The 2021 Alliance Theatre Educator Conference: Centering Justice featured two outstanding arts and education thought-leaders as keynote speakers. Watch their remarks in full.

Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum

Welcome with Chris Moses; Invocation with Pearl Cleage; Keynote with Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum (conversation facilitated by Aierelle Jacob)

Live address filmed Tuesday, June 8, 2021.

Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, president emerita of Spelman College, is a clinical psychologist widely known for both her expertise on race relations and as a thought leader in higher education.  Her thirteen years as the president of Spelman College (2002-2015) were marked by innovation and growth and her visionary leadership was recognized in 2013 with the Carnegie Academic Leadership Award.  The author of several books including the best-selling, Why Are All of the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race (now in a new 2017 20th anniversary edition) and Can We Talk About Race? and Other Conversations in an Era of School Resegregation (2007), Tatum is a sought-after speaker on the topics of racial identity development, race and education, strategies for creating inclusive campus environments, and higher education leadership.  In 2005 Dr. Tatum was awarded the prestigious Brock International Prize in Education for her innovative leadership in the field.   A Fellow of the American Psychological Association, she was the 2014 recipient of the APA Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology.   

A civic leader in the Atlanta community, Dr. Tatum is engaged in educational initiatives designed to expand educational opportunities for underserved students and their families.  In Atlanta, she serves on the governing boards of the Westside Future Fund, Achieve Atlanta, Morehouse College, and the Tull Charitable Foundation.  She is also on the boards of Smith College. TIAA Charitable, and the Educational Testing Service.  

She holds a B.A. degree in psychology from Wesleyan University, and M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan as well as an M.A. in Religious Studies from Hartford Seminary.  Over the course of her career, she has served as a faculty member at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Westfield State University, and Mount Holyoke College. Prior to her 2002 appointment as president of Spelman, she served as dean and acting president at Mount Holyoke College.  In Spring 2017 she was the Mimi and Peter E. Haas Distinguished Visitor at Stanford University.  She is married to Dr. Travis Tatum; they are the parents of two adult sons.

 

Idris Goodwin

Live address filmed Wednesday, June 9, 2021.

Across two decades Idris Goodwin has forged an impactful career as a multiple award-winning playwright, breakbeat poet, director, educator, and culturist. 
   
Idris is the author of over 50 original plays ranging from his Hip Hop inspired breakbeat series to historical dramas to works for young audiences. Titles such as And In This Corner Cassius Clay, How We Got On, Hype Man: A Break Beat Play, This is Modern Art and the ground breaking Free Play: Open Source Scripts for an Antiracist Tomorrow, are widely produced across the country by a diverse mix of professional theatres, academic environments, and non-traditional spaces alike. Goodwin’s created original content for and/or appeared on Nickelodeon, Def Poetry, Sesame Street, NPR, BBC Radio, and the Discovery Channel.  
  
Several of his plays are published and/or licensed through Playscripts Inc. Other works like the poetry books Can I Kick It?, Inauguration co-written with nico wilkinson, Human Highlight: Ode To Dominique Wilkins, and the play This Is Modern Art are available from Haymarket Books.  
  
Passionate about cultivating new audiences in the arts, Idris is The Director of The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, the first Black man to hold the position in its 100 year history. Prior to this, Goodwin served two seasons as Producing Artistic Director at StageOne Family Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky. He actively serves on both the advisory boards of Theatre for Young Audiences USA and Children’s Theatre Foundation Association. 
  
Idris is a 2021 United States Artist Fellow, recognized as a culture bearer who celebrates community values and cultivates histories with care. Supported by prestigious institutions like The Kennedy Center, The Eugene O’Neill Conference, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, and The Playwrights’ Center, Goodwin uses his full creative powers to galvanize people into the community square to sculpt better tomorrows.  

The Alliance Theatre is proud to welcome the following new members to our Board of Directors:

Nichelle Hughley Mayberry
SVP, Retail National Expansion // PNC Bank
Nichelle Hughley Mayberry is a Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Owner within PNC’s Retail National Expansion group. Her responsibilities include the ingestion, integration, and exposure of application data to support the customer experience vision for Retail Banking. Prior to joining PNC, she was Deputy CFO, Office of Grants Management, City of Detroit; Former Vice President, Chief Administration Office, Moody’s Investor Services; and Vice President, Finance Division, Goldman Sachs. She was also a past Manager at Ernst & Young and Deloitte. Nichelle has over two decades of experience across private and public sectors with strengths in technology enabled solutions, operational efficiency and controls, business redesign and transformation in fast paced, highly visible environments. Nichelle strongly believes in the notion of giving back and mentors young professionals, serves as a thought leader and member of PNC’s Black Leaders Forum and participates in PNC’s Women’s Business Development Working Group. She previously co-chaired the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force as a Board Trustee of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Nichelle is a graduate of the Tepper Business School Executive Leadership Academy, 2019 and Leadership Detroit, 2017. She was also recognized by the Michigan Chronicle as a 2016 Woman of Excellence honoree. Nichelle received a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Healthcare Administration from the University of Washington.

Jim Kilberg
(Retired) Senior Vice President: Real Estate, Energy and Natural Resources // Weyerhaeuser
Jim Kilberg is a named executive officer and senior real estate executive with 35 years of experience in all facets of real estate and natural resource strategy development and execution. Over the course of his career, Jim has directed small and large-scale development across a broad array of asset classes, outsourcing services in multiple industries, restaurant and retail unit development, and energy & natural resources. Jim’s experience spans urban, suburban and rural markets, and includes: market analysis, transaction management, community engagement/visioning, branding, zoning & entitlement, leasing & marketing, joint venture structuring, acquisitions, dispositions, recreational lease management, mitigation banking, conservation and large-scale master planning. He brings both broad and deep real estate strategic experience through his work on large-scale joint ventures and master plans in all asset classes, as well as economic development, and landscape-level conservation transactions, requiring the lobbying of federal and state agencies.

Jim recently retired as Senior Vice President – Real Estate, Energy & Natural Resources at Weyerhaeuser, a Fortune 300 company with a market cap of $29 billion. Weyerhaeuser is a timber REIT and the largest private land owner in the world with over 13 million acres in 19 U.S. states. Jim oversees all “alternative value” business lines, including: real estate, mitigation banking, conservation, development, recreational lease management, cell towers, billboards, renewables (wind and solar), construction materials, coal, oil & gas and industrial minerals. He currently manages a P & L of over $200 million, which includes 275 internal and outsourced team members. His teams complete more than twenty-five thousand transactions per year and create over $400 million of revenue per year. While EBITDA production has always been a large part of Jim’s responsibility, he’s also been responsible for market planning, employing sophisticated GIS and regression modeling to insure the right strategy, is being employed in the right markets, at the right time; mitigating risk and maximizing employee focus and performance.

Jim has served on the Real Estate Board of Georgia State University, The Alliance Theater in Atlanta, GA, where he sat on the executive committee, the Board of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce Arts Council, and the Atlanta Chamber Players. Jim has been a frequent lecturer at the Robinson School of Business at Georgia State University and the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University, and has served as an expert witness. Jim holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis, an MBA from Georgia State University, a Masters in Corporate Real Estate from Corenet, and completed executive MBA work at the Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute, where he co-chairs the Large Landowners Forum and he was as a founding member of the Corporate Counsel for the Land Trust Alliance.

Jesse Killings
SVP, Customer Operations, Safety and Technical Training // Southern Company Gas
Jesse Killings is senior vice president, customer operations, safety and technical training for Southern Company Gas. In this role, he is responsible for the company’s customer experience, resource management, safety and technical training operations. Previously, Killings was vice president of operations for Southern Company Gas subsidiaries Atlanta Gas Light and Chattanooga Gas. In that role, he was responsible for ensuring operational excellence for nearly 1 million customers in Georgia and Tennessee. Since joining the company in 1993, Killings held leadership positions in operations, regulatory, safety and training.

Killings is active in the industry and community, taking a special interest in organizations that support career development, leadership and education. He currently serves as chair of the Southern Company Gas Diversity & Inclusion (LEAD) Council, and as a board member of the Technical College Systems of Georgia Foundation and the Georgia Energy & Industrial Consortium. He is a former board member of 100 Black Men of Atlanta and Georgia Chamber Diversity and Inclusion Council.

In addition, he is an active member of the American Association of Blacks in Energy, and he has worked with boards and education-related committees of organizations such as Fulton Education Foundation, South Fulton Chamber of Commerce, Boys & Girls Club and United Way.

A native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Killings earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Tuskegee University. He is a graduate of Leadership Georgia, Leadership Atlanta and Leadership Coweta.

Killings resides in Atlanta and is the proud father of two children.

Kerri Sauer
Vice President of Transformation // Fannie Mae
Kerri Sauer (She/Her/Hers) is a Global Technology Leader and Catalyst for Change known for a keen focus on delivery, execution, transformation, and change management. Sauer currently serves at the Officer level as the Vice President of Transformation for Fannie Mae, the leading source of mortgage financing in the United States. In her role as the head of Transformation at Fannie Mae, Kerri is responsible for the design and execution of their Digital Transformation Roadmap, support and oversight for cross-functional program management, ongoing maturation and expansion of the Enterprise Operating Model and training strategy, as well as the DevSecOps and Agile Practices, including the Agile Center of Excellence. She has 20 years of experience in Consulting, IT, and the Financial Services & FinTech industries. Prior to Fannie Mae, Sauer ran the Agile Center of Excellence at Truist Bank (SunTrust & BB&T), and previously worked with North Highland and Elavon. Kerri has a reputation for being the go-to leader to engage for impact, regardless of the situation and believes in bringing your whole self to work and any situation. Because of this philosophy, Sauer has a significant track record of building high performing and engaged leadership teams that have an immediate effect on the entire organization.

Kerri is also a highly engaged community leader within Atlanta, serving on non-profit boards, volunteering, and advocating on behalf of various causes, and is particularly known for being a STEAM champion (don’t forget the A!). She currently serves as a Board Member of Hands On Atlanta and a member of the Advisory Council for Chris180. Her other community leadership includes WIT (Women in Technology), UNCF Atlanta, Out Front Theatre Company – Atlanta’s only LGBTQIA+ theatre (founding Board Member, former President and Chairwoman of the Board and subsequent Advisory Board member), Girls Inc. of Atlanta, and Theatre Emory. She is a member of the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2017 and has been selected to be a member of the Leadership Cobb Class of 2021-2022.  

Dana Weeks Ugwonali
CEO // MedTrans Go
Dana Weeks Ugwonali is the Chief Executive Officer at MedTrans Go, a tech-enabled healthcare start-up based in Atlanta. An experienced professional with a demonstrated history of working in business, management, and marketing, she has held leadership positions at AT&T and Pfizer and in other innovative entrepreneurial ventures. In 2016, she assisted in co-founding the Black Angel Tech Foundation, created to support and increase the number of underrepresented minorities in technology. Her talents and skills include being an astute, creative and culturally aware innovator and leader. She is also a Board member of several public and private companies.

Weeks Ugwonali earned a BA in Anthropology: Social Sciences from Stanford University, graduating with Honors and a concentration in African Studies. She was a student athlete, running Varsity Track & Field, and served as a program coordinator for the Black Community Services Center. After graduating, she volunteered in the Peace Corps in the Cape Verde Islands, lending her advocacy and creative skills to the local Portuguese-speaking African community. She later attended Columbia Business School, obtaining an MBA in Marketing and Management. While at both universities, she exhibited commitment to the student body and institution, presiding as Senior Class President and Student Body President, respectively.

At her alma mater, Stanford University, Weeks Ugwonali has held and presently holds numerous leadership positions. Currently she co-chairs the Stanford LEAD (Lifelong Engagement and Advocacy for Development) Council and is a member of the Humanities & Sciences Council, and the Treasurer of the Stanford Club of Georgia. Recently, she has lent her voice as a member of the President’s Campaign Planning Task Force, and the Provost’ IDEAL (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access in a Learning Environment) Kitchen Cabinet. Weeks Ugwonali is also a member of and continues to actively contribute her energy and advocacy skills to the Stanford National Black Alumni Association (SNBAA) and the Stanford Asian Pacific American Alumni Club (SAPAAC).

Other community work in which Weeks Ugwonali is and has been fully engaged includes being a Founding Member of the Columbia Business School Women’s Circle, Treasurer of the Atlanta Chapter of Jack and Jill, Atlanta Public Schools Jackson GO Team Community Representative and a Trustee and Chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee at the Westminster Schools.

Weeks Ugwonali is married to Dr. Obi Ugwonali and has three children.

 

To see our full Board of Directors listing and learn more about Board leadership, visit alliancetheatre.org/board

Juneteenth, a recognized employee holiday at the Alliance Theatre and now a federal holiday, is more than a day of recognition. It’s an opportunity to be reminded that freedom for Black American’s, true freedom, is achieved when their work is supported and celebrated. This year we hope you will join the Alliance Theatre in celebrating Juneteenth by supporting these events, artists and organizations.

5 Ways to Commemorate Juneteenth

  1. Family outings and events – https://www.juneteenthatl.com/  What better way is there to celebrate than with a 3-day music festival in Centennial Park which showcases a massive parade in Downtown Atlanta? 

  2. Eat delicious food – 2nd Annual Juneteenth Restaurant Celebration  Several Atlanta restaurants will partake in the celebration by offering dinners at holiday rates of $6.19 or $16.19. For a full list of the participating restaurants, click the link above 

  3. Juneteenth themed books – Drama Mama Reads  Alliance Theatre actor, Naima Carter Russell, also known as The Drama Mama introduces her Juneteenth book list for kids and families  

  4. Support locally owned businesses – For the People: Juneteenth Market  On June 19th, visit the historic corner of Auburn and Piedmont avenues for a pop-up market featuring over 30 small, Black owned businesses including Alliance Theatre community partner, Refuge Coffee Co. 

  5. Donate – Brave & Kind Books  Alliance Theatre community partner, Brave & Kind Books is providing books to local school districts that are purchased by customers  (purchase from Brave & Kind and include the word: Juneteenth in the notes at checkout)

After a year exploring more of what the Alliance can do, (producing a variety of new works for streaming platforms, an animated film, a drive-in production, and an outdoor tent series,) we are thrilled to announce a return to in-person performances on our cherished Coca-Cola and Hertz Stages this September, which is only a few months away! Our new season will feature eight productions including four world premieres, two musicals, and an elaborate new staging of one of Atlanta’s annual holiday favorites, A CHRISTMAS CAROL. Plus, five productions for the Kathy & Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young – two for streaming and three in-person productions in the Selig Family Blackbox at Alliance Theatre. This season marks the 10th anniversary of the Kathy & Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young program, which commissions and produces new works designed for children five years old and younger.

“As a theater, we’ve been able to do a lot in this past upside-down year. The same commitment which helped us continue inspiring thousands of Atlantans (and beyond) while our stages were dark will enable us to do more innovative, equitable, and uplifting work as we come together in-person for our 2021/22 season,” said Susan V. Booth, Jennings Hertz Artistic Director. “After the past year of pivoting with speed, agility, and yes, humor that we might never have imagined, it is thrilling to be announcing today our plans for the productions of our 53rd season.”

To prepare for audiences to return to the theater, the Alliance has replaced all HVAC units with HVAC ionization systems, which provide a 99.4% reduction of COVID-19 within 30 minutes. HVAC ionization is more effective than other air-cleaning methods and helps kill other types of viruses, such as the flu, and air pollutants. The Alliance has also increased the cleaning schedule of surfaces in the theater, modified the ticketing process to eliminate physical tickets, and increased the number of hand-sanitizing stations across the campus. We will continue to closely monitor local, state, and federal policies regarding indoor activities and plan our safety protocols accordingly.   

When possible, live performances of the 53rd season will be filmed for streaming on the Alliance Theatre’s streaming platform, Alliance Theatre Anywhere.

Memberships and Season tickets are on sale now. Single tickets for the 2021 productions will go on sale in July 2021.

 

2021/22 SEASON

ALLIANCE SERIES ON THE COCA-COLA STAGE

DARLIN’ CORY (World Premiere Musical)​
September 8 – October 3, 2021
Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre​
Book by Phillip DePoy
Music by Kristian Bush
Lyrics by Phillip DePoy and Kristian Bush
Directed by Susan V. Booth​

Set against the backdrop of 1930s Appalachia, DARLIN’ CORY is a haunting new musical by playwright & novelist Phillip DePoy (EDWARD FOOTE) and Sugarland’s front man & Grammy Award winner Kristian Bush (TROUBADOUR). In a tiny mountain town with no road in – and no road out – a community carries secrets of all sizes. But when a young woman with ambition and intelligence collides with a pastor deeply committed to preserving the status quo, cracks begin to form in the town’s well-constructed façade. And when a stranger appears with a mysterious backstory and the best moonshine anyone’s ever tasted – some of those secrets threaten to spill. With an original folk-country score, this modern-day myth inspired by local lore promises to leave audiences on the edge of their seats.

 

A CHRISTMAS CAROL​
November 12 – December 24, 2021
Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre​
By Charles Dickens​
Adapted by David H. Bell​
Directed by Leora Morris​

The Alliance Theatre’s beloved production A CHRISTMAS CAROL will return to the Coca-Cola Stage this year with an exciting new adaption, including a completely reimagined set design and stunning new costumes. Audiences will be transported to the streets of London to revisit the timeless story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s journey to redemption, told with beautiful live music and an all-star cast. Join the Alliance Theatre for one of Atlanta’s most treasured holiday traditions. 

 

TONI STONE​
February 10 – 27, 2022​
Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre​
By Lydia R. Diamond​
Directed by Tinashe Kajese-Bolden​

Considered a pioneer, Toni Stone is the first woman to play baseball in the Negro Leagues, also making her the first woman to play professionally in a men’s league. Against all odds, Toni blazes a path in the male-dominated sports world, breaking through the limitations others placed on her, and creating her own set of rules. Follow Toni’s journey as she fights for love, equality and a chance to do what she wants the most — play some world class baseball. Declared the Best New Play of 2019 by The Wall Street Journal, TONI STONE is a funny and fascinating story of race, gender, and raw ambition… and an unheralded superstar you will never forget.

 

BINA’S SIX APPLES ​(World Premiere)
March 11 – 27, 2022​
Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre​
By Lloyd Suh​
Directed by Eric Ting​

Bina’s family grows the finest apples in all of Korea. But when war forces her to flee her home, Bina is alone in the world with just six precious apples to her name. Can these meager possessions help her find her family? Join Bina on her spirited journey that ranges from the heartbreaking to the humorous. Encountering new challenges at every turn, Bina is forced to rely upon her apples and their important legacy as she begins to discover the power of her own resilience. Often mesmerizing, always heartwarming, Bina will discover that she’s not the only one on a difficult quest for a place to call home.

 

A World Premiere Musical (to be announced later this summer)
May 25 – June 26, 2022​
Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre​
Directed by Kenny Leon

 

HERTZ SERIES

THE NEW BLACK FEST’S ​HANDS UP: 7 PLAYWRIGHTS, 7 TESTAMENTS​
October 8 – 31, 2021​
Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre​
By Nathan James, Nathan Yungerberg, Idris Goodwin, Nambi E. Kelley, Nsangou Njikam,
Eric Holmes, and Dennis Allen II​
Co-Directed by Keith Arthur Bolden and Alexis Woodard​

Across seven monologues written by seven Black playwrights, HANDS UP depicts the realities of Black America from the perspective of varying genders, sexual orientations, skin tones, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The play was originally commissioned in 2015 by the New Black Fest in response to a police officer fatally shooting an unarmed Black teenager, Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. The themes and stories it tells still ring true today. HANDS UP is produced in association with Spelman College.​

 

CLUB HERTZ LIVE
December 8 – 24, 2021
Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre

Experience a special concert series featuring some of Atlanta’s most exciting performers and musicians in a relaxed lounge atmosphere. CLUB HERTZ LIVE will feature a new performer each night and a variety of genres during the month of December. Bands and performers will be chosen by a panel of music-industry professionals. Performers are invited to apply to be a part of the series here.

 

DREAM HOU$E (World Premiere, Winner of the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition)
January 22 – February 13, 2022​
Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre​
By Eliana Pipes

DREAM HOU$E follows two Latinx sisters on an HGTV-style reality show who are selling their family home, hoping to capitalize on the gentrification in their “changing neighborhood.” As they perform for the camera, one sister grapples with turmoil in the family’s ancestral past while the other learns how much she’s willing to sacrifice for the family’s future. What is the cultural cost of progress in America — and is cashing in always selling out? DREAM HOU$E is the winner of the 2021/22 Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition.

 

 

KATHY & KEN BERNHARDT THEATRE FOR THE VERY YOUNG

SOUNDS OF THE WEST END​
August 17, 2021 – May 31, 2022
Streaming on Alliance Theatre Anywhere​
Conceived and Directed by Ameenah Kaplan

Inspired by In the West End written by Will Power and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, commissioned by the Alliance Theatre in partnership with the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club. This aural adventure will immerse you in the sounds of the historic Atlanta neighborhood. From the talk on the sidewalks to the whoosh of the Marta trains, join us for a rhythmic and tasty trip through the epicenter of vegan cooking in Atlanta. 

 

THE CURIOUS CARDINAL
November 16, 2021 – May 31, 2022
Streaming on Alliance Theatre Anywhere
Written and Directed by Mark Valdez
A Palette Production
Original composition by Eugene H. Russell IV
Created in partnership with the Fernbank Museum of Natural History

As the seasons come and go in this GA forest, so too do all of the varied wildlife. Except, of course, for the curious cardinal, who stays put the entire year, curiously exploring all of the changes that the seasons bring. Join our cardinal as he bickers with the blue jays in spring, outwits the mischievous squirrels in summer, and bids a fond farewell to the friendly otters in the fall. This animated short celebrates the majesty of the natural habitats of GA and the daily adventures of an ever-changing world.

 

(KNOCK, KNOCK)
December 2 – 23, 2021
Selig Family Blackbox Theatre at Alliance Theatre
Created by Olivia Aston Bosworth & Samantha Provenzano
Directed by Samantha Provenzano

Come in from out of the cold and celebrate community, family, and warmth this holiday season! Welcome to The Apartment Building. Below us, above us, and beside us, the residents are preparing for the holidays and trying to stay warm. Join us on a floor to floor adventure, meeting and celebrating with a variety of friends who all call The Apartment Building home. Surprises hide behind each door — all you need to do is (Knock, Knock).

 

IN MY GRANNY’S GARDEN
March 16 – April 24, 2022 
Selig Family Blackbox Theatre at Alliance Theatre
Directed by Rosemary Newcott

Based on In My Granny’s Garden written by Pearl Cleage and Zaron Burnett Jr. and illustrated by Radcliffe Bailey, commissioned by the Alliance Theatre in partnership with the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club. In My Granny’s Garden invites our youngest audiences to explore the glory of growing your own food. Watch a tiny seed become a field of corn, green beans, collard greens, and bright red tomatoes. Step into a visual feast inspired by world renowned artist Radcliffe Bailey’s original paintings, and discover the one superpower that fuels Granny’s garden. This play promises to leave you nourished in body and soul.

 

DO YOU LOVE THE DARK?
January 20 – February 27, 2022 
Selig Family Blackbox Theatre at Alliance Theatre

Based on Do You Love the Dark? written by Maya Lawrence and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie commissioned by the Alliance Theatre in partnership with the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club. Inspired by the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club original book by Maya Lawrence and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, Do You Love the Dark? follows a young girl during a sleepless night trying to conquer her biggest fear of all: the dark! This interactive play invites the audience on an unforgettable journey to not only conquer the fear of the unknown, but to transform it into love. Join us for this humungous hug of a play and discover all the good love glowing in the dark!

 

Get your Membership now!

 

For the third year, the Mayor’s Summer Reading Club has commissioned Alliance Theatre to write a picture book for ages 2-5 to be distributed city-wide to more than 10,000 families. This year resident artist and Allyship Program Director Maya Lawrence will fulfill her childhood dream of becoming an author when her book, Do You Love the Dark? is released this summer.

With pictures by award-winning illustrator R. Gregory Christie, Do You Love the Dark? tells the story of a young girl conquering the common childhood fear of the dark. Lawrence says her inspiration for the book came out of this past summer’s racial reckoning. As a lifelong activist and graduate of Spelman College, she kept asking herself, “What are all the ways we’re confronting our fear of the dark, the darkness, of Black people? That was the beginning of the story – asking how we conquer our fears, specifically of darkness.” The book though, is ultimately a story of joy, transforming fear into love. “I’m a person whose mission in life is waking people up to the love that’s inside of them, because love is the most powerful force inside each of us,” says Lawrence. Through lively poetry, Lawrence turns scary shadows, sounds, and darkness into a perfect bedtime story to tuck your child into with each night, casting out fear and leaving love in its place.

Copies of Do You Love the Dark? will be distributed around Atlanta this summer by Mayor’s Summer Reading Club partner organizations at schools, farmers markets, libraries, and events. The book will be adapted to the stage in early 2022 as part of our 10th Anniversary Kathy Ken Bernhardt Theatre for the Very Young season.