2023 Season "Overcoming"Celebration Arts Presents |
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BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK |
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| June 2 - 25, 2023 | ||
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Directed by |
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Lynn Nottage |
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James Ellison III |
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Rachel Powell |
David J. Stewart Alex Nye |
Jim Last |
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OUR MISSION
Celebration Arts is a multicultural and multiple-discipline organization whose purpose is to support the development and presentation of the performing arts, making art accessible to community residents through training and performance opportunities.
COVID-19 SAFETY
Masks are recommended, not required. Please visit our website to stay up to date on our COVID-19 Health and Safety policies.
MOBILE PHONES + DEVICES
Please turn your phones off as you enter the theatre, prior to the performance.
VIDEOS + PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography, video, and recording devices are prohibited during the performance.
LATE ARRIVALS
As a courtesy to our performers and seated patrons,, late arrivals will be seated in a suitable location by our ushers when it is least disruptive.
PARENTAL GUIDANCE
This play includes mature language. Use discretion with young children.
ACCESSIBILITY
Wheelchair seating is available. For any other accommodations, please contact the theater in advance at 916.455.2787.
Cast/Creative
Carla Fleming
Carla Fleming is an acclaimed actor, singer, and songwriter with an extensive career in performing arts and commercial music. Her mission has been to blend her passion for entertainment with the power of her voice to effect change, and for over 15 years, she has uplifted listeners through music that gives insight without being preachy.
As an actor, she has appeared in various stage and film projects, including PIPELINE, POLAR BEARS BLACK BOYS, SPELL #7, BLACK PEARL SINGS, and WHAT TO SEND UP WHEN IT GOES DOWN with Celebration Arts.
Look for Fleming in Domestic Disturbance, her original musical chronicling the cycle of domestic violence, at Black Box Theatre, July 7 - 16, 2023. Based on the concept album of the same name, this new work features music, lyrics, and a book by Fleming (lyrics), Joe Archie (music), and Anthony D'Juan (book, direction). Learn more at carlafleming.net.
Michelle Champoux
Michelle Champoux takes great delight in performing in & around the Sacramento region. Her previous local productions include ADMISSIONS at Capital Stage, CALIFORNIA SUITE at Sacramento Theatre Company, and CRIMES OF THE HEART at Chautauqua Playhouse.
BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK is Champoux's debut performance with Celebration Arts, and she is both thrilled and honored to be part of the production.
She received her BA in Theatre/Dance from CSUS and attended American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco.
Shaquarrius Calloway
CARMEN LEVY-GREEN
After a five-year hiatus, Shaquarrius Calloway decided to pursue her passion for acting professionally. She has commenced studies at Studio 24 with the Placer Repertory Theater Company as an affiliate member.
Calloway has held roles in HAIRSPRAY, MUCH TO DO ABOUT NOTHING, RENT, and JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS. Most recently, she was in THE TAMING and WHAT TO SEND UP WHEN IT GOES DOWN.
She is excited to be part of BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK and can't wait for what comes next in her pursuit of acting.
Rachel Powell
AFUA ASSATA EJOBO
Rachel Ann Powell gives honor to the Creator for the gift of acting.
As a child, Powell caught the acting bug early in life and eventually graduated from San Francisco State University with a bachelor's degree in theater and an MBA.
She has performed in several plays in the Bay Area with The East Bay Players, including AIN'T SUPPOSED TO BE A NATURAL DEATH, written by Melvin Van Peebles and directed by Charlie Russell. More recently, she was in LIL HAM by Langston Hughes with The Black Repertory Theater.
She is ecstatic about her first production with Celebration Arts in BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK and hopes to pursue many more projects with us. In the future, adding "Playwright" to her accomplishments would be a dream come true.
David J. Stewart
HERB FORRESTER
David J. Stewart is a native of Oakland, California. It's been nearly a decade since he put down scripts and picked up a jackhammer and shovel as an "industrial athlete" in construction.
Stewart has worked with the Black Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, CA; The Lorraine Hansberry Theater; the Jean Shelton Actors Lab; and the Multi-Ethnic Theatre in San Francisco, CA.
BY THE WAY MEET, VERA STARK is Stewart's debut with Celebration Arts, and he is grateful to the CA team and fellow castmates for their support and encouragement in his journey.
Jim Last
BRAD DONOVAN
Jim Last is happy to make his debut at Celebration Arts with BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK.
He has been acting since 2019 and has performed in THE DINNER PARTY, ALL MY SONS, and FOUR WEDDINGS AND AN ELVIS. He also appeared in several short films, commercials, and industrial projects in Sacramento and the Bay Area.
A native of Green Bay, WI, Last has traveled extensively and lives in Rancho Cordova with his two sons.
Alex Nye
PETER RHYS-DAVIES
Alex Nye is a native of Sacramento who enjoyed acting in college.
Over the past year, he caught the acting bug again by performing improv on stage.
BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK is his first play with Celebration Arts, and he is excited to back acting in plays.
Lynn Nottage
Lynn Nottage is a noted playwright and screenwriter. She is the first and remains the only, woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice. Her plays have been produced widely in the United States and worldwide.
Most recently, Nottage premiered MJ THE MUSICAL, directed by Christopher Wheeldon and featuring the music of Michael Jackson, at the Neil Simon Theater on Broadway, CLYDE'S, directed by Kate Whoriskey, at Second Stage Theater on Broadway and an opera adaptation of her play INTIMATE APPAREL composed by Ricky Ian Gordon and directed by Bart Sher, commissioned by The Met/Lincoln Center Theater.
Her other work includes the musical adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's novel THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, with music by Duncan Sheik and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead (The Almeida Theatre/The Atlantic Theater), MLIMA'S TALE (Public Theater), BY THE WAY, MEET VERA STARK (Lilly Award, Drama Desk Nomination- Second Stage/Signature Theater), RUINED (Pulitzer Prize, OBIE, Lucille Lortel, New York Drama Critics' Circle, Audelco, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award- MTC/Goodman Theater); FABULATION, OR THE RE-EDUCATION OF UNDINE (OBIE Award - Playwrights Horizons/Signature Theater); CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE OF JOY, LAS MENINAS, MUD RIVER STONE, POR'KNOCKERS, AND POOF!
Nicole C. Limón
Nicole C. Limón is an actor, director, playwright, dramaturg, and theatre faculty at CSU, Sacramento. She is the founder of Matriarchy Theatre, a resident artist with Teatro Espejo, and has a special interest in directing diverse contemporary works for the stage.
Recent directing: EVERYBODY by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (CSUS,) QUANTUM by Tara Moses (Matriarchy,) DANCE NATION by Clare Barron (CSUS,) FADE by Tanya Saracho (Teatro Espejo,) BLOOD AT THE ROOT by Dominique Morisseau (Celebration Arts,) and WATER BY THE SPOONFUL by Quiara Alegría Hudes (Teatro Espejo.)
Her production of SWEAT by Lynn Nottage won six national awards at the 2021 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, including awards for Overall Production, Ensemble Collaboration, and Achievement in Directing.
She is a Theatrical Intimacy Director committed to creating consent-forward spaces for artists, a proud Stage Directors and Choreographers Society member, and a 2022-23 National Endowment for the Arts grant recipient through the City of Sacramento.
She holds an MFA in Acting from UC Davis and studied at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
*Associate Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, a national theatrical labor union.
James Ellison III
James Ellison III is a long-time actor, volunteer, and board member with Celebration Arts and is now serving as the theatre’s Artistic Director. A stage, television, and film veteran, Ellison has acted in productions throughout California ranging from community theater to professional productions.
A long-time visual and performing arts advocate, Ellison has been part of the Celebration Arts family for over 20 years, beginning with a 1 AM phone call with founder James Wheatley when he was 19.
Ellison will make his directorial debut this season with our final 2023 production, A RAISIN IN THE SUN. He dedicates his work in the theatre to his sister Yawanda and cousin Byron, who both passed away in October 2021.
KT Masala
KT Masala is an Educator, Mentor & Actress whom has performed with several productions with The MacBeth Project, Celebration Arts, California Musical Theater, MLK Projects, Theater First Company and African American Shakespeare Company.
KT is an ELLY nominee for Supporting Actress and a ELLY award winner. Ms. Masala also was the assistant director, stage manager, and light and sound engineer for multiple productions, as well as serving as a proud board member for Celebration Arts, the co-founder of The MacBeth Project, and Images Theater Company.
Additionally she founded Will Succeed Mentor Services and The Audition podcast. KT embodies an entrepreneurial spirit and has a Master’s degree in Educational Counseling.
Photos
Production Team
Stage Manager
Costume Designer
Karen "KT" Travis
Assistant Stage Managers
Des Silva
Derek Dozier
Ayla Dozier
Lighting Technicians
Denise Taylor
Cynthia Hamilton
Sound Technician
Derric McKinnie
Art Department
Tony Parker
Connie Jenkins
Marketing
Elizabeth Baidoo
Photography
Charr Crail
Videography
Story Lit Films
ABOUT CELEBRATION ARTS
Originally the Celebration Dance Company founded in 1976 by James Wheatley, Celebration Arts became a 501c3 organization in 1986. For more than 30 years, Celebration Arts continues to be a cornerstone of music, dance, and theater for the Sacramento region’s African American community bringing Black artists and stories to its stage at 2727 B Street. In addition, Celebration Arts provides educational programs to children through Kids’ Time and dance training for teens, adults, and seniors. More information can be found at celebrationarts.net.
James Wheatley
Founder
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Nicole Manker
Interim President
Executive Director
Kelly McDole
Vice President
Interim Treasurer
Voress Franklin
Secretary
James Ellison III
Artistic Director
Production Manager
Halifu Osumare, PhD
Development Advisor
Karen "KT" Travis
Event + Production Coordinator
Samuel Jenkins
Building + Facilities Advisor
Linda Goodrich, PhD
Leave of Absence
Elaine Douglas
Emeritus Advisor
