AUDITIONS: “MAAFA”
Written and Directed by Terrence Spivey
When: Wednesday, June 5th @ 6pm-9pm
Call Backs: Saturday, June 8th 10am-1pm
Where: The historical Olivet Institutional Baptist Church
8712 Quincy Avenue <https://maps.google.com/?q=8712+Quincy+Avenue+%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Cleveland,+OH+44106&entry=gmail&source=g>
<https://maps.google.com/?q=8712+Quincy+Avenue+%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Cleveland,+OH+44106&entry=gmail&source=g> Cleveland, OH 44106 <https://maps.google.com/?q=8712+Quincy+Avenue+%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A+%0D%0A+Cleveland,+OH+44106&entry=gmail&source=g>
Show Dates: February 14-15, 2020 Black History Month (3 Performances. The play is part of a week long conference and exhibition on the Transatlantic Slave Trade leading up to the opening night performance.
Rehearsals:
November 25-December 14, 2019 (3 Week Preparation Workshops). The workshops will be 3-4 days a week,
January 6-February 7, 2020 (Rehearsal Start Date)
January 8-13, 2020 (Tech Rehearsal)
*Pay Is Provided For This Production
TEAM
Terrence Spivey, Writer/Director
Musical Supervisor, Damon Dandridge
Stage Manager, Geri Harris
Costumes: Barbara Bennett & Harold Crawford
Sound Design, Calvin Lane
The Play
MAAFA is a mystical, theatrical commemorating epic drama with music. The original version “The MAAFA Suite” A Healing Journey, first premiered in 1995 at St. Paul Community Baptist Church in New York City. Spivey’s version, like the New York production, will span elements in World History that African Americans refer to as the MAAFA. His version shifting from past to present setting will take place in Honey Island, an unincorporated community in small timber town, Kountze, Texas. MAAFA is a Ki-Swahili word that means great tragedy, calamity, disaster, and refers to the Middle Passage or Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Through drama, song, rhythm, and dance, MAAFA tells a story of Africans confronted with the arrival of white slavers, the voyage of Africans to America, and the complex circumstances under which enslaved Africans were oppressed to present day. The play has spawn over fifty churches with their own versions throughout the country to commemorate this historical and significant moment for the past twenty-four years. St. Paul will be celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary this Fall 2019. Cleveland's historical Olivet Institutional Baptist Church under the guidance of Rev. Jawanza Karriem Colvin along with Mr. Spivey will present this epic production in February 2020.
Actors/Singers
Noomo, African-American male 20’s to 30’) An African spirit dancer who glides between the past and present. Must be advance in dance.
African Mothers; African-American, 30s-40’s (3-5 actors)
Village Elders African-American male and female actors/singers, 50’s-60’s
Initiates: African-American females, 20’s actors/singers, Very attractive, must move well for African celebration (3-5 actors)
Two Slave Catchers: White Males, 20’s – 50’s
Two Slave Drivers: Two White Males, 20’-50’s
Massa James: White Male, 40’s-60’s
Honey Bourgeois – Rich slave owner, Compassionate, White Female, 30-40’s
Dangerous Mattie- Fast and defiant, daughter of a Slave Owner late 20’s, early 30’s
Willie Lynch: The Trouble Maker
Trebel Cliff- African American- 30s-40’s
Estabon- African American, 40s-50’s
Zeke Treadwell- Homeless man with powers to shape shift, African American, 30s-40s
Charlie Treadwell- Great grand father to Estabon. He is the root of
Nia Mann African-American Female, part of the Treadwell Family tree, ages 7-9. Very intelligent and inquisitive
Shante Mann-Nia’s older sister, supports her sister but very independent, caught into Hip Hop. Part of the Treadwell tree. Female age 12-14
Marcus Mann- Nia and Shante’s father, disconnected with his ancestral history. Zeke is his long lost uncle.
Nigg- Constantly in and out of incarceration, he is feared in town, walks the street at night, African American, 30s-40s.
ENSEMBLE for Africa, Slave Plantations Setting: Supporting parts for Men, Women and children.
ALL Actors-Please prepare a two minute dramatic monologue. Be prepared to move.
ALL Singer/Actors- Please prepare a monologue and a spiritual or gospel song. Be prepared to move.
DANCERS- Seeking African-American male/females with experience in Modern/African dance.
THE DIRECTOR/PLAYWRIGHT
TERRENCE SPIVEY BIO
Former artistic director at Karamu House is a member of The HistoryMakers, a 2018 Alan Schneider Directors Award nominee, 2017 Best Director and 2005 Best Theatre Honcho by Cleveland Scene. He was given a proclamation in 2010 by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson for his artistic contributions locally and nationally. He garnered multiple awards at Karamu and the historical institution was given Repertory Company of the Year in 2013 by AUDELCO in NYC. He directed plays such as Dream on Monkey Mountain (2006 Best Stage Production), The Blacks: A Clown Show (2008 Best Drama) and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone to name a few. Since leaving Karamu, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill (2018 Chandelier Best Drama-Akron) Boodycandy (2016 Top 10 Plays-Cleveland Plain Dealer) and the nationally acclaimed Objectively/Reasonable.: A Community Response to the Shooting of Tamir Rice, 11/22/14 at Playwrights Local which appeared on Michel Martin’s NPR Going There. Spivey has worked at numerous theatres as director locally and nationally as actor/director; Lincoln Center, Cherry Lane Theatre, Black Girl Ensemble (NYC). He has a B.A. in Theatre from Prairie View A & M University. He was keynote speaker for the United States Institute for Theatre Technology in 2015. Has served on the board for the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture and a member of the National Theatre Conference. He is currently board member for AUDELCO, NYC.
Spivey has been featured in numerous media coverages such as Ebony, Backstage,Artists and Influence and the PBS documentary Karamu: 100 Years in the House. He is the founding director for Powerful Long Ladder.
MUSICAL SUPERVISOR
Damon H. Dandridge was recently hired as Minister of Worship & Arts at Cleveland's Olivet Institutional Baptist Church. He was the Director of Choral Activities at Cheyney University. He holds the Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from The Florida State University and the Bachelor of Music Education degree in Choral Music/Voice from South Carolina State University with additional studies at Boston University. Prof. Dandridge has had the esteemed pleasure of working with some of the most influential African-American composers of our time including Dr. Brazeal W. Dennard, Dr. Roland M. Carter, Dr. André J. Thomas, and the late Mr. Moses G. Hogan. As an artist, Dandridge's choral arrangements have been met with worldwide acclaim. From across the United States to Korea, Australia, and Italy, his pieces have been featured at various all-state festivals and international festivals. Prof. Dandridge is a past-winner of the National Association of Negro Musician's Brantley Choral Arranging competition.
For further information, please contact pllecompany2.0@gmail.com. You may also send head shots in advance before auditions to the email address. Please DO NOT CONTACT THE CHURCH.