a Youngblood Reading of

RUNNING WHILE BLACK

to benefit the New Federal Theatre

written by Jahna Ferron-Smith
directed by Steve H. Broadnax III*

featuring Maxwell Eddy, Starr Kirkland, Drew Lewis*, Naomi Lorrain, Rachel Sachnoff, Chet Siegel, Amber Reauchean Williams, & Jehan O. Young

Production Stage Manager: Fran Acuña-Almiron

Nicole is an unmarried, nearly thirty-year-old Black Creative living in Brooklyn, New York in 2019. How does she stay grounded? She runs. Running While Black follows one Black woman's journey to becoming a consistent, recreational jogger and the circumstances that drove her to that point. The consequences of thirty years' worth of coping mechanisms begin manifesting uncontrollably, as Nicole is finally overwhelmed by the one thing she can't outrun: change.

Friday, October 16th at 7pm

This virtual live-streaming event will be held on the Zoom platform and is free to attend, though a reservation is required in order to receive the access link via your email confirmation.

This reading is a fundraiser for the New Federal Theatre.

New Federal Theatre's mission is to integrate artists of color and women into the mainstream of American theatre by training artists for the profession, and by presenting plays by writers of color and women to integrated, multicultural audiences - plays which evoke the truth through beautiful and artistic re-creations of ourselves.  EST Member Artist Elizabeth Van Dyke was recently appointed as Artistic Director of the New Federal Theatre. 

Jahna Ferron-Smith is a Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Fellow at the Juilliard School, as well as a member of the Obie Award-winning playwrights collective, EST/Youngblood. Her plays have been performed at Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival. Her plays include THE WOODS. (developed at SPACE on Ryder Farm), SIR. (published by Samuel French), and SALT: A Rom-Com (The Lark Jerome New York Fellowship Finalist).

We wish to express our gratitude to the Performers' unions Actors' Equity Association, American Guild of Musical Artists, American Guild of Variety Artists, SAG-AFTRA through Theatre Authority, Inc. for their cooperation in permitting the Artists to appear on this program. 

join us Monday, August 17th at 7pm for a virtual

Youngblood Open House

Join us to learn more about Youngblood, EST's OBIE-winning collective of emerging professional playwrights under the age of 30. Youngblood provides artistic guidance, peer support, regular feedback, and a fertile production environment which allows playwrights to hone their skills and explore their craft, with exposure to the public and the press, professional outreach to the industry, and opportunities for production and publication.

Applications for the 2020/2021 season are now open through August 31st, so join a virtual panel of five current members who are here to answer any questions and encourage any playwrights under 30 to apply!

This virtual event will be held on the Zoom platform and is free to attend, though registration is required in order to receive the event meeting link. Once registered, the event access information will be provided approximately one hour before the event begins.

Youngblood Member Panelists:

Jahna Ferron-Smith is a Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Fellow at the Juilliard School, as well as a member of the Obie Award-winning playwrights collective, EST/Youngblood. Her plays have been performed at Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival. Her plays include THE WOODS. (developed at SPACE on Ryder Farm), SIR. (published by Samuel French), and SALT: A Rom-Com (The Lark Jerome New York Fellowship Finalist).

Dylan Guerra Is a gay Latinx New York City-based artist originally from Miami, Florida. His work has been seen at Ars Nova, Dixon Place, HERE, and other places around the city. You can catch his live true crime podcast "Find Him" periodically at Ars Nova. He has been a finalist for The Emerging Writers Group at The Public Theater, NBC Universal’s Writers on the Verge Program, The MTC Directing Fellowship, The Drama League Hangar Directing Fellowship, and a semifinalist for the Sundance Episodic Television Writers Program. BFA: Southern Methodist University. He is a proud member of EST's Youngblood and Ars Nova's Playgroup.

Sofya Levitsky-Weitz is a current Core Writer and former Jerome Fellow at the Playwrights’ Center. Plays include this party sucks (2019 Kilroy’s List, New York Theatre Workshop development), Cannabis Passover (2020-2021 finalist for the O’Neill Playwrights’ Conference, chosen for Playwrights’ Center public season PlayLabs), be mean to me (semi-finalist for Premiere Stages at Keane), Gehinnom (semi-finalist for O’Neill Playwrights’ Conference, semi-finalist for Playwrights’ Realm and Princess Grace Award), Intuitive Men (UCF Pegasus Playlab), and short play development through Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Sam French Off-Off Broadway Festival, the Flea, Chicago Dramatists, and more. Finalist for the Ingram New Works Lab, Page 73 Fellowship, Dramatist Guild Fellowship, the Heideman Award. She is a core collaborator for an Untitled Didion Project with Sarah Gubbins through Big Beach and Hulu and served as script consultant for Michael Showalter’s feature The Eyes of Tammy Faye through Fox Searchlight. She is a member of EST/Youngblood and got her MFA in writing from the Screen & Stage from Northwestern University.

Megan Chan Meinero is a playwright and standup comedian. Her plays include Good Fortune, Art Therapy, and The Pre-Med Math Club. Her work has been produced/developed with Ensemble Studio Theatre, The New Group, Williamstown Theatre Festival Directing Corps, Atlantic Acting School, Two Headed Rep, Rule of 7x7, PLAYxPLAY, Normal Ave, and The Flea Theatre. She is a proud member of EST/Youngblood. MFA: Northwestern University. More at www.meganchanmeinero.com 

Lizzie Stern is a playwright in New York. Her plays have been produced by or developed with SPACE on Ryder Farm, Clubbed Thumb, EST/Youngblood, The Tank, The Hearth, Dixon Place, Two Headed Rep, and New Brooklyn Theatre in Istanbul. Lizzie is a current member of EST/Youngblood and an alum of Clubbed Thumb's Early-Career Writers' Group. She is a new-play dramaturg and the Literary Manager at Playwrights Horizons. BA: Williams College.