|
Darren Mallet
(Performer)
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Tampa, FL; Darren is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Credits include: Off-off b’way: Urinetown, Follow Me. National Tour: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; Pilots for both Comedy Central and Spike TV. Thanks to the Heavenly Father and much love to friends and family for continued encouragement! www.darrenmallett.com
|
|
|
Derek Lee McPhatter
(Playwright)
Originally from Pickerington Ohio, Derek Lee McPhatter has lived in Atlanta and Japan and calls Harlem home. Derek is a 2009 Resident Playwright with Brooklyn-based Freedomtrain Productions, which commissioned Mr. McPhatter to draft a new play, Bring the Beat Back, premiering at Freedomtrain's Fire Festival in August 2009. Derek’s additional accomplishments include publications in the journals Anamesa and Flash Fantastic, and the Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History. He is the co-author of It Goes Unsaid, the signature show for Under the Spell Productions. He was a quarterfinalist in L. Ron Hubbard’s Writer’s of the Future Contest, and is a member of the Harlem Arts Alliance and the Speculative Literature Foundation. He holds degrees from Morehouse College and NYU, where he completed his master’s thesis—Let the Kids Say Amen: Black Gay Spaces and the Hybridity of Gospel House Music. By days, Derek works at the Apollo Theater and hosted the 2009 Apollo Salon Series, a works-in-development program presented weekends in April. He invites you to check out his blog: www.itsdmcp.blogspot.com for more.
|
|
|
Dylan Kammerer
(Performer)
Dylan Kammerer makes his New York City debut with Citizen Jane. He is a recent graduate of the University of Florida where he received his Bachelors of the Fine Arts in performance. He currently resides in Brooklyn.
|
|
|
LaJune
(Performer)
LaJune, first female inductee of 106 & Park’s Freestyle Friday battle Hall of Fame, demonstrated that she has the lyrical precision of a sharp shooter when it comes to eliminating all contenders on the hip-hop battlefield. LaJune has been featured on MTV’s TRL where she was interviewed by rap sensation Chingy and VJ Vanessa Minnillo. In addition to her lethal rhyming skills, LaJune possess a sultry voice that flows in beautiful riffs over heavy bass tracks. This two-in-one combination has earned her lofty praise, with some calling her the second-coming of Lauryn Hill. Her voiceovers have drifted across the radio waves attacking the ears of NYC’s HOT 97 and 98.7 Kiss FM listeners. And with a minor in Theater, LaJune continues to show-stop as she extends her newly discovered theater talent to productions like Citizen Jane and her work in progress, Little Man In My Pocket. Always on her grind, working hard behind the scenes of the music industry, now it’s time for the true Mistress of Ceremonies, LaJune, to step up front and center.
|
|
|
Nicole Judd
(Stage Manager)
Nicole is thrilled to be working with Under the Spell Productions and the Horse Trade Theater Group. She is an artist manager for an emerging Femcee/Singer/Songwriter and the co-founder of Generation Give. By days, Nicole works in the Executive Producer’s Office at the Apollo Theater, in addition to working on several independent productions.
|
|
|
Rhonney Greene
(Director)
Washington, DC, Atlanta, GA, and New York City, NY. A graduate of Morehouse College, where he received a BA in Drama, Rhonney Greene continues to put God first in his efforts to change the world for the better Rhonney Greene has been performing and actively involved in the theatre industry all his life. He has been an actor, singer, dancer, costume designer, and director in numerous stage, film, and television productions in through his art. He is the co-founder and artistic director of Under the Spell Productions, which has produced work in New York, Los Angeles and the United Kingdom. He is the co-author of the production company’s signature show, It Goes Unsaid. Recent performances include a starring role in the equity showcase, Dance Bojangles Dance, and a vocalist in a tribute concert to Mariah Carey. He recently finished working as a costumer for The Lovely Bones (starring Mark Wahlberg) and key costumer for Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too (with Janet Jackson and Jill Scott).
|
|
|
Sheree Renee Thomas
(Performer)
Sheree Renée Thomas is a writer, editor, small publisher, educator, visual artist, performer, and mother. She is the co-publisher of the literary journal, Anansi: Fiction of the African Diaspora and founder of Wanganegresse Press. Thomas is a member of the Beyond Dusa Women's Collective, the Black Pot Mojo Craft Circle, the New Renaissance Writers Guild, the Speculative Literature Foundation, the Carl Brandon Society, and teaches creative writing and short fiction at the Frederick Douglass Creative Arts Center in Manhattan. Her first anthology, Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora, named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and a Washington Post Book World Editor's "Rave," won the World Fantasy Award and the Gold Pen Award. Her second book, Dark Matter: Reading the Bones, was released on January 2, 2004 by Warner Aspect. She is currently editing a third volume in her groundbreaking black science fiction series, tentatively titled Dark Matter: Africa Rising, in addition to Eldersongs, her oral history and poetry program and other writing projects designed to uplift, engage, and enlighten the community.
|
|
|
tygerlily
(Performer)
tygerlily (nee’ Lauren Rhodes Cooper) hails from Washington, D.C. by way of Atlanta, Georgia. The self-proclaimed East Coast Woman of Mystery has been writing since the age of 14. This poet, playwright and essayist first earned recognition at the age of 15 as she became one of Black Entertainment Television’s youngest writers by creating stories for the Saturday Morning children’s program, Story Porch, narrated by Al Freeman and Ozzie Davis among others. Ms. Lily is an alumna of both Spelman College where she received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theater and of New York University’s (NYU) Performance Studies Department where she received her Master of Arts Degree. While attending Spelman College, tygerlily was the only Spelman student working as a staff writer for the Maroon Tiger, the Morehouse College Newspaper. While enrolled at NYU, she was a twice featured speaker as a part of NYU’s collaboration with the Brooklyn Museum’s 2000-2001 Hip Hop exhibit ROOTS RHYMES AND LIFE. In February 2002, she was awarded a residency at the New Professional Theater as a part of their annual Writer’s Festival which culminated in a staged reading of her play a rough draft of my life. In June of 2002, the play was performed as a part of the 3rd Annual NYC Hip Hop Theater Festival and starred Karen Malina White.
|