan) New York Theatre: RUINED, LIGHTS RISE ON GRACE, SEED, BIRTHRIGHT. Regional: MARCUS; OR THE SECRET OF SWEET. TV/Film: LAW & ORDER, HUMAN GIANT, AS THE WORLD TURNS, KNIGHTS OF PROSPERITY, SHADES OF BROOKLYN, REMEMBER THE TITANS, 14O85, LECTERNS
Khadim Diop (Che-Che) is an American thespian and songwriter. He has appeared in numerous NYU and Columbia University short films such as Lee, Gowanus 83, Elotes, and Play, as well as other independent film projects. Khadim made his stage presence felt as early as preschool with his performances at The Learning Tree Cultural Preparatory School in The Bronx, NY, where he attended from then through the 8th grade. Gaining notability with his performances of The Black Man and Gulla, he joined the Academy Award Nominated IMPACT Repertory Theater in 2009. He is best known for his powerful rendition of Jamal Joseph Jr.’s poem “Frankenstein,” which was featured on TEDxTeen.
Pernell Walker* (Rashawn) hails from the South Bronx. Pernell is grateful and thanks God for allowing her to work with such passionate, profound filmmakers and theater artists. She holds a M.F.A in acting from Actor’s Studio Drama School and a B.A in Theater from City College. In movie theaters this fall, Pernell portrays Laura in the award winning focus feature’s film Pariahwww.pariahthemovie.com directed by Dee Rees (Sundance Official Selection 2011). In addition, this fall She will make her Off-Broadway Debut reprising the role of Rashawn in the world premiere of SEED. Other favorite roles include Speaker Three in Sistas On Fire (Act-Now Foundation), Lene/Dorey in the educational tour of Singin Wid a Sword in Ma Hand (Green Gurl productions), Film roles- Eve in Kiandra Park’s Riot, Mia in So Over You , Vanessa in Rod Gailes’ Earl’s Post Prison Playdate and Koroma in A Time in South Africa (2009 semi-finalist in Strawberry One Act Play Fest ival ) . Please feel free to join her fan page: facebook.com/PernellWalker.Artist
*Members of Actors Equity
PRODUCTION TEAM
Stage Manager – Marci Skolnick*
Assistant Stage Manager- Alex Brouwer*
Scenic Designer- Ken Larson
Lighting Designer – Colin D. Young
Sound Designer – Luqman Brown
Costume Designer – Emily De Angelis
Projections Designer – Kate Freer
Prop Master- Raphael Mishler
Technical Director/Production Specialist- Daniel Thomas
General Manager – Vincent DeMarco & Aaron Grant, Kelvin Productions
Associate Producer – Travis Ballenger
Company Manager – Tiffany Vega
Community Engagement – Hip-Hop Theater Festival
Marketing – Hip-Hop Theater Festival & Donna Walker-Kuhne, Walker International Communications Group
Press Representatives – Cheryl Duncan & Company Public Relations, Pitch Control PR and John Wyszniews
Design: Michael Shawn Cordero
THE PRODUCERS (in alphabetical order)
Classical Theatre of Harlem
The Mission of CTH is:
To maintain a professional theatre company dedicated to presenting the “classics” in Harlem;
To create employment and educational outreach opportunities in the theatre arts community;
To create and nurture a new, young, and culturally diverse audience for the “classics”; and
To heighten the awareness of theater and of great art in Harlem.
Since its founding in 1999, CTH has presented nearly forty productions that have included works by Anton Chekhov, Samuel Beckett, Euripides, Jean Genet, Langston Hughes, Adrienne Kennedy, William Shakespeare, Derek Walcott and August Wilson among many others.
CTH combines non-traditional casting, original adaptations, music and dance in ways that render works from the classical canon as fresh, innovative, and essentially a new experience of world classics.
It is CTH’s vision to create the next great American theatre company whose value to its community is inherent and essential, a company that is engaged in producing theatre that has the capacity to change lives and truly reflects the diversity of ideas and racial tapestry that is America.
http://www.classicaltheatreofharlem.org/
Hip-Hop Theater Festival
For a decade, Hip-Hop Theater Festival (HHTF) has showcased the stories, people, music, dance, and word of Hip-Hop live and on stage. All around the world HHTF is known as one of the most influential outlets showcasing Hip-Hop performing arts.
Hip-Hop Theater is live, professionally executed theater written by, for and about the Hip-Hop generation. Often using the elements of Hip-Hop culture (including MCing, DJing, Hip-Hop dance, graffiti and Spoken Word), Hip-Hop theater tells urgent stories seldom represented on stage, and through language that embraces Hip-Hop’s multi-literate and poly-lingual vitality.
HHTF’s mission is to fill the gaps in the arts and culture landscape by supporting innovative work from Hip-Hop and other urban forms of expression and to engage young people with this work through arts and education programs.
This production was sponsored in part by a $90,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.