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Notes from the Producing Artist Director

Iyona Blake’s world premiere play Girls of Madison Street marks the next chapter in our “Bold New Works for Intimate Stages” initiative. We were pleased to produce 5 successful world premiere musicals with our resident creative team, Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith, and now, we turn our energies toward producing new works written by women, or women-identifying writers, especially women of color. Providing opportunities for these writers to share their voices and their stories is part of our mission to make our theater work more accessible to a wider community. We will begin balancing the scales in an industry that has been marked by an unequal share of power for far too long.

Inviting Iyona as our first writer in this new phase was a no-brainer. Iyona has graced our stage as an actor for numerous productions, including her Helen Hayes Award-winning performance as Caroline Thibodeaux in Caroline or Change. She recently turned her talents toward writing, and Girls of Madison Street was a project that we couldn’t turn down. Iyona has skillfully crafted a story of sisterhood in a powerful, resilient and tightly knit African American family. They come through many challenges, only to find their bonds even stronger.

Our Girls of Madison Street production team, also welcomed three other artists of color: Venus Gulbranson, our Lighting Designer, Darrell Clark, our Costume Designer, and Nina Stephens, our Wig Designer. They joined Margie Jervis, our Resident Scenic Designer, to create the intimate world of Iyona’s play. Our talented professional cast members create a powerful ensemble of storytellers, delivering sensitive and emotionally charged performances. And then, as an added feature our gallery features the work of twelve exceptional visual artists of color under the show title: “She Speaks."

We are pleased that you were here today to join us for Girls of Madison Street and hope that you will help us spread the word about this beautiful play to family and friends.

Laura Connors Hull
Producing Artistic Director