Drew Drake is an Actor, Poet, Hip Hop Artist, Director, and Educator originally from Huntsville, Alabama, now based in NYC. His focus lies in creating art that fosters constructive dialogue for people of color. Drew has made notable appearances on television, portraying roles such as "Lamar Cordell" in Law and Order, and has graced renowned stages including the Bonnaroo Music Festival, Barclays Center, and Brooklyn Academy of Music's production Word. Sound. Power. In December, he directed Marisol by Jose Rivera for NYU Tisch's Mainstage Fall Undergraduate production. Formerly, he served as the Poet-In-Residence and Teaching Artist with Urban Word NYC, and currently holds positions as a Professor at New York University (Martin Luther King Scholars Program and Tisch: Playwrights Horizon Theatre Studio), and Columbia Law School, where he teaches African American Theatre at Medgar Evers College. Drew is immensely grateful for the opportunity to return to Knoxville as an Artist in Residence at the Clarence Brown Theatre / University of Tennessee this Spring.

SeQuoiia, is a San Francisco native who is a multi-talented actor, choreographer, percussionist, rapper, and vocalist. He recently co-developed, performed, and musically directed “De Mangangá: An Afro-Brazilian Musical” for the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company’s New Roots Theatre Festival. Other credits include the world premiere of “Hippest Trip-The Soul Train Musical” (u/s Jeffrey Daniels), the Metropolitan Opera’s “Champion” (Dancer), film “Freaky Tales” (Dancer), Maleek Washington, “Shades 2.0 D.A.P. Diamonds and Principal” (Dancer), and Camille A. Brown & Dancers “I Am” (Dancer). SeQuoiia dedicates this show and everything he does to his beautiful daughter Halo.

Arewà Basit (she/they) is a Brooklyn based, artist, musician, and story-teller. They made their television debut in MTV’s first queer dating show Are You The One. Arewà is a co-founder of Legacy, a production company focused on providing resources to artists systematically excluded from—and exploited by—media and the arts. In 2023, Basit performed their original music at Copenhagen Winter Pride, TLDEF 20th Anniversary Celebration, The LGBTQ Center’s Juneteenth Block Party, Bob The Drag Queen’s EP release (and was also featured on Bob song “BLACK” along ft. Ocean Kelly), and headlined TRANSMISSION, NYC’s first all trans music festival. Some theatre credits include Tribe: Hair(European Tour), Mzzz Erykah: A Map to Know Where (soho rep), ig @basit_

Cherene is a multi-award-winning veteran actor/singer-songwriter from Chicago, who began her career in the cult classic film, “Cooley High.” Broadway credits include: “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.” Off Broadway: Inkd’Well, For All the Women…, Walking Down Broadway and The Last of the Thorntons. Regional credits include King Lear, Familiar, Skeleton Crew, Little Foxes (Goodman Theatre), brownsville song (b-side for tray) (Humana Festival, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville) and Doubt. Film/TV include Jules, Arthur, City of Angels, The Long Walk Home, The Code, Almost Family, Law & Order, Law & Order SVU: Sugar, and Chappelle's Show. Cherene has written 3 solo plays, “Circle Session,” “This Actor’s Journey,” for which she wrote, arranged and sang all of her original songs. and “The Moment I Felt My Soul.” Cherene has also written her first ten-minute play, Red Wagon, one-act, “Hiding Inside Him,” and her first full length play, “Monday Wednesday Friday".

TRAVIS RAEBURN was recently in the Acting Company’s National Tour of ROMEO & JULIET/THREE MUSKETEERS. Some credits include MCC Theater’s SOFT, “WU-TANG: AN AMERICAN SAGA,” FIRST MATCH, commercials for MasterCard USA, Xfinity, and Pop Tarts and IN THE SOUTHERN BREEZE at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Raeburn thanks his mother, grandmother, and family for their support. Along with acting he is also a teaching artist, serving predominantly students of color. His music is streaming on all platforms under TravRae. Black lives always will matter. Training: SUNY Purchase, BFA Acting and LaGuardia Arts High School (Drama). Instagram: @travierae.

Sound Design

Christopher Darbassie is an interdisciplinary artist. (Select Credits): Apiary (2nd Stage), Amusements (Playwrights Horizons), Uncle Vanya (O’Henry Productions), A Bright New Boise (Signature Theater), Camp Siegfried (2nd Stage), Patience (2nd Stage), A Case for the Existence of God (Signature Theater), This Beautiful Future (Cherry Lane Theater, TheaterLab), PS (Ars Nova), Fly Away (Petzel Gallery), Black Exhibition (The Bushwick Starr). Chris has designed for art installations, radio plays, devised works and theatrical productions in collaboration with Alliance Theater, The Movement Theater Company, The Public, New York Theater Workshop, The TEAM, Theater for a New Audience, The Atlantic Theater Co., and The Shed. Wingspace 2019-2020 Sound Design Fellow. www.darbassiedesign.com

Director

Daniel Boisrond is a multifaceted artist whose vision transcends mediums. He wears multiple hats with finesse - an actor, director, brand strategist and an entrepreneur as the founder (ceo) of 3:5Creative[s], a creative agency. With a BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the Art and with a decade-spanning career in the industry he has worked on projects such as MTV's "Eye Candy" (Ethan), Quicken Loans Rocket Mortgage Super Bowl Commercial featuring Michael Keegan-Key, idigress (Caleb) and Skeleton Crew (Dez) at Premiere Stages at Kean University. Directing credits include ShopTalk (ArtYard), Roots (Dixon Place & La MAMA), For Colored Girls..(Breakthrough Theater of Winter Park).

Costume Design

Jason A. Goodwin (he/him) is an NY-based costume designer and scenic artist. Born and raised in Virginia, Jason moved to New York to attend NYU, where he graduated with a BFA in drama from Tisch's production & design studio. While studying, Jason joined the sophomore class of Lincoln Center's fellowship program, supporting Lincoln Center Film in marketing the 2022 New York Film Festival. Since leaving University, Jason has supported projects on and off Broadway, including Disney's Aladdin , Tina the Tina Turner Musical, Back to the Future the Musical, Hell's Kitchen at the Public Theatre, and most recently, Disney's Hercules in Hamburg, Germany. Instagram: @bygoodwinjason

Lighting Design

John D. Alexander: OFF-BROADWAY: Lambs 2 Slaughter (Cherry Lane Theatre) and Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence (New Victory Theater). Recent designs include: Sanctuary Road (Virginia Opera); Fat Ham (Theatre Squared & City Theatre Group); Confederates (Mosaic Theatre Co.); Selling Kabul (Signature Theatre); From the Mississippi Delta (Westport Country Playhouse); Detroit ’67 (TheatreSquared); Crying on Television (Everyman Theatre); Quamino's Map (Chicago Opera Theatre); B.R.O.K.E.N. Code B.I.R.D. Switching (Berkshire Theatre Group); Sheepdog and The House of the Negro Insane (Contemporary American Theatre Festival). Upcoming designs include: What Will Happen to All That Beauty (CATF) and Clydes (Detroit Public Theater). www.JohnDAlexanderLightingDesign.com

Set Design

Lucas A Degirolamo is a Brooklyn-based set/production designer and set decorator most interested in design as a medium for the imagination of queerer futures. He works across theater, film, live performance, and experimental work. Recent theater: WAIT UNTIL DARK (CCT), BEING UP IN HERE… (THE BRICK), BLACK MOTHER LOST DAUGHTER (NBT), WHERE ARE WE GOING (NYU Tisch Meisner UG), BLUE FIRE BURNS THE HOTTEST (The Brick). Recent film set decoration: Hulu’s THE MILL starring Lil Rel Howery, Shudder’s BAD THINGS starring Gayle Rankin and Molly Ringwald. Prod. design for short film THAW (2023, dir. Alex Bush, TriBeCa/OutFest world premieres), feature film NYX (2024, dir. Kristina Klebe). Fresh Ground Pepper BRB Resident 2022. lucas is the founder/lead designer of FRANK STUDIO, an independent design studio and prop house located in South Slope. www.frankbrooklyn.com.

Projections Design

Zavier Augustus Lee Taylor is a multimedia artist and designer with a focus on interactive and impactful video design for live performances. Zavier has BA in Dramatic art from UNC-Chapel Hill and an MFA in Media Design from UMD-College Park. Zavier has a passion for the hands-on creation of new work. His work has seen stages at The Apollo Theater, The Guthrie, Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, GEVA Theatre, McCarter Theatre, Theater J, The Classical Theater of Harlem, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, Baltimore Centerstage, Keegan Theatre, and Studio Theatre. Zavier also operates a multimedia production company known as ZALT Productions. ZALT Productions Is a creative entity that enables people and businesses to realize their potential through design. Zavier is eager to connect with and build a network of creatives locally (DMV), nationally, and abroad. Learn more about Zavier and his previous work by searching #ZALTproductions. Instagram: @zaltslaw

Intimacy Coordinator
Amaal Saifudeen (she/her) is an intimacy/ fight coordinator from New Orleans, LA. She is so excited to be working with National Black Theatre on Packages O' The Things We Deliver as the Intimacy Coordinator through Unkle-Dave's Fight-House! She has previously worked on the intimacy and fight coordination teams for "Hotel Happy" (Houses on the Moon Theatre Company), "Appropriate" (Second Stage), "The Beautiful Land I Seek" (Fault Line Theatre), “Daphne” (Lincoln Center Theatre/LCT3), “Dia Y Noche” (Labyrinth Theatre Company), “The Seagull/ Woodstock, NY” (The New Group), “Elyria” (Atlantic Theatre Company), and "Good Enemy" (Audible/ Minetta Lane Theatre Company). Thank you to Dave Anzuelo, Sean F. Griffin, Rocio Mendez, and my parents!