Kenny Leon's True Colors Theatre Company

AWMC Mock Competition
2020-01-18 11:00 - 16:00 UTC | Stillwell Theater at Kennesaw State University, 71 Bartow Ave NW, Kennessaw, GA, 30144, United States

Paradise Blue
2019-09-24 - 2019-10-20 | Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road, Atlanta, GA, 30331, United States
Paradise Blue | Written by Dominique Morisseau
It’s 1949, and the new mayor of Detroit is working to get rid of the blight of the city—and to move African Americans out of Detroit’s Black Bottom. Blue, a gifted trumpeter, considers selling his once thriving family jazz club, leaving his beloved Pumpkin and her dreams aside. As Blue fights personal demons to better his life and maintain his sanity, his fellow band members, Corn and P-Sam, are stuck wondering where they fit into the plan to benefit from the changes in their neighborhood. Silver, a mysterious woman with a history, enters the scene with her own plans, turning the lives of everyone upside down.
Set against a backdrop of gentrification and displacement, Paradise Blue encompasses the pain and suffering that accompany the erasure of Black history.
Additional Programming
Greek/HBCU Week
Wednesday, October 2 at 7:30 PM Post-Show | Cast Meet + Greet
Thursday, October 3 at 7:30 PM Pre-Show | Complimentary glass of wine with ticket
Friday, October 4 – Sunday, October 6 All performances | $10 off tickets purchased at box office
Cast Talk Back
Sunday, October 6 at 5:00 PM | FREE | Southwest Arts Center
Join us for a moderated post-show conversation with the cast. This is your chance to ask the cast your most burning questions about their experiences working on this production and hear some unexpected stories behind its creation.
Community Conversation: The Changing Face of Atlanta
Sunday, October 13 at 5:00 PM | FREE | Southwest Arts Center
This conversation will address the question of whether gentrification or “urban renewal” always means displacement or whether new investments can benefit our communities. This is a post-show event that does not include tickets to the performance.
Deep Dive
Wednesday, October 16 6:30 PM | FREE | Southwest Arts Center
Learn about the play with a deeper look into the artistic process. This is a pre-show event that does not include tickets to the performance.
Wine-down Wednesdays
Every Wednesday is wine-down Wednesday at True Colors! Join us beginning at 6:45 PM for a complimentary glass of wine in the SWAC lobby. One complimentary glass with purchase of ticket for patrons 21+.
Cast and Crew
Dominique MorisseauPlaywright
Jamil JudeDirector
Cynthia D. Barker“Pumpkin”
Keith Arthur Bolden“Corn”
Javon Johnson“Blue”
Enoch Armando King“P-Sam”
Tangela Large“Silver”
Moriah and Isabel Curley-Clay, Set Design
Christopher Dills, Props Design
Nyrobi Moss, Costume Design
Chris Lane, Sound Design
Mary Parker, Lighting Design
Russell Gunn, Original Music
Thank You to our Production Sponsor

Community Conversation: The Changing Face of Atlanta
2019-08-24 11:00 - 13:00 UTC | GA
Photo Courtesy of Ben Rollins

Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company presents…
Community Conversation: The Changing Face of Atlanta
Saturday, August 24, 2019 | 11 AM – 1 PM
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
YMCA of Metro Atlanta Learning and Leadership Center
569 MLK Jr. Drive NW
Atlanta, GA 30314
Gentrification: Who Wins and Who Loses?
With Atlanta’s population and urban renewal on the rise, long-time residents often find themselves pushed out of the neighborhoods in which they grew up. Does gentrification or “urban renewal” always mean displacement, or is it truly an investment that benefits our communities? How can we improve our neighborhoods and cities while protecting those who are most vulnerable? This conversation will focus on past, present, and future Atlanta and the extreme shift in our city’s landscape.
Panelists include:
Sue Ross, The PhotoGriot

Debra Edelson, Executive Director, The Grove Foundation
Karcheik Sims-Alvarado, PH.D., Founder & CEO, Preserve Black Atlanta, Inc.
Lauren Koontz, President & CEO, YMCA of Metro Atlanta
This conversation will begin promptly at 11 AM and end at 1 PM.
True Colors presents these conversations as a springboard for the themes and issues presented in the plays we produce. These conversations bring subject matter experts and the community together for 90 minutes of sharing and learning.

2019 - 2020 Season: She Griots
2019-08-01 - 2020-07-31 | Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road, Atlanta, GA, 30331, United States
Incoming Artistic Director Jamil Jude and True Colors Theatre Company are thrilled to announce the 2019 – 2020 season, dubbed “She Griots.” The three productions of this 17th season focus on strong women playwrights, storytellers, historians and leaders of various generations.
The season opens in September, when True Colors will conclude Dominique Morisseau’s The Detroit Project Trilogy with Paradise Blue. In past seasons, True Colors has produced the two other plays in the trilogy, Detroit ’67 and Skeleton Crew. Set in 1949, Paradise Blue explores a jazz club in Detroit’s Black Bottom, a neighborhood on the verge of urban renewal and radical change.
February 2020 brings Jocelyn Bioh’s comedic hit School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play to the stage. This production follows a group of young women at a Ghanaian boarding school vying to participate in the Miss Ghana Pageant and ultimately, the Miss Global Universe Pageant.
The season closes with George Brant’s Marie and Rosetta, a play with music that tells the story of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and her protégée Marie Knight, as they develop the relationship that led them to become a dynamic singing duo.
Click here for more information about subscriptions.
Click here to purchase single tickets.

East Texas Hot Links
2019-07-16 - 2019-08-11 | Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road, Atlanta, GA, 30331, United States
East Texas Hot Links | Written and Directed by Eugene Lee
Greed, corruption and Jim Crow intertwine in the tense thriller East Texas Hot Links. It’s 1955 in the piney woods of East Texas, and Charlesetta’s Top O’ the Hill Cafe is one of the only public places where black locals can gather for comfort, solace, and companionship. In a community dominated by the Ku Klux Klan, young black men have begun disappearing and turning up dead. On one hot summer night, the patrons of the Top O’ the Hill must join forces to protect one of their own. When danger comes knocking, the unthinkable happens, with dire consequences for all involved. Both a riveting mystery and a compelling character study reminiscent of The Twilight Zone, East Texas Hot Links is coming to the stage at Atlanta’s Southwest Arts Center.
Allergy Warning: Peanuts will be consumed on stage during this performance.
Please be advised that this show contains some adult language and simulated gunfire and violence. Patrons who experience anxiety or symptoms of PTSD are advised to speak with the house manager before the performance.
If you have questions about content please call 404-532-1901 (ext 201).
TRAFFIC ALERT!
Cascade Road will be closed to thru traffic from Fulton Industrial Blvd. to New Hope Road for the duration of this production. Please plan for additional travel time if this is your route.

Additional Programming
Community Conversation: Preserving the Legacy of African-American Men
Saturday, June 22 at Noon | FREE | Southwest Arts Center
Related Reading: Bread by Regina Taylor | Directed by Nikki Toombs
Friday, June 28 at 7:30 PM | FREE | Southwest Arts Center
Greek/HBCU Week

Deep Dive
Wednesday, July 31 at 6:30 PM | FREE | Southwest Arts Center
Learn more about the play with a deeper look into the artistic process.
Cast Talk-back
Sunday, August 4 at 4:00 PM | FREE | Southwest Arts Center
Join us for a moderated post show conversation with the artists to learn more about the work and hear some unexpected stories behind its creation.
Wine-down Wednesdays
Every Wednesday is wine-down Wednesday at True Colors! Join us beginning at 6:30 PM for a complimentary glass of wine in the SWAC lobby. Complimentary with purchase of ticket for patrons 21+.
Cast and Crew
Eugene LeePlaywright & Director
Nikki Toombs Assistant Director
Gerard CatusCast
Wigasi BrantCast

Markelle GayCast
Anthony GoolsbyCast
Maiesha McQueenCast
Cedric PendletonCast
Eugene H. Russell IVCast
Travis TurnerCast
Lisa L. Watson, Production/Stage Manager
Tracy Thomas, Assistant Stage Manager
Ming Chen, Set Designer
Fontella Boone, Costume Designer
Rebecca Makus, Lighting Designer
Bobby Johnston, Sound Designer
Bradley Bergeron, Projection Designer
Connor Hammond, Fight Director
MeJah Balams, Props Designer
Shellis “Day” Byrd, Wig Designer

FREE Play Reading: "Bread" by Regina Taylor
2019-06-28 19:30 - 21:30 UTC | Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road, Atlanta, GA, 30331, United States
photo courtesy of WaterTower Theatre

Bread | Written by Regina Taylor
Directed by Nikki Toombs
Bread is nourishment. Bread is legacy. Bread is life itself. And bread is money. This play by award-winning Dallas-born actress and playwright Regina Taylor weaves a compelling family drama of hopes, fears, thwarted dreams, and dark secrets against a turbulent backdrop of racial tension and social upheaval. It is late 2016; a time of change. James and Ruth are a middle-class couple from Oak Cliff, a historic south Dallas neighborhood on the verge of gentrification. They plan a bright future for their teenage son and his soon-to-be-born brother. But when James’ brother Jeb returns home, buried family tensions resurface and the past casts a troubling shadow across an uncertain future. Taylor’s stirring, timely story of identity and family asks: How can we prepare the next generation for what’s to come?

True Colors Theatre Company is proud to introduce a series of staged readings with themes that parallel those in our season productions. We will examine our world through the eyes of characters while creating intimate occasions to engage with patrons.
In advance of our production of Eugene Lee’s “East Texas Hot Links”, we will produce a staged reading of Regina Taylor’s “Bread”. Both plays explore how communities are impacted by the disappearance and death of young Blck men. Join us as we further develop the work of one of the most respected contemporary Black writers.
Event Schedule:

7:30 PM | Pointing out Parallels – An Introduction of Themes
7:45 PM | “Bread” Staged Reading
9:15 PM | Post-Show Discussion

Community Conversation: Preserving the Legacy of African American Men
2019-06-22 12:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road, Atlanta, GA, 30331, United States
Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company presents
Community Conversation: Preserving the Legacy of African American Men
Saturday, June 22, 2019 | Program begins at 12 PM | FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
As each generation takes the baton from the previous generation, they hope for ever-increasing achievements. Sadly, many of the achievements of our forefathers get washed away as the years pass on. We discuss how to honor and preserve the accomplishments of past generations while carving out new territory for 21st-Century African American men.
Panelists include:

Kwame Johnson, President & CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta
Wayne Pleasant, Treasurer & CFO, 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc.
Charles Stephens, Founder & Executive Director, The Counter Narrative Project

The conversation will begin promptly at noon and end at 2 PM.

True Colors presents these conversations as a springboard for the themes and issues presented in the plays we produce. Hosted by Associate Artistic Director, Jamil Jude, these conversations bring subject matter experts and the community together for 90 minutes of sharing and learning.

True Colors Applauds Awards Brunch
2019-06-01 | GA

August Wilson Monologue Competition National Finals
2019-05-06 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | August Wilson Theatre, 245 W 52nd St, New York, NY, 10019, United States
The National August Wilson Monologue Competition is presented in collaboration between True Colors Theatre Company and Jujamcyn Theaters.
When: May 6, 2018 · 7:00pm
Where: August Wilson Theatre
245 West 52nd Street, NY, NY
FREE & Open to the Public
The event, which is free and open to the public, features high school students from Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Haven, New York, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Dallas, and Greensboro, North Carolina performing monologues by the late, legendary American playwright.
A panel of celebrity judges will evaluate the competitors and select a winner. The students with the top three scores will win cash scholarships. The evening will also include performances by well-known Wilsonian veterans and special musical guests.
This program is presented thanks to support by Delta Air Lines.

Spring Play Reading Series: The Griot
2019-04-25 - 2019-04-26 | GA
Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company is excited to announce the line-up for our annual Spring Play Reading Series. The theme of this year’s series is “The Griot.” The West-African Griot, the storyteller, is the holder of the stories of a people and the preserver of culture and traditions. As the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade ripped people from their native lands and brought about a mix of disparate people, the Griot helped to unite the stories of the various communities and helped them preserve their heritage. In the tradition of the Griot, we will remember and reflect on the past as we ideate the ways in which we wish to change and impact the future.

Thursday, 4/25/19 at 7:30 PM
The African Company Presents Richard III, written by Carlyle Brown
Directed by David Koté
Venue: 7 Stages | 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307
40 years before the Civil War, William Henry Brown, a free black American, organizes a production of Shakespeare’s Richard III for a predominantly black audience. But in doing so, Brown challenges the leading producer of New York City, Stephen Price, who has secured the famous English actor Junius Brutus Booth to play Richard III at his Park Theatre. As Brown fights for the right of his company to present Shakespeare, his African Grove Theatre Company fights within their ranks, questioning the appropriation of English drama for African-American actors and the racial implications of such a move. Based on the true story of the first African-American theatre company, Carlyle Brown’s The African Company Presents Richard III carries a timeless message of negotiating racial consciousness in theatre that still resonates for actors and audiences today.

Friday, 4/26/19 at 7:30 PM
Untitled Adinkra Play, written by Gabrielle Fulton
Directed by Jamil Jude
Venue: Fulton County Arts and Culture Aviation Community Cultural Center | 3900 Aviation Circle, NW, Atlanta, GA 30336
An African American couple, Will and Charity-Grace, are the hopes and dreams of the diaspora. The “talented tenth,” they are a successful power couple. That is, on the outside – within the relationship, they’re barely recognizable to one another. Their marriage is on the brink of failure when an old friend, their Ghanaian host brother (Kwaku) from their college study abroad, appears on the doorstep for a visit and turns their relational orientation on its head. The currently untitled play utilizes the aesthetic features, ideas, proverbial meanings and messages communicated in Adinkra symbology of West Africa to explore authenticity within relationships while exploring the Western roots of homophobia.

Saturday, 4/27/19 at 7:30 PM: Canceled
This is an exciting opportunity to join us for a live reading by professional actors and directors. This Series is FREE and open to the public.

August Wilson Monologue Competition Regional Finals
2019-03-01 19:30 - 22:30 (America/New_York) | 595 North, 595 North Avenue NW, Atlanta, GA, 30318, United States
RESERVE YOUR FREE TICKET
Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company is proud to present the Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition for Greater Metro Atlanta area high school students, grades 9-12. This competition, coordinated by True Colors Theatre’s Director of Education, Nikki Toombs, focuses on the plays of August Wilson’s American Century Cycle, which chronicle the African American experience through the 20th century. Each play is set in a different decade and is filled with soaring, lyrical monologues that take the song, laughter, pain, and rich content of African American life and places it in the mouths of the greatest and varied ensemble of characters written since Shakespeare.
The inspiration for the competition was sparked by two of August Wilson’s closest living collaborators, Kenny Leon and Todd Kreidler. Kenny Leon, the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company, worked closely with Wilson; directing most of the Century Cycle plays on Broadway and at regional theatres. Todd Kreidler, former Associate Artistic Director for Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company, was Dramaturge for Wilson’s last play and Director of his one-man show. As a result, both have intimate knowledge of August Wilson as an artist and as a person. According to Kreidler, “The goal of the competition is to help garner partnerships with communities, schools, and theaters across the United States, and to create educational materials about August Wilson that allow students, of all races, to connect these important theatre works with educational curricula like history, social studies, and literature.”
Each student will perform a 1-3 minute monologue of his or her choosing from one of the ten plays in August Wilson’s Century Cycle. The selection can be a written speech or dialogue taken from one character within a scene but should include a point-of-entry into the character and a personal connection to the selected material. Contestants will be judged by a panel of Atlanta theatre professionals on the basis of preparedness, understanding of the text, emotional connection to the material, and commitment to the performance. Past judges have included V103’s Frank Ski and Wanda Smith, WABE’s Lois Reitzes, actor Jasmine Guy, CNN anchor Holly Firfer and NBA All-star Joe Barry Caroll. True Colors also offers free acting workshops and a compendium for teachers in order to prepare participants for the competition.

Skeleton Crew
2019-02-12 - 2019-03-10 | Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road, Atlanta, GA, 30331, United States
BUY TICKETS
Artistic Director Kenny Leon and True Colors Theatre Company are thrilled to present Dominique Morisseau’s Skeleton Crew beginning this February. Part of Morisseau’s The Detroit Project trilogy, Skeleton Crew is an insightful drama about the value of work to workers and what happens when their livelihoods are threatened by layoffs. Set in 2008’s Great Recession, Skeleton Crew tells the story of factory workers at the last auto stamping plant in Detroit and their uncertainty as rumors of their plant’s imminent closing stir. Jamil Jude, True Colors’ Associate Artistic Director, returns to the director’s chair after a successful run of August Wilson’s King Hedley II last spring.
Dez, Shanita, Faye, and Reggie are a makeshift “work-family”. Dez and Shanita are young people at the start of their careers who hope to make good on their dreams before the opportunity passes. Faye has worked at the plant for over 29 years but the retirement package looks a lot better for those who reach 30 years. Reggie, their manager, is stuck holding the company line – he wants to prepare his team for the plant’s closing but upper management requires his silence. Each must balance their own desires, their loyalty to one another, and their survival with the need for meaningful work.

“Dominique’s writing is profound,” shared director Jamil Jude. “Her voice is a blend of the beautiful poetry of the greatest writers of the diaspora and the laser-focused social critique of the modern age. She creates worlds with her specificity that honor her hometown of Detroit while giving everyone, regardless of their upbringing, something to chew on.” Jamil added, “It’s a joy to bring the words of one of America’s best living writers back to the True Colors stage,” referencing the 2015 production of Morisseau’s Detroit ’67, the second installment of Morisseau’s The Detroit Project trilogy. Skeleton Crew is the third play in the trilogy; True Colors will produce Paradise Blue, the first work in the trilogy, next season. Playwright Morisseau received a McArthur “Genius” Grant in October of 2018 and was recognized as one of the top 20 most-produced playwrights in the 2018 – 19 season by American Theatre magazine.
This production contains adult language and simulated smoking.
Reviews
Skeleton Crew Gets Timely, Formidable Production At True Colors | ArtsATL
Co-stars lend heft to True Color’s Skeleton Crew | AJC

FREE Play Reading: “Wrong River” by Josh Wilder
2019-02-01 19:30 (America/New_York) | Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road, Atlanta, GA, 30331, United States
FREE RSVP
Description

True Colors Theatre Company is proud to introduce a series of staged readings with themes that parallel those in our season productions. We will examine our world through the eyes of characters while creating intimate occasions to engage with patrons.
In advance of our production of Dominique Morisseau’s Skeleton Crew, we will produce a staged reading of Josh Wilder’s Wrong River. Join us as we explore how the decisions of governments and corporations can negatively affect the masses and create moments of crisis.
As the water crisis in Flint, Michigan begins to make national headlines, a young couple struggling to make ends meet scrambles to fight for a better future for their daughter–– even if it means losing everything they have.
The Flint Water Crisis sparked national outrage and a grassroots movement that encouraged people from across the globe to send bottles of clean drinking water to Flint’s residents. As we celebrate a season of Moments that make the Movement, we are excited to pair our production of Skeleton Crew with Wrong River, two plays that humanize our country’s recent struggles.
Event Schedule:
7:30 PM | Pointing out Parallels – An Introduction of Themes
7:45 PM | Wrong River Staged Reading, directed by Danye Brown
9:15 PM | Post-Show Discussion

Coping in Corporate Cultures: Community Conversation
2019-01-26 12:00 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road, Atlanta, GA, 30331, United States
Navigating through hierarchal structures, bursting through glass ceilings, and dodging micro-aggressions can sometimes make going to work feel like training for the Olympics. This conversation will focus on ways to thrive in these environments, and to have open conversations without fear.
These conversations are the springboard for the themes and issues presented in the plays we produce. Hosted by Associate Artistic Director, Jamil Jude, the conversations bring subject matter experts and the community together for 90 minutes of sharing and learning.
