PROVIDENCE, RI: The Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company MFA Programs in Acting and Directing present the book of Lucy by Ngozi Anyanwu, directed by Andrew Watring. This production runs from March 9 through 19 at the Pell Chafee Performance Center on 87 Empire St. in Providence. General admission is $15 with discounted prices for seniors and students. Tickets go on sale February 16 at noon and can be purchased at Trinity Rep’s ticket office, by phone at (401) 351-4242, or online at trinityrep.com/lucy.
ABOUT THE PLAY
Immediately following their fall from heaven, Lucifer, or Lucy as they come to understand themself, reflects on conversations, relationships, and decisions that brought them to their unfortunate paradise lost. We are transported into Lucy’s life before and after the fall. Through a beautifully woven series of vignettes, rituals, and hymns; and a healthy dose of Black magic, Lucy navigates the annals of the Book of Genesis and beyond, searching for the meaning of their existence. the book of Lucy unfurls this journey from a Black diasporic lens, the uncontainable movement from doubt to radical change.
“the book of Lucy is a ritual of joy; a liberatory incantation dissolving binary modes of thinking that culminates in a powerful call to examine the unique unfinishedness of all human beings on their individual and collective journeys from doubt to radical change,” director Andrew Watring said. “Devising this production and perfecting this ritual alongside our incredible designers and brilliant acting ensemble has been such an inspiring collaborative experience. I’m deeply humbled that I’m able to be a part of such a special process as one artist amongst many.”
CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM
Andrew Watring (Andrew) is a Black Trans Object-theatre-creator, director, award-winning playwright, producer, performer, and Anarkata-in-training from sweet home Huntsville, Alabama. Andrew’s career has been dedicated to the creation and continued cultivation of “Shakespeare is a White Supremacist,” a theatrical ritual grounded in analyzing and working to reverse Shakespeare’s colonizing effect on the American theater; most recently staged with Main Street Players (Miami-Dade, FL). Select directing credits include: RENT, Angels in America, The Henriad, White Noise, Hamletmachine, Passing: A Stage Play, Coriolanus. Andrew was a Resident-Artist for the Yale Dramatic Association (2022), a member of the Directors Lab North (2021); graduate of the Theatre Lab Life Stories Institute (2019); an Honored Playwright at the New South Young Playwright’s Festival (2018). Andrew founded and served as the Artistic Director of the Fractal Theatre Collective, an anti-capitalist arts organization that embraced community-led, direct action as an integral element of theatrical design. Andrew’s projects currently in development: Black. Queer. Providence: Charles Town, The 9th Street Black Preservation Society, Old God. Andrew holds a BA in Theatre from American University, and is an MFA candidate at Brown University / Trinity Repertory Company.
Andrew will work alongside Matthew Requintina (music director), Romello Huins (set designer), Raphael Regan (costume designer), Ebony M. Burton (lighting designer), and Anna Drummond (sound designer). The cast of this production includes Brown/Trinity Rep students Aizhaneya Carter, Kai Thomani Tshikosi, Rebecca-Anne Whittaker, and Tobias Wilson. Each cast member plays a wide range of roles throughout the show; all four of them portray the titular Lucy at least once.
The Brown/Trinity Rep MFA Programs provide a three-year professional training program under the auspices of an Ivy League university and Rhode Island’s Tony Award-winning theater company. Brown University’s Department of Theater and Performance Studies is internationally recognized for the quality of its faculty and instruction. Trinity Rep, with its deep tradition of resident artists, provides powerful artistic assets and creates a firm foundation for a new generation of theater artists.
AT A GLANCE
the book of Lucy
By Ngozi Anyanwu
March 9 – 19, 2023
Director: Andrew Watring
Music Director: Matthew Requintina
Set Designer: Romello Huins
Costume Designer: Raphael Regan
Lighting Designer: Ebony M. Burton
Sound Designer: Anna Drummond
Stage Manager: Destiny Hyman
Cast
Aizhaneya Carter
Kai Thomani Tshikosi
Rebecca-Anne Whittaker
Tobias Wilson
Performances
Thursday, March 9 at 7:30 pm
Friday, March 10 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 11 at 2:00 pm
Saturday, March 11 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 12 at 2:00 pm
Thursday, March 16 at 7:30 pm
Friday, March 17 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, March 18 at 2:00 pm
Saturday, March 18 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, March 19 at 2:00 pm
Website: trinityrep.com/lucy
Ticket Office: (401)-351-4242; 201 Washington Street, Providence, RI, 02903