In Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, the crawfish capital of the world, they say there’s two festivals: the one out front, and the one in da back. But it’s what happens on the front lawn of 318 Dorset Street that cracks open a family legacy. Ghosts hum through the zydeco, dreams rattle in the cooler, and everyone’s waiting for someone who might never come home. The Festival in da Back is a richly textured, fiercely funny play about who we crown, what we bury, and whether the music that once moved us can still bring us home.
Location: The Flea: 20 Thomas St, New York, NY 10007
There will be no late seating!
Brian Egland
Playwright
Brian Egland is a Louisiana based Artist from the small town of Breaux Bridge (the crawfish capital of the world). He is a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he was honored with the distinction of being the Outstanding Graduate of ULL’s Performing Arts Department. His journey as a playwright began with a facebook message from a local actress and playwright, Nyetta Meaux, who ultimately inspired Brian to write his first play, The Birthday Dinner, for his collegiate senior project, as Meaux had done herself years prior. The Birthday Dinner went on to be honored by the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival for excellence in Original Playwrighting, and was the first predominantly African American production at UL Lafayette in half a decade at the time. Since the time of his senior project Brian, as a playwright, has had his works become Official Selections of the Atlanta & DC Black Theatre Festivals, he’s received placement in the former Southern Rep Theatre’s 4D program, residency with the Mississippi Center for Cultural Production as one of their RPPL Artists, and in 2021 Brian returned to UL Lafayette where he wrote and directed a piece titled Boxes In The Ground that streamed on Broadway On Demand and received Honorable Mention in their Stage/Screen shorts film festival. Brian’s journey with NBT began in 2020 as a semifinalist for the I AM Soul Playwriting Residency, and he is now proud to be a recipient of the residency in 2022. He knew from the very moment he learned of NBT that it would be his home, and to be welcomed home fuels his soul to grow.
Nic Ashe
Director
Nic Ashe is an accomplished actor, director, and writer. He is best known as “Micah” on Ava DuVernay’s critically-acclaimed series Queen Sugar. Nic began on stage, starring as “Young Simba” in Disney’s The Lion King. His impressive theatrical resume includes: Kill Floor (Lincoln Center Theater), Choir Boy (Manhattan Theater Club), Girls (Yale Repertory Theatre), The Inheritance (Geffen Playhouse), Pretty Perfect Lives, and most recently, the world premiere of We Are Gathered (Arena Stage) by Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney. Nic’s original work centers Black, queer experiences and has been featured at film festivals across the country including: Newfest, Outfest, and Urbanworld.
CAST
Charles E. Wallace
Charles E. Wallace, is thankful to be back at NBT after having played Mr. Fowler in Tylie Shider's The Gospel Woman. Some other credits include: The Notebook (Father/Son); Miss Saigon (John) and Smokey Joe's Café on Broadway. Off Broadway: Choir Boy (Headmaster), Dinah Was (Boss/ Chase). Regional: Annie (Daddy Warbucks), Play On (The Duke), A Soldier's Play (Davenport). Internationally: Robert Wilson’s, Zinnias: Life of Clementine Hunter; Starlight Express (Electra). God Bless. IG:@mrwallacecharles
Charlie Hudson, III
Charlie Hudson, III - BROADWAY: A Raisin in the Sun. OFF BROADWAY: Nollywood Dreams (MCC Theater), (A) Loft Modulation (American Vicarious), Hurt Village (Signature). REGIONAL: Spunk (Yale Rep), Welcome to Matteson (NJ Rep), King Hedley II, A Raisin in the Sun, Seven Guitars (Two Rivers Theater), Detroit ’67 (Playmakers Rep), The Mountaintop (Northern Stage), Father Comes Home from the Wars (ART), Clybourne Park, Beneatha’s Place, (Baltimore Centerstage); The Piano Lesson (Yale Rep), Master Harold and The Boys (Portland Stage Company); Fly (Crossroads Theater), Richard III, All the King’s Men, Cyrano de Bergerac, (Trinity Rep), Mother Courage (Public Theater/NYSF), Threepenny Opera (WTF). TELEVISION: Archive 81(Netflix), Daredevil: Born Again (Disney), Manifest (NBC), The Night Of (HBO), NCIS: Hawaii (CBS), Shades of Blues (NBC), The Good Fight (CBS), Unforgettable (CBS), Forever (ABC), The Rosa Parks Story (CBS), and A Raisin in the Sun “Revisited” (PBS). FILM: Roxanne, Roxanne; Complete Unknown; Twelve; Newlyweeds; Lillian. TRAINING: Alabama State University and Brown University/Trinity Repertory Consortium. I would like to thank my family for their love and support.
Ebony Marshall-Oliver
Ebony Marshall-Oliver played Passenger 4 in the 6x Tony-nominated play Ain’t No Mo. Her other Broadway credit is Chicken & Biscuits. Off Broadway credits include Chiaroscuro (National Black Theatre/Flea Theatre), Bodies They Ritual (Clubbed Thumb), 7 Minutes (Broadway League Distinguished Performer Nominee- Waterwell), Merry Wives (Public Theater). Regional credits include Escape to Margaritaville (Gateway Playhouse), Fat Ham (Elliot Norton & Suzy Award Outstanding Feature Performer nominee- Huntington Theatre/Alliance Theatre). She has a recurring role as Mildred on BET+ Ms. Pat Show. Her feature film debut, Regarding Us can be seen on multiple streaming platforms. BFA- Acting from AMDA.
Elijah Jones
Elijah Jones is a New York-based actor whose credits include Henry IV (TFANA), The Ally, Richard II (The Public Theater), and Confederates (Signature Theatre, AUDELCO Award). Regional: Immediate Family (Blumenthal Arts), Henry V (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre). TV: The Crowded Room (AppleTV+). Education: MFA, The Juilliard School; BA, Penn State University.
Joshua Hendricks
Hailing from Central Jersey, Joshua Hendricks received his training at NYU Tisch, which gained him a BFA in Drama and a Minor in Filmmaking and Production; this included training at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London! His recent credits include roles in short films such as “Ty” in Roast (Dir. Liz Kurtz & Lauryn Darden, AFHS Productions) and "Chase Benjamin" in BlackStar Film Fest’s 2023 film The Freedom to Fall Apart (Dir. Dave Gaines). He’s also performed in Pushcart Players' theatrical productions of Cuentos del Árbol as "Man Two" and Lift Every Voice: A Letter to the Editor as "Junebug". His most recent work was in Soul Soiree’s The Monologue Slam sponsored by BET! He is very excited to be a part of this project and hopes to continue to grow as both an artist and human being.
Nora Cole
NORA COLE - Recent: Hart Island, Preparedness, The Underlying Chris. Highlights: On the Town, Jelly’s Last Jam (Broadway & National Tour, Joseph Jefferson Award nominee), Caroline or Change (Royal National Theatre), George C. Wolfe (Dir). Rinde Eckert’s, And God Created Great Whales, David Schweizer (Dir). Regional: Intimate Apparel, Angela’s Mixtape, Fences, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, To Kill a Mockingbird, Doubt, On Golden Pond, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Avenue X, The Colored Museum, Medea (Title role, Vinnette Carroll, Dir). Ray Donovan recurring. Playwright: 2317 (Short Film), Katherine’s Colored Lieutenant, Olivia’s Opus, Voices of the Spirits in My Soul (AUDELCO Award). New Federal Theatre’s The World According to Micki Grant, (Dir, AUDELCO Award & Drama Desk nominee), TCG/Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellow for Distinguished Achievement, Hedgebrook alum, and Black Theatre Torch Bearer. noracole.net.
Reginald L. Barnes
Omaha native, Reginald L. Barnes, is a man on the move who is coming off an AUDELCO nomination for Lead Actor for Chisa Hutchinson's THE BLEEDING CLASS (59e59 Theatre). Select Stage: ""Mecca Is BURNING"" (Negro Ensemble Company), ""Black Angels Over Tuskegee"" (Actors Temple), ""B-Boy Blues The Play"" (47th Street Theatre), ""Shoebox Picnic: Roadside: Route One"" (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), ""Mitchellville"" (Lean Ensemble Hilton Head), ""Timeless: The Mystery of the Dark Water"" (Black Spectrum) and ""The Transfiguration of Benjamin Banneker"" (La Mama Theater). TV/Film credits include: FBI: Most Wanted, Blue Bloods, Saturday Night Live, The Night Of, Luke Cage, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Little Ukraine, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and the hit Bollywood film Chintu Ka Birthday. Reginald is eternally grateful and honored by another opportunity to create magic with National Black Theatre. Follow Reginald on IG at @ReggieOnTheMove. Love and Light to you all.CREATIVE TEAM
Marcelo Martínez García
SCENIC & PROP DESIGNERMARCELO MARTÍNEZ GARCÍA he/him/él (Scenic Designer) is a proud Mexican Scenic Designer and Architect. Off-Broadway: Manahatta (The Public Theater), The Wind and The Rain (EnGarde Arts & Vineyard Theater). Regional: The Heart Sellers (Studio Theater), AZAD: the rabbit and the wolf (Hakawati & Golden Thread), Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (Gulfshore Playhouse), Dial M for Murder (Alley Theater & CPIP), Sandra (TheaterWorks Hartford), The Garbologists (TheaterWorks Hartford), Torera (Alley Theater), The Woman in Black (Weston Theater Company), Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles (Yale Repertory Theater). Associate/Assistant Credits: SUFFS (Broadway), Lempicka (Broadway), Scene Partners (Vineyard Theater). Martínez holds a degree in Architecture from ITESM MTY, a specialization in Scenic Design from CENTRO CDMX, and an MFA in Theater Design from Yale School of Drama. www.marcelomg.com / @marcelomtzg
Hao Bai
LIGHTING DESIGNERHao Bai (Lighting Designer) is a multidisciplinary designer in lighting, sound, video projection, and world-building (environment) for live and virtual performances. Recent: Virtual: Final Boarding Call (Ma-Yi Theater+WP Theater); Nocturne in 1200s (Ping Chong). Lighting: Waterboy and the Mighty World (Bushwick Starr & The Public Theatre); Lazarus (Ping Chong). Projection: Electronic City (NYIT Awards); My Home on the Moon (SF Playhouse–SFBATCC Awards); Twelfth Night (Folger, DC). Sound: Walden (TheatreWorks–CT Critics Circle Award), True West (People's Light). Lighting & Sound: 7Mins (HERE). Lighting & Projection: Priestess of Twerk (HERE + Irondale); Lighting/Sound/Projection: Arden (The Flea). Production Design: and the grass grows (Harvard University); Where We Belong (National Tours: The Public, Goodman Theatre, OSF etc.). haobaidesign.com
DeShon Elem
COSTUME DESIGNERDeShon Elem (she/they) Costume Designer. Hunter College '17. DeShon is an Afrofuturist/Afrosurrealist artist and designer from The Bronx, by way of Harlem. Her design career has been centered around working on shows that highlight and uplift Black stories and voices. She is Emmy Nominated for her work on The Roll Call: The Roots to Strange Fruit (PBS/All Arts) Some of their theater works include The Worthy (The Flea Theater), The Gospel Woman (National Black Theatre), This Land Was Made (Vineyard Theatre), (pray) (Ars Nova & Nation Black Theatre), Being Up in Here and All the Other Businesses that Don’t Concern You OR When You See a Buncha Black People Running, What Do You Do? (Exponential Festival & The Brick), King James (Northern Stage), Bowl EP (National Black Theatre & Vineyard Theatre). They are excited to add SWEETWATER: The Gospel of Iman to the list of Black artistry she has been a part of.
Ray Archie
SOUND DESIGNERRay Archie is the Executive Director of Notes to the Soul and head engineer of Brooklyn Sound Lab. Ray plays cello, bass, & piano and has performed internationally with Leonard Bernstein, Michael Tilson-Thomas, LSO, SFSO, & many others. Ray is an award-winning engineer/producer who has worked in television and radio for over 20 years, regularly presents at AES and EBU conventions, and has recorded 30+ albums, 25+ audiobooks.
