The VOICES Program at Dartmouth

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2018 International Black Theater Summit.

• September: Support for the International Black Theater Summit at Dartmouth. The three-day event included over two dozen panelists including actress Sharon Washingon ’81; Jackie Taylor, founder of the Black Ensemble Theater; Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson; and Costume Designer Constanza Romero, wife of the late August Wilson.
• September-November: Support for Guest Artist consultancy of vocal and dialect coach Lynnette Freeman, on campus to train the student performers involved in the fall MainStage production of Eclipsed in Nigerian accents.
• November: Additional support for the MainStage production of Eclipsed by Danai Gurira, for Sound Designer Sinan Zafar and Stage Manager Catherine Darragh ’13.
• February: Sponsor of JAGFest event, bringing emerging playwrights of color to campus for a panel discussion with students. The all-women panel included Maine Anders, Gethsemane Amy Herron-Coward, Kirya Traber, Tracey Lee, Ayesha Dillabough, and Kia Ifani Warren.
• April: Purchase of open-captioning equipment, to enable the Department of Theater to offer open-captioned performances in the Bentley and Moore theaters.
• April: Support for Guest Artist visits of performance artists Katia Tirado and Regina Jose Galindo, on campus in conjunction with LATS 30.01: Latinx Performance, taught by Analola Santana. The two artists guest-lectured on queer and trans/trava performance in the Americas and led master classes.
• May: Co-sponsor of “Proximities”, the inaugural Asia/America Studies Symposium. The symposium brought together scholars across various departments and programs in the Dartmouth community, as well as guest keynote speakers Kandice Chuh (CUNY Graduate Center) and Mimi Thi Nguyen (U. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign).
• Year-long: Co- sponsor of Black Legacy Month, V-February, Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM), PRIDE Week, and Dartmouth Powwow.

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Citrus, written by Celeste Jennings ’18 and directed by Jameeka Holloway-Burrell. Spring 2018.

• July: Co-Sponsor for Guest Artist Residency of renowned Ghanaian playwright Mohammad Ben Abdallah.
• September: Support for student production of Ben Power’s Medea, directed by Kelleen Moriarty ’19.
• February: Sponsor of JAGFest event, bringing emerging playwrights of color to campus for a panel discussion with students. Participating artists included Zhailon R. Levingston, Korde Arrington Tuttle, and NSangou Njikam. 
• February: Support for Guatemalan performance artist Regina Jose Galindo’s visit to campus; events included a poetry performance and a public discussion of her work.
• April: Support for Guest Artist visit of Karen Jaime, Assistant Professor from Cornell University. Jaime offered a public lecture built around her book The Queer Loisada: Language and Performance at the Nuyorican Poets Café; she also led an Open Mic event.
• April-May: Support of guest Artist residency of director Jameeka Holloway-Burrell, on campus to direct Citrus, a senior fellowship project by Celeste Jennings ’18. 
• May: Purchase of scripts by women playwrights of color for theater department research.
• May: Support for the creation of a promotional video documenting the spring term projects of five advanced theater students, all women. Students Christian Williams ’17 and Olivia Powell ‘17 produced the film.
• Year-long: Co- sponsor of Black Legacy Month, Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM), PRIDE Week, Dartmouth Powwow, Africa Night, and Latinx Heritage Month.
• September-November 2019 (advance payment): Support for Guest Artist residency of director Miranda Haymon, on campus to direct the Fall MainStage production of Ecliped by Danai Gurira. 

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Intimate Apparel, written by Lynn Nottage and directed by Tazewell Thompson. Fall 2016.

• September-November: Support of guest Artist Residency of director Tazewell Thompson, on campus to direct the Fall 2016 term MainStage production of Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage. Thompson also served as a professional directing mentor for the fall term student production.
• October: Co-sponsor of the student-organized Ghostlight Project events, celebrating the spirit of unity and hope across artistic communities.
• October: Support for THEA 22/AAAS 31: Black Theater, USA students to attend a regional performance of August Wilson’s play, Fences. 
• November: Support for public panel discussion on Lynn Nottage’s work, featuring director Tazewell Thompson, Soyica Diggs Colbert of Georgetown University, and Dartmouth faculty member Chante Mouton Kinyon.
• December: Support for Guest Artist Visit of Deena Selenow, on campus to lead a Diversity Workshop for Department of Theater faculty and staff.
• February: Co-sponsor of Black Legacy Month.
• February: Support for panel discussion associated with winter MainStage production of Urinetown.  Panelists included scholar Daniel Sack, U. Mass Amherst and Dartmouth faculty Steve Swayne.

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For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf, written by Ntozake Shange as part of an honors thesis by Carene Mekertichyan ’15.

• October: Co-sponsor of student-organized events El Caribe Global and Noche Dorada.
• April: Co-sponsor of student-organized Dartmouth Pride events.
• May: Co-sponsor of student-organized Africa Week events.
• April-May: Support of guest Artist Residency of director Deena Selenow, on campus to direct a fully-produced production of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange. Production was part of an honors thesis by Carene Mekertichyan ’15.
• May: Support for a workshop on diversity for the students of the Department of Theater.

• October: Support for director Olivia Scott ’13 for the Hood Museum-Northern Stage partnership project to present free performance of Raisin in the Sun at the Hood.  
• January-February: Production support for BUTA production of Pearl Cleage’s Flyin West, directed by Christine Ragin ’17.

• July: Support for student performer Joshua Echibiri to return to campus to perform in the winning 2013 Frost & Dodd Playwriting Competition play Little Lights, by Olivia Scott ‘13.
• February: Co-sponsor of student-run V-February program
• February: Support for Dartmouth’s Chapter of the NAACP’s Black Solidarity Conference.
• April: Co-sponsor of student-organized Dartmouth Pride events
• April: Support for Guest Artist visit of filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris, on campus to teach a master class with the Dept of Film and Media Studies.
• May: Co-sponsor of student-run Caribbean Carnival event
• April-May: Guest Artist visits in conjunction with THEA 22: Black Theater USA course taught by Maya Winfrey. Artists Cifford Owens and Latasha Diggs traveled to campus as guest lecturers for the class. Each artist presented a free, public, solo performance in the Bentley Theater; Latasha Diggs also met with students from the Dept of African & African-American Studies over dinner.

• October: Guest Artist visit of Cherríe Moraga, a Chicana essayist, poet and playwright. Moraga offered a public lecture, followed by a book signing of her work A Xicana Codex of Changing Consciousness: Writings 2000-2010. She also guest-lectured for THEA10/WGST 59: Race, Gender and Performance, taught by Irma Mayorga.
• February: Co-sponsor of student-run V-February program.
• May: Guest Artist visit of Kathy Hendrickson, a performer, director, and teacher. Hendrickson was a guest lecturer for Laura Edmondson’s THEA 17 course.

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The African Company Presents Richard III, written by Carlyle Brown and directed by Baron Kelly. Spring 2012.

• April-May: Support for a full production of Carlyle Brown’s The African Company Presents Richard III, presented free to the public in the Bentley Theater. Support included Guest Artist residency of director Baron Kelly. 

• February: Co-sponsor of performance by E. Patrick Johnson, Pouring Tea: Black Gay Men of the South Tell Their Tales.
• February: Co-sponsor of panel discussion Visualizing and Performing Violence: Local and Global Acts with Hope Azeda, Mary Coffey, and Ford Evans.
• February-March: Guest Artist residency of renowned Rwandan director and choreographer Hope Azeda, in conjunction with THEA 22/AAAS 54: Postcolonial African Drama course taught by Laura Edmondson. Azeda performed her original work Echoes from a Thousand Hills, and worked with students to create a new work titled From The Dark Till the Dawn. Both pieces performed in the Bentley Theater. Guest musician/performer Robert Ajwang also on campus for the collaboration.
• March: Support for student production of Fences by August Wilson, performed by BUTA (Black Underground Theater Association). Additional performances added in April due to demand.

• April: Co-sponsor of the 2010 Bildner Symposium Black Theatricality: Race and Representation in Black Literature and Culture.
• April: Co-sponsor of BUTA alumni event Looking Back to Look Forward: A Retrospective of BUTA Performances.
• April-May: Guest Artists and events in conjunction with THEA 10/WGST 66: Hearing Voices through Invisible Walls-The Art(s) of Facilitation course co-taught by Pati Hernandez and Ivy Schweitzer:
  • Gregory Sharrow, Storyteller. Topic: “Telling Stories in Place” followed by dinner and discussion with invited students and guests, April 11.
  • Buzz Alexander, Founder of Prison Creative Arts Project. Topic: “Is William Martinez Not Our Brother? Twenty Years of the Prison Creative Arts Project.” Dinner and discussion with invited students and guests, April 26.
  • Fox Butterfield, Author and Journalist. Topic: “When Crime Runs in the Family: Four Generations of Killers, Thieves, and Con Men.” Public presentation with reception, 5/16.
• April-May: Support for Pati Hernandez, co-instructor of THEA10/ WGST 66.
• May: Workshop with Liz Lerman and John Borstel, creators of The Liz Lerman Critical Response Method, for students from Theater and WGSS. 
• May: Presentation of Still Waiting...Poverty, Drug Abuse, and the Vicious Cycle of Modern Reservation Life, in partnership with Dartmouth Pow-Wow and directed by George Neptune ’10. Selections from Becket’s Waiting for Godot performed, followed by panel discussion with invited guests. 
• May: Support for original VOICES performance created by students in THEA 10/WGST 66; performed in Rollins Chapel.

• October: Guest Artists in conjunction with THEA 10: Performactivism course taught by Patricia Herrera: 
  • Pop Master Fabel (Jorge Pabon): Public presentation of Talking that Talk in the Bentley on  October 29; master classes October 28 & 30.
  • Universes (Mildred Ruiz and Steven Sapp): Public presentation of We Are One in the Bentley on October 22; master classes October 21 & 23.
• December: Support for Pati Hernandez, director of public performance created with students in THEA 10: Performactivism.
• March: Co-sponsor of Lynn Nottage’s visit to campus to attend a reading of her Pulitzer Prize-winning play Ruined and participate in Q & A session. Reading presented and performed by BUTA (Black Underground Theater Association) March 2. Nottage also visited Laura Edmondson's THEA 19: Human Rights and Performance and Soyica Colbert's THEA 10: Contemporary Playwrights of Color classes.

• October: Lecture/Performance by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan Lori-Parks in the Bentley Theater, followed by book-signing, public reception, and dinner with invited guests.
• October: Full productions of 365 Days/365 Plays and TopDog/UnderDog by Suzan-Lori Parks. Niegel Smith ’02 Guest Director for both productions.
• May: Reception with visiting artists in THEA 23 African Theater, taught by Laura Edmondson.
• April-May: Support funding to LALACS for Latinos on Stage Series.
• Yearlong: Support for Bryan Lee ’07, student Associate Producer of VOICES program and events.