San Diego Black Artist Collective presents Black Lady Showcase

The Old Globe and
San Diego Black Artist Collective
continue their partnership
as the Globe names BAC
a resident artist group

Black Artist Collective
presents
Black Lady Showcase,
featuring new plays by Collective members
Joy Yvonne Jones and Andréa Agosto
and directed by Carla Banu Dejesus

Three performances only!
April 22 and 23 at 8:00 p.m. and April 24 at 7:00 p.m.
in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre

PHOTO EDITORS: Photos of Black Lady Showcase can be found here.

SAN DIEGO (April 15, 2022) — The Old Globe and San Diego Black Artist Collective (BAC) announced today that the two organizations will continue their partnership as the Globe names BAC a resident artist group. BAC will present Black Lady Showcase featuring three new plays by BAC members Joy Yvonne Jones and Andréa Agosto. Black Lady Showcase will be directed by BAC member Carla Banu Dejesus. The limited engagement will play for three performances only on April 22 and 23 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center. Single tickets are available by a suggested donation at www.TheOldGlobe.org/SDBAC. All proceeds benefit San Diego Black Artist Collective.

Black Lady Showcase features the following new plays:

In the Courtyard
By Joy Yvonne Jones
Directed by Carla Banu Dejesus

Four families sharing a courtyard in an apartment complex do their best to manage the chaos of their lives, but it all comes to light in the courtyard.

A Promise of New Life
By Joy Yvonne Jones
Directed by Carla Banu Dejesus

Ayesha is pregnant. What should be a time for celebration becomes rife with complexity as she and her husband Richard, a white police officer, are forced to face their cultural differences. Separated by COVID-19 and besieged by the realities of being Black in America, Richard and Ayesha look for common ground in counseling. A new life is immenent—how will it be greeted?

Quick Change
By Andréa Agosto
Directed by Carla Banu Dejesus

Two Black creatives do okay on their own but are trying to navigate more lucrative and prestigious careers in their respective workplaces. What could possibly stop two funny women from getting their dream roles or their dream jobs? Find out in Quick Change.

All plays will be performed by members of San Diego Black Artist Collectiveincluding Danielle Bunch, Alyce Smith Cooper, Kandace Crystal, Jaeonnie Davis-Crawford, Carla Banu Dejesus, Yolanda Marie Franklin, Joy Yvonne Jones, and Eboni Muse.

Additional creative team members for Black Lady Showcase includes stage manager Jessica F. Hawkins – Ms. JHawk and acting coach Bibi Mama. Hawkins and Mama also serve as members of BAC.

The Old Globe’s commitment to principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, and access (EDIA) is embedded in its values and practices and articulated in its Social Justice Roadmap, a document that spells out the actions the Globe is taking to help it better reflect the many communities of San Diego. The Roadmap calls specifically for this residency and for deeper collaborations with the San Diego Black Artist Collective. The Globe is providing space, technical, front-of-house, marketing, public relations, and logistical support to BAC, but the curation, production, and artistic direction of Black Lady Showcase will be exclusively executed by San Diego Black Artist Collective.

“It is the fulfillment of a dream to offer this residency to San Diego Black Artist Collective,” said Old Globe Associate Artistic Director and Director of Arts Engagement Freedome Bradley-Ballentine. “Close to two years ago, after the murder of George Floyd, and still in the early days of a global pandemic, I sat in a digital room with dozens of Black artists from San Diego. We asked what the Globe could do at that critical point to make theatre matter. We heard two answers: support the local Black artist community with access to the Globe’s spaces, and with access to the Globe’s other creative resources. This residency is a response to those requests. The Globe has a special relationship with the BAC. I’m proud that we have supported their growth and look forward to seeing what they’ve developed artistically.”

“San Diego Black Artist Collective is excited to once again partner with The Old Globe for this incredible opportunity to share the work of the ladies of the BAC,” said San Diego Black Artist Collective Member Joy Yvonne Jones. “For the last two years, the Globe has been an essential resource in helping us realize our goals, from administrative resources to performance opportunities. We are grateful for the continuation of this incredible partnership and look forward to how it will continue to grow and whatever comes next.”

San Diego Black Artist Collective will present Black Lady Showcase, as a resident artist group at The Old Globe, in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe’s Conrad Prebys Theatre Center in San Diego’s Balboa Park (1363 Old Globe Way). The limited engagement plays three performances only: Friday, April 22 at 8:00 p.m.; Saturday, April 23 at 8:00 p.m.; and Sunday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.TheOldGlobe.org/sdbac, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE (234-5623), or in person at our Box Office in Balboa Park. Tickets are available by a suggested donation with all proceeds benefitting San Diego Black Artist Collective. For additional information, visit www.TheOldGlobe.org/SDBAC.

In alignment with the State of California, which has removed mask and vaccine requirements for indoor events, effective March 21, 2022, The Old Globe will not require patrons to provide proof of vaccination or to wear masks while attending shows or events in either our indoor or outdoor venues. However, the theatre still strongly recommends mask-wearing while at the Globe, and patrons should feel comfortable wearing a mask anywhere on our campus if they choose.

Financial support for The Old Globe is provided by The City of San Diego. The Theodor and Audrey Geisel Fund provides leadership support for The Old Globe’s year-round activities.

San Diego Black Artist Collective strives to facilitate a foundation of support and resources that will provide a sense of community, a safe haven, and a sanctuary for artist development. The Collective is committed to supporting Black artists in San Diego by producing work that is unapologetic, authentic, and healing to the African American experience across the diaspora.

The Tony Award–winning The Old Globe is one of the country’s leading professional not-for-profit regional theatres. Now in its 87th year, the Globe is San Diego’s flagship performing arts institution, and it serves a vibrant community with theatre as a public good. Under the leadership of Erna Finci Viterbi Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Audrey S. Geisel Managing Director Timothy J. Shields, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 16 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages, including its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theatre’s artistic and arts engagement programs. Its nationally prominent Arts Engagement Department provides an array of participatory programs that make theatre matter to more people in neighborhoods throughout the region. Humanities programs at the Globe and around the city broaden the community’s understanding of theatre art in all its forms. The Globe also boasts a range of new play development programs with professional and community-based writers, as well as the renowned The Old Globe and University of San Diego Shiley Graduate Theatre Program. Numerous world premieres—such as 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Bright Star, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!—have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

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