[NEohioPAL] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Golden Globe actress/playwright Regina Taylor’s RESISTANCE at Borderlight Festival

[Charles Gilpin]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



CONTACT:

Sharon Foxx

pllecompany2.0 at gmail.com

440-462-9814



BorderLight Festival of International Theatre features a ‘Powerful’
collaboration between

Golden Globe actress/playwright Regina Taylor and acclaimed director
Terrence Spivey

Resistance directed by Powerful Long Ladder showcased during “Fringe
Festival”



CLEVELAND - From July 24-27, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, BorderLight Festival
of International Theatre co-founded by Jeffrey Pence and Dale Heinen will
present it’s 4-day late summer festival, one that features top-flight
performers from abroad, world premiere collaborations between
Cleveland-based theatre artists and international artists, and “Fringe
Festival” that will draw performers from the region’s vibrant theatre
community and across North America.



With that, Golden Globe award-winning actress and playwright Regina Taylor
has teamed up with award-winning director, former Karamu artistic director
Terrence Spivey to present a play she wrote titled, “Resistance.”



“She [Taylor] called me eight months ago to work with her,” says Spivey,
founder of Powerful Long Ladder. Spivey is excited to be collaborating with
a fellow Texas native. Taylor’s hit play “Crowns” ran at the Cleveland Play
House as well as Karamu House during Spivey’s tenure.



"Resistance," made up of six short works, is a series of plays tackling a
range of topics from LGBTQ and gun rights to voting as well as the 13th
amendment's tie to modern slavery and the prison system. This project is
made possible through grant support from the Minority Arts and Education Fund
(MAEF), a program of the Cleveland Foundation.



“I want it to provoke conversation that’s necessary as we enter into this
election year,” says Taylor, who will be in Cleveland for opening night.



When asked why she reached out to Spivey, she said, “He’s a wonderful
director.” She explained that she called to share some things she was
working on and he mentioned the BorderLightFestival to her. This is the
premiere of “Resistance.”



Local talent performing in “Resistance,” includes Rodney Freeman, Rochelle
Jones, Shannon Ashley Sharkey, Gisell Murillo, Sydney Marie, Stephen Hood
and Dwayne Pue. Ashley Aquilla is Stage Manager and Andre Brown is on
lights and sound.



There will be four shows, from July 25 to July 27 in the Chapel of Old
Stone Church. For show times and ticket information visit
www.borderlightcle.org/resistance/



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ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Regina Taylor is an actor, director and playwright. Playwriting credits
include “Bread” (Edgerton Award. Water Tower Theater), “Crowns” (four Helen
Hayes awards, including Best Director), "Oo-Bla-Dee," (Steinberg-ATCA
award) and "Drowning Crow," (Broadway, MTC), “The Trinity River Plays”
(Edgerton Foundation Award) and “stop.reset” (Signature Theater Residency
Five).

Taylor received the Denzel Washington Endowed Chair Fordham University at
Lincoln Center. An Artistic Associate of Goodman Theatre, Taylor is its
most produced playwright. Signature Theater residency five playwright. Taylor
in her TV role as Lily Harper in "I'll Fly Away” received a Golden Globe
Award for Best Performance by an Actress, three NAACP Image Awards and two
Emmy Award nominations. Her other television roles include “The Unit.”
Taylor was the first African American lead in Masterpiece Theatre’s "Cora
Unashamed," starred as Anita Hill in HBO’s “Strange Justice” and “A Good
Day to Die” starring Sidney Poitier. She has co-starred in USA Networks’
Dig and guest starred in “Elementary” and “The Black List.” Next year, Taylor
is featured in Netflix’ One Day and a Night starring Jeffrey Wright, Ashton
Saunders and directed/written by Joe Robert Cole (writer: Black Panther)
and guest stars on Red Line (Producer Ava DuVernay for CBS). Taylor’s film
credits include “Saturday Church,” "The Negotiator," "Courage UnderFire,"
"Clockers," and "Lean on Me." Taylor was also the first Black woman to play
Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet" on Broadway.



ABOUT POWERFUL LONG

Founded by Terrence Spivey, former artistic director of Karamu House,
Powerful Long Ladder’s mission is to honor the Black theatre classics while
engaging in thought-provoking works by established and new voices. Since
its launch in 2017, Powerful Long Ladder has produced and directed three
shows: James Baldwin’s “The Amen Corner,” “Lady Day at Emerson Bar and
Grill” and most recently “Thiz Girlz Life” by Cleveland playwright
Ernesta Jefferson
in collaboration with Playwrights Local.
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