3rd ANNUAL BLACK MOTHERHOOD AND PARENTING NEW PLAY FESTIVAL STREAMS NEW SEASON

(New York, NY) —November 30, 2024 —Blackboard Plays and the Parent Artist Advocacy League (PAAL) partner to uplift the stories of Black families for the 3rd Annual Black Motherhood and Parenting New Play Festival (BMPFest) The 3rd Annual festival will begin streaming on Friday, November 22 at 8pm EST. Streaming will conclude on Tuesday, January 7 at 11:59pm EST, and the following Tuesday, January 14 at 11:59pm EST for Premium Pass holders. BMPFest serves as both a celebration of Black family stories, and a vital fundraiser to support the future of the festival, and co-parent org, Blackboard Plays.

Each year, the festival delves deeply into the multifaceted experiences of Black parenthood and family life, offering audiences engaging storytelling experiences across a variety of themes and styles.

The 4 finalists for the 3rd Annual festival are: E.J. Batiste, Lynne Streeter Childress, Gail Lou, and D.L. Patrick. Each playwright and their play has been paired with a partner theatre. The four partner theatres have a vested interest in supporting the new work of Black parents and caregivers. This season’s partner theatre are: The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Arena Stage, Detroit Public Theatre and National Black Theatre. The last time the festival produced new work was in 2022. The 3rd season saw a shift in the structure of the festival. During the Fall of 2023, the 4 finalist plays received a virtual development workshop and dramaturgical support from dramaturg and Co-Director at HERE Art, Jesse Cameron Alick.

In October 2020, Parent Artist Advocacy League (PAAL) and Blackboard Plays announced an open call for submissions to The Black Motherhood* and Parenting New Play Festival. Since that inaugural year, the festival has deepened the support of Black playwrights and caregivers in an effort to uplift their stories. Past finalists and artists include: Melda Beaty (Coconut Cake, NC Black Rep), Pat Bowie (And Just Like That, Max), Ezra Knight (OTHELLO, Broadway – 2025), Tonya Pinkins (Tony Award Winner – Caroline or Change), Cynthia Grace Robinson (Samuel French OOB), and Nikkole Salter (In the Continuum / Chair – Howard University Dept of Theatre Arts).

There are two tiers of Festival Passe: a $50 Festival Pass and a $75 Premium Pass. Both Passes include: access to all 4 shows, a personalized gift, and a VIP Conversation with Festival leadership. The Premium passes include extended viewing to the 14th of January. Festival Passes are available at bit.ly/bmpfest24-festpass [LINK: https://bit.ly/bmpfest24-festpass].

To donate to this project, visit the BMPFest Campaign Page. Subscribe here to receive updates on this initiative.

The Festival runs from Friday, November 22, 2024 – January 7, 2025 Premium Pass holders will have until January 14, 2025

For further information on the festival, to learn more about the finalists, or for contributions, please visit www.bmpfestival.com or contact info@bmpfestival.com

Founded to amplify underrepresented voices, BMPFest focuses on bringing compelling and emotive narratives of Black motherhood, parenting, and family to the public. Through theatre, it offers a platform for Black playwrights, who are also a parent or caregiver, a platform to share their stories and enrich the cultural landscape.

In Can You Hear the Echo? by E.J. Batiste, Marjorie, finds herself unable to notice that postpartum depression (PPD) and postpartum anxiety (PPA) have taken hold of her as she tries to continue her pre-baby lifestyle. Marjorie’s mother, Jennette, along with Marjorie’s partner, Mario, observe the signs and collaborate to help her navigate this challenging period. The play explores whether Marjorie can acknowledge her mental health struggles and find a balance in her new life or if she will spiral into losing herself. Can You Hear the Echo? is presented in partnership with The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and is directed by Mary E. Hodges (Slave Play, Broadway) .

In Mysteries They Solved: A Mom and Malcolm Adventure by Lynne Streeter Childress, Lena, a Black mother who has been homeschooling her elementary-aged son, Malcolm, and her husband, Derrick,decide to send Malcolm back to public school.Lena experiences both a sense of loss and newfound freedom. During a community council meeting that Malcolm attends for a social studies credit, they discover a series of mysterious disappearances in local yards that have left officials baffled. Driven by curiosity, Lena and Malcolm take it upon themselves to investigate, turning into amateur sleuths. The play balances lighthearted moments with thoughtful themes, highlighting the joy of shared adventures and the anxiety surrounding future changes. Mysteries They Solved: A Mom and Malcolm Adventure is presented in partnership with Arena Stage, and Directed by Tanasia Lewis.

Fugue in D’Mentia by Gail Lou captures the everyday conversations between a 92-year-old father and his granddaughters, his interactions with his 94-year-old sister, and the continuous backdrop of shared meals. The title draws inspiration from the musical term “fugue,” symbolizing repetitive yet varied themes that mirror the layers of familial relationships and memories. This poignant piece delves into the complexities of aging, the persistence of memory, and the enduring bonds that hold families together. Fugue in D’Mentia is presented in partnership with Detroit Public Theatre, and Directed by Jamil A.C. Mangan.

Right Behind You by D.L. Patrick, focuses on the life of a woman fighting COVID-19, and her daughter and granddaughter who cared for her in the years leading up to her diagnosis and eventual passing. The play delves into profound themes such as dependence versus independence, duty, aging, and the obligations we hold towards one another. It offers a heartfelt exploration of familial bonds and resilience in the face of illness, highlighting the emotional complexities involved in caregiving and the impact of illness on family dynamics. Right Behind You is presented in partnership with National Black Theatre, and Directed by amani meliyah (National Black Theatre Soul Directing Residency 2024).

New this season, the festival will be available until Tuesday, January 7 for Pass and individual ticket holders, and Tuesday, January 14 for Premium Pass holders. Playwright Conversations from current and previous seasons are available on the festival’s YouTube channel and the Blackboard Plays YouTube Channel. This includes a panel discussion from the inaugural year with Nataki Garrett, Hana Sharif, Teresa Coleman Wash and Garlia Cornelia Jones, moderated by Nicole Brewer A Panel of Artistic Directors will be streamed following the 3rd Stream on Thursday, June 3rd. The Production Stage Managers are: Kristina Jackson, Anna Lipski and Courtney Pobst

*PAAL is a transgender and non-binary affirming space. “Mother” and “Motherhood” and their derivatives are used as inclusive terms for anyone who identifies with them.

The project is Executive Produced by Blackboard Plays founder and Producing Artistic Director, PAAL Executive Director of Producing, Garlia Cornelia Jones. Jones joined PAAL as Producing Director in June 2020 after producing Jenni Lamb’s Mother Lode, A PAAL Mother’s Day Benefit in May 2020. She is also PAAL’s first recipient of the PAAL Mother Artist of Color National Childcare Grant. Outside of PAAL and Blackboard Plays, Garlia was also a Line Producer at The Public Theater before being promoted to the only Director of Innovation and New Media (She was laid off in 2023). Garlia is one of the founding producer’s of Harlem9, the Black producing collective responsible for the OBIE award winning, “48Hours in…TMHarlem” and other sister festivals.

Garlia has taught at New School University and Wayne State University in Detroit, and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post and multiple publications on her journey through motherhood. Her organization, Blackboard Plays, has over a decade of experience in creating dedicated space for readings, workshops, and other opportunities for Black playwrights. Most recently, she became the Marketing Manager at Detroit Public Theatre.

Garlia also serves as the Associate Artistic Director and Senior Creative Producer of the Obsidian Theatre Festival (OTF) in Detroit. She works alongside Amber D. Gray, who holds dual roles as Associate Artistic Director and General Manager for OTF, as well as Associate Artistic Director of Blackboard Plays and BMPFest. Amber also serves as the General Manager of BMPFest. In early 2024, Amber was named a resident artist at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas.

OTF was founded by John Sloan III (Disney’s The Lion King National Tour), who is the CEO of GhostLight Creative Productions. John also contributes to BMPFest as its Director of Film Production and Senior Producer.

“The last two years have been a real journey for the festival. We slowed down, gave more time for development and to fundraise. I am thrilled to share these plays with you – these four stories of Black families at a time when many families are gathering for the holidays. Black parenthood is often overlooked in our national and artistic conversations and represented without the nuance that white parents and parenting stories often include,” Garlia adds, “My journey as a parent has been alongside the growth of my artistic career. Blackboard was founded years before I had children, but remained part of my life, exposing me to the inequities in our field towards parents, BIPOC artists and women. PAAL’s entrance into my life has enabled me to find the balance between advocating for others so they are supported in ways I was not and shedding light on the truths in our industry.”

“Dismantling systemic racism through art requires the creation of platforms and opportunities to tell stories that illuminate the reality, obstacles, pain, joy, celebration, humor, revelation, and even mundane aspects of the human experience lived by Black and Indigenous people and People of Color. From the obstacles of increased post-birth mortality rates to some of history’s greatest leaders and game changers, Black parents and families deserve the center-stage visibility of their full range of existence of their own narratives so we can learn, keep active, and create platforms for great art that also serves restorative justice, not just including the stories of Black parents and families – but centering them.” adds PAAL founder Rachel Spencer Hewitt.

E.J. Batiste is a writer, actress, and artist originally from Raeford, NC. She writes literary fiction, poetry, screenplays, and stage plays reflecting her life experiences and observations. She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Queens University of Charlotte. Her creative work has appeared in various literary publications in North America and Europe. Find more of her work at www.ericajasmin.com and on Instagram: @EJBatiste.

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Lynne Streeter Childress is a playwright, actor, teaching artist, singer, director, and the founding artistic director of Building Better People Productions, a professional theater company based in Annapolis, MD, that does shows for young audiences all based in social emotional topics. This is her 29th year in professional theater, with much of that experience in theater for young audiences. Her written work includes What I Want To Be When I Grow Up, for The Flow: A Night of Monologues, What Makes A Winner, commissioned by Encore Stage and Studio, Arlington, VA , and We Got It: A Show About Empathy, and Feeling All The Feelings” all for Building Better People Productions. Lynne lives in Annapolis, MD with her husband and son.

Gail Lou grew up in Vaux Hall, NJ and proudly holds the title of 1st runner-up in the Miss Black America of NJ pageant. She also received a BA in Vocal Performance from Montclair State College. Gail’s acting credits include: “Having Our Say”, “Crowns”, “Mama I Want to Sing” as well as a one-woman piece,“Billie,” —a Billie Holiday musical biography–co- written by Lou. She has been Musical Director for several youth and regional theater companies. Gail’s recording credits cross genres and she is a recipient of songwriting awards from the John Lennon Songwriting Competition and Parent Choice Awards. Gail Lou thanks her family, especially her father, Louis, her daughters L.C. and TS, and her husband, André, for their love and support.

D.L. Patrick is a native Detroiter who holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from New York University. Her play, STUDY IN BLACK (aka THE STUDY) about the infamous USPHS Syphilis Study at Tuskegee, was produced by the Frank Silvera Writers Workshop, NYC, and nominated for an AUDELCO Award. Her play, PASSAGES, was produced by Plowshares Theatre Company, Detroit, supported by a grant from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council. A monologue from her play, SALLIE’S CRYING TREE, was selected by Barter Theatre for Black Stories, Black Voices (2023). Her full-length drama, “ECLIPSED: The Sun, The Moon, and Gladys Atkinson Sweet” have been selected by The Playwrights Group, NYC( 2022) and The Michigan Playwrights Festival(2024). D.L. was also a Semi and -finalist for the Dramatists Guild Foundation National Virtual Fellows Program She is currently revising her play, DEMOLITION MAN, and working on a new one-act titled CHARACTER FLAW. This year, she has been invited to be the inaugural playwright for a Developmental Workshop with Ann Arbor, Michigan based company, Theatre Nova.

The first racially integrated theater in our nation’s capital and a pioneer of the regional theater movement, Arena Stage was founded in 1950 in Washington, D.C. Today, under the leadership of Artistic Director Hana S. Sharif and Executive Producer Edgar Dobie, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is a national center dedicated to American voices and artists. We produce plays of all that is passionate, profound, deep, and dangerous in the American spirit, and present diverse and groundbreaking work from some of the best artists around the country. Consistently contributing to the American theatrical lexicon by commissioning and developing new plays, Arena Stage impacts the lives of over 10,000 students annually through its work in community engagement and serves a diverse annual audience of more than 300,000. arenastage.org

The Rep is the St. Louis region’s most honored live professional theatre company. Founded in 1966, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis is a fully professional theatrical operation belonging to the League of Resident Theatres, The League of St. Louis Theatres and is a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Inc., the national service organization for the not-for-profit professional theatre. Visit www.repstl.org for more, and find The Rep on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

National Black Theatre (NBT) is a Emmy-nominated and Tony Award-winning institution founded in 1968 by the late visionary artist Dr. Barbara Ann Teer. The nation’s first revenue-generating Black arts complex, NBT is the longest-running Black theatre in New York City, one of the oldest theatres founded and consistently operated by a woman of color in the nation, and has been included in the permanent collection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. NBT’s core mission is to produce transformational theatre that helps to shift the inaccuracies around African Americans’ cultural identity by telling authentic stories of Black lives. As an alternative learning environment, NBT uses theatre arts as a means to educate, enrich, entertain, empower and inform the national conscience around current social issues impacting our communities. Under the leadership of Sade Lythcott, CEO, and Jonathan McCrory, Executive Artistic Director, NBT helps re-shape a more inclusive American theatre field by providing an artistically rigorous and culturally sensitive space for artists of color to experiment, develop and present new work. Working with trailblazing artists from Nona Hendrix to Jeremy O. Harris; helping to launch the careers, most recently, of artists such as Dominique Morisseau, Radha Blank, Mfoniso Udofia, Saheem Ali, Lee Edward Colston II, and Ebony Noelle Golden; and incubating Obie Award-winning companies like The Movement Theatre Company and Harlem9’s 48Hours in Harlem, NBT’s cultural production remains unparalleled. Visit nationalblacktheatre.org or follow NBT on Facebook (@NationalBlackTheatre) and Twitter/Instagram (@NatBlackTheatre).

Detroit Public Theatre produces nationally recognized plays and programs with world-class writers, directors, actors and designers in the heart of Detroit’s cultural district. We create bold, relevant work that illuminates the thrills, joys and challenges of our shared humanity. For more information about Detroit Public Theatre and its productions and programs, or to purchase tickets visit www.detroitpublictheatre.org or call (313) 974-7918.

Since 2008, Blackboard Plays has been devoted to Black Playwrights throughout the African Diaspora. Blackboard Reading Series was incubated @ nancy manocherian’s the cell in Chelsea’s Manhattan as a resident series for 10 years, before making their new physical home in The Mary Rodgers Room at The Dramatists Guild in 2018. Feature Readings and Community Nights are two ways that Blackboard supports the development of new work by Black Playwrights. Blackboard was founded by Garlia Cornelia Jones.

Parent Artist Advocacy League (PAAL) is a national advocacy organization serving as a resource hub, community, and solutions generator for caregivers in the performing arts and media and the institutions who support them. PAAL created the first all-gender, all-discipline national PAAL Childcare Grants for individuals and institutions and the PAAL National Handbook of Best Practices for Parent and Caregiver Support. PAAL continues to provide digital training, consulting, and creating active and ongoing affinity spaces for all caregivers in the performing arts and media every month, Third Thursdays, which also includes affinity spaces for BIPOC mothers, Black mothers, single mothers, pregnancy and infant loss support, and more. PAAL’s work has been mentioned in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Shondaland.com, American Theatre Magazine, Hartford Courant, HowlRound Theatre Commons, WAMU for NPR News in Washington D.C., and the book From Aphra Behn to Fun Home: A Cultural History of Feminist Theatre. On International Women’s Day 2019, PAAL was selected as one of 10 “Changemaker” organizations invited to take the stage and present at Disney Theatrical’s Women’s Day on Broadway in New York City. PAAL partnered with The Playwrights Realm to create the first-of-its-kind Radical Parent-Inclusion Project for the production of MOTHERS off-Broadway, and has participated internationally in think tanks, on panels, and facilitated workshops on parenting in the arts at multiple gatherings, including the national TCG conferences, BroadwayCon, Actors Equity Association, Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, the first national conversation on caregiving in the Latinx community at the Latinx Theatre Commons Annual Convening, Miami in Motion, in 2019, and Shakespeare Theatre Association Conference 2022, LMDA 2022, and Southeastern Theatre Conference – SETC 2022. In 2023, they grew their Childcare Matinee program with Broadway Babysitters included multiple New York theatres as well as on-site childcare in DC for The Kennedy Center’s Dance Sanctuaries program and launching the first childcare matinee on Broadway for Here Lies Love in partnership with Open Jar Studios, an accomplishment featured nationally on NPR’s piece titled “Free Babysitting on Broadway? This nonprofit helps parents get to the theatre” and televised on Fox5 News in New York City. 2024 saw an exponential growth of the childcare matinees to nearly 20 offerings in the tri-state area alone.

Ghostlight Creative Productions Inc is a Detroit-based, full service production company specializing in the creation of original film, theatrical, and performance content; offering high end wrap around event production services at a Broadway calibre. For more information, please visit: www.ghostlightinc.com