06/28/2018
Tonight we gather in the Wright one last time.
Just a few favorite moments from the last 11 years:
Produced plays: Eve Ensler’s The Va**na Monologues (three times), T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land (with Lafayette Gilchrist), Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Su***de When the Rainbow is Enuf, Rain Pryor’s Out and Fried Chicken and Latkes, Moses Kaufman’s The Laramie Project, Daniel Berrigan’s The Trial of the Catonsville Nine, Jessica Blank’s The Exonerated, Lenneal Henderson in The Thurgood Marshall Experience, Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive, Sean O’Casey’s The Shadow of a Gunman, Rebecca Ranson’s Warren, Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things, Amiri Baraka’s Slave Ship, W. B. Yeats’ Purgatory, Maraget Baldwin-Pendergrass’ But I Said No, Rapid Lemon’s Variations on Blame, Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins, and Kimberley Lynne’s One Particular Saturday.
Stage readings: Peter Toran’s The Gambit and The Wheel of Fortune, Margaret Locklear’s The Belly of a Woman, Romeo and Juliet, Kimberley Lynne’s Jury Duty, Fat Club, and The Last Battle of the American Revolution, Antonito Briggs’ Trap House, Latonia Valencia’s Bootprints, Stillettoes Across the Serengeti, A Piece of Fruit, and Impossible Love, Jonathan Shorr’s The Bind of Issac and Good God!, Austin Walls’ Satan’s Shadow, Kari Waters’ Threads, Brad Cartwright’s Skunk Ape, Christopher Shorr’s Tribute 9/11, Samantha McDermitt’s Masterson v. United States and Schenk v. United States, Stephen Matanle’s Too Bad, playwright labs featuring the short plays of students Chloe McDaniel, Chris Warman, Victoria Williams, Annie Stevenson, and Rachel Upton, Suzann Lori Parks’ Top Dog/Under Dog, Judith Krummeck’s A Chain of Voices, Hamlet, Victoria Kennedy’s Uninvited Guest, Rachel Jackson’s Emblems, Sharea Harris’ Black Maggies trio of plays, and August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.
Music: Ellis Marsalis, Gabriela Montero, Peter Serkin, Gary Graffman, Poulenc Trio, Lafayette Gilchrist, Baltimore Men’s Chorus, Aspen Ensemble, Kenny Werner, Robert Jordan, Adam Mahonske, Robert Hitz, The Figaro Project’s Contemporary Opera Trio and Who Killed Don Giovanni?, Heifitz Institute Stars of Tomorrow, Melisme, The Monument Trio, Queen Earth, Vivre Musicale, BSO trio Turbine, the Baltimore City College choir, Jeffrey Hoover, Red Sammy, Leon Fleisher, Visions band, Abu the Flutemaker, Danielle Buanaito, Bethany Pietroniro, Triforce Quartet, Roger Friskey, Peter Ferry, Shelby Blondell, Nikolai Kolorav, Rebecca Jeffries, Alexander Timofeev, Rimsky Korsakov String Quartet and Saxton Gagnon Duo.
Musicians have recorded in the hall: Lafayette Gilchrist, The Monument Trio, and Leon Fleischer.
Storytelling: Tony Tsendeas as Edgar Allan Poe in Poe Night (twice), Darren Goins’ Constructed and Double Tap, Anita Gillette’s After All, Christopher Justice’s Fish Tales, Janice the Griot, Soldier Stories (2013-15), Marion Winik’s Portrait of an Artist as a Sad Little Girl in New Jersey, Reflections and Echoes performances of work developed in Ireland during Armagh Project creative writing residencies (2012-16), Spring Story Slam (Marion Winik’s class 2013 and 2015), and Ron Williams’ Dreadlocks, Rock n Roll and Human Rights.
Spoken Word: Gayle Danley, CityLit Project’s Across Words slam, Tubman Youth Poetry Team Grand Slam Finale, Voices of Thunder, Lady Brion, and the Color of Truth with Slangston Hughes and Derick Ebert.
Readings: Dave Kiefaber, Mary Banks, Nessa O’Mahony, Liz McManus, Malachi O’Doherty, Tafisha Edwards, Steamy Morrison (racy Toni Morrison work on Valentines Day), and Rion Alilcar Scott.
Comedy: Fall Laughing with Baltimore Improv Group, Temple of Improv, Meshelle the Indie Mom of Comedy, and Whole Dog troupe.
Screening: The Thin Blue Line, King Gimp, Maryland Film Festival (2008-2009), Asian Film Festival, You Be Cinema (Pink Flamingoes and Female Trouble), Bear World, and Baltimore RetroCineFest.
Conversations: Rep. Elijah Cummings, Writing Toward Race panel (AAAF 2015), Conversations on Charles Street, and Women’s Initiative for Leadership Development.
Interdisciplinary: The Red Door is Open (improvised piano and painting, 2012 and 2013) Hopper’s Women (Kendra Kopelke poetry with Hopper paintings), Did You Cover Up? (Tracy Dimond and Amanda McCormack poetry performance), and Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz (Langston Hughes poetry and jazz piano).
Thank you to all who made all this art possible for our midtown community.
