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An ensemble comprised of some of New York’s best-known Caribbean American actors will come together Monday, December 10th at 7 pm to pay tribute to one of the region’s most iconic playwrights.
Trinidadian playwright Zeno Obi Constance (c) Naimchand Bissessar
From Page to Stage – a Caribbean Journey will celebrate the work and the legacy of award-winning Trinidadian playwright Zeno Obi Constance. The event takes place at Theater Lab Studios in Manhattan. Merlina Rich, Artistic Director of Banana Boat Productions, is producing and directing the program.
According to Ms. Rich, “Mr. Constance is the author of several scripts in the Banana Boat production repertoire, and his work has, for over fifty years, helped to correct many of the misconceptions frequently presented to the outside world about Caribbean people. In honoring Mr. Constance, we also celebrate the vibrant and culturally significant theater-making tradition throughout the English-speaking Caribbean, which is largely unknown in the U.S. and New York City theatrical communities.”
Mr. Constance has over 20 stage plays to his credit, many of which have been performed throughout the Caribbean and the diaspora. De Roaring 70’s, The Road Made To Walk, Duelling Voices, and perhaps his best-known work, The Ritual. The Ritual has become required reading for students of English and Drama at both the university and high school levels throughout the Caribbean.
Among his numerous national and regional awards is the Vanguard Cacique Award for his contribution to the theater at Secondary Schools in Trinidad, The National Council Playwriting award for Duelling Voices, and The Trinidadian Ministry of the Arts and Multiculturalism Award for his lifetime achievements as both a playwright and director.
A calypso collector and book author, Constance has also published works on Calypso, including Poet And Prophet – the career biography of Calypsonian Brother Valentino – and Tassa, Chutney, and Soca: A study of the East Indian Contribution to the Calypso.
Career biography of Calypsonian Brother Valentino (2010)
From Page To Stage-A Caribbean Journey will explore Mr. Constance’s work through staged reading excerpts from several of his plays, including Agouti’s Tale, Patricia- A Love Story, and Dueling Voices, along with video presentations and testimonials from his past associates.
The cast for the event includes several award-winning actors of Caribbean ancestry. It comprises Lincoln Brown, Nyanda Cammock, Akeil Davis, Dianne Dixon, Emilio Evans, Marsha Ann Hay, Lori Sinclair Brown, and Karl O Brian Williams.
Golden Krust Caribbean Restaurant will provide refreshments, and the Puffin Foundation also sponsors the event.
The event is free to the public with a suggested donation of $10.
TheaterLab: 357 west 36th street between 8th and 9th avenue.
CONTACT – 212 586 8767 or bananbpro@gmail.com