A series Nicole Sumlin (SumMedia Productions) along with Ensemble Executive Artistic Director Celeste Cosentino started virtually during the pandemic, this series focuses on short plays that take on big themes, sharing the black experience with Cleveland audiences. This year will be our SECOND in person presentation, presenting staged productions of the two pieces we presented virtually in our first episode.
Two weekends Only!! This Episode Includes: 

October 25th-November 3rd, 20204

Performing in THE CHAPEL of DISCIPLES CHRISTIAN CHURCH
3663 Mayfield Rd. Cleveland Heights, OH 44118

Fridays & Saturdays @7:30, Sundays @3:00 :: All tickets are $15 or Pay What You Can!

Co-Produced by Ensemble Theatre and SumMedia Productions!

MEET THE ARTISTS!

Lynn Nottage (Playwright, POOF!) is a playwright and a screenwriter. She is the first, and remains the only, woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice. Her play Sweat (Pulitzer Prize, Obie Award, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Tony Nomination, Drama Desk Nomination) moved to Broadway after a sold-out run at The Public Theater. Other plays include Floyd’s, Mlima’s Tale , By The Way, Meet Vera Stark, Ruined (Pulitzer Prize), Fabulation, or The Re- Education of Undine, Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Las Meninas, Mud, River, Stone; Por’knockers, and POOF! Nottage is the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellowship, Steinberg "Mimi" Distinguished Playwright Award, PEN/Laura Pels Master Playwright Award, Merit and Literature Award from The Academy of Arts and Letters, Columbia University Provost Grant, Doris Duke Artist Award, The Joyce Foundation Commission Project & Grant, Madge Evans-Sidney Kingsley Award, Nelson A. Rockefeller Award for Creativity, The Dramatists Guild Hull-Warriner Award, the inaugural Horton Foote Prize, Helen Hayes Award, the Lee Reynolds Award, and the Jewish World Watch iWitness Award. Her other honors include the National Black Theatre Fest's August Wilson Playwriting Award, a Guggenheim Grant, Lucille Lortel Fellowship and Visiting Research Fellowship at Princeton University. She is a graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Drama. She is also an Associate Professor in the Theatre Department at Columbia School of the Arts.

Nicole Sumlin (Co-Producer/Director, POOF!) is an actor, singer, director, writer, producer, and arts educator. As co-founder of Orchard Arts Project and SumMedia Productions with her husband Eugene Sumlin, Nicole has conceived and/or directed many live concerts, cabarets, musicals, and plays since 2005, in addition to other productions broadcast virtually. She most recently co-directed TEENA WITH TWO E’s by Jocelyn Bioh and ALL THE FLOWERS HAVE DIED by Johnathan Jackson for In Our Own Words, Episode 3. She is an active performer and has been seen on stages in New York City and Cleveland (local credits include performances at Beck Center for the Performing Arts, Cain Park, Cleveland Play House, Cleveland Public Theatre, Dobama Theatre, Ensemble Theatre, French Creek Theatre, Karamu House, Lakeland Civic Theatre, Ohio Shakepeare Festival, Playhouse Square, Seat of the Pants Productions, and Tantrum Theater). In 2019, she was awarded Best Actress in a Musical by the Cleveland Critics Circle for her performance as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grille at Beck Center for the Performing Arts. Nicole is a graduate of Wheaton College (IL), having studied at Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, and is trained in anti-racist practices and intimacy direction. She is a member of the Actor’s Equity Association.

Lisa Langford (Playwright, THE BOMB) is a Cleveland-based playwright and actor. She received her B.A. in History from Harvard University and her M.F.A. in playwriting from Cleveland State University. Her play Rastus and Hattie was a Joyce Award winner (w/ Cleveland Public Theatre); a Eugene O’Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference finalist; and a The Kilroy’s List honorable mention. The play was published by New Stage Press. Lisa’s other plays include How Blood Go, which was an August Wilson New Play Initiative reading series selection at Chicago’s Congo Square Theatre and part of Global Black Voices at the Roundhouse Theatre in London UK; The Art of Longing, a Leslie Scalapino Award finalist for Innovative Women Playwrights; and two short plays, The Bomb, published in the anthology Black Lives/Black Words, and Revolt. Ing, which was part of the I Am...Festival at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. She's received commissions from the Cleveland Playhouse, the College of Wooster and others. A recipient of the Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, Lisa is a member of the Dramatist Guild and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

Ananias J. Dixon (Director, THE BOMB) was a 2021 Cleveland Public theatre premier Fellow, and is blessed to be a theater teacher and coach at the Cleveland School of The Arts, Cleveland Play House, and Playhouse Square and has also been a member of George Street Playhouse’s educational touring theatre. Theater credits include The Good Heart, The Claxson Family, How to End Poverty in 90 min, Ratus and Hattie (Cleveland Public Theater); Skeleton Crew, Sunset Baby, The Effect, An Octoroon (Dobama Theatre); Detroit 67, Julius X (Karamu House); Black Angels Over Tuskegee (Actors Temple); John Henry (Cleveland Play House); The Toilet (New federal theatre). TV/film Includes “Law and Order: SVU”, “Blue Bloods”, “Person of Interest”,” Boardwalk Empire”,” Upstairs”, “NYC 22”, Antwone Fisher, Home, and Criminal Activity. Ananias was also part of Cleveland Play House’s New Ground Theatre Festival as the AD for The Nolan Williams Project as well as AD for The Royale under the direction of Robert Barry Fleming.

Mary-Francis R. Miller (Loreen, POOF!) is an actor, vocalist, musician and proud Cleveland native. Mary-Francis was a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus. Performance credits include the Karamu House production of Elton John & Tim Rice’s Aida, the Cleveland Public Theatre productions of Fire on the Water and Panther Women as actor and music director, the Ohio premiere of Sunset Baby at Dobama Theatre, the Karamu House productions of Passing Strange, Simply Simone and The American premiere of The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God. Mary-Francis also starred in an educational web-series in collaboration with PNC and The Cleveland Orchestra entitled Music Explorers. Film credits include The Emancipation of Miss Millie, Black Hiding Place, and Figure It Out. Mary-Francis is eager to return to Ensemble Theatre, and looking forward to a fantastic run. IG: @iam_mary.francis

KatriceMonee Headd (Florence, POOF!) is a multifaceted creative, an Equity Member Candidate, and native of Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. Impacting communities as a dancer, actor, singer, and painter. She has performed at Porthouse Theater, Tri-City Cuyahoga Community Theater, Karamu House Theatre, Beck Center, Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Public Theatre, and Cleveland City Hall amongst others.  She graduated Cum Laude from Kent State University received a Bachelor of the Fine Arts in Acting. Ms. Headd's Regional Highlights include:  Mighty Scarabs (Girlena) at Karamu Theater, Civil War Christmas (Hanna) at Dobama Theater, This is Not the Play (Playwright) at Cleveland Public Theater, Crystal Clear (Pearl), An Octoroon (Minnie) at Dobama Theater, Barbecue (Movie Star Barbara) at Cleveland Public Theater, Red Summer (Ida B. Wells) at Karamu, What We Look Like (Jean) at Dobama Theater. Ms. Headd is making her debut at Ensemble Theater and dedicates her performance to the Ladies of Jordan Community Resource Center. Where There's Life There's Hope. 

Ta'Leeyah "Lovely" O'Neal (Tinka, THE BOMB) (Poet, Actor, Assistant Director & Personal Chef). I am an a Alumni from Cleveland School of the Arts where I majored as a Drama student. Thanks to Dr. Scott G. Miller, Ananias J. Dixon and Johnathan L. Jackson for pushing me to stay active within the Arts. This support helped birthed the poet "Twa'Lovely" who is now streaming a poetry EP titled "The Coldest Summer" on Apple Music, Spotify and Tidal. In the past, I have acted on a mini series called "Langston Tributes" which you can now find on YouTube and Tubi. As well as, I Assistant Directed a short film called "When a Poet Loves" written, directed and produced by Mixxed Rose (Shatara Jordan). This film was also selected to be in GCUFF (Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival) 2023!

Perry Reed (Ezra, THE BOMB) has been acting for four years and received theatre training through the Karamu House and film training with Angela Boehm. Credits include Stonewallin’ at Convergence Continuum, Temptation of Adam at Cleveland Public Theatre, Rivers in Ink at Karamu House, The 2023 & 2024 Marilyn Bianchi Kids’ Playwriting Festival at Dobama Theatre, Election Day at the Borderlight Theatre Festival and Comma at Blank Canvas Theatre. He has also done various film and commercial work with Cinema Central, Covered in Content, T.H.A League Productions, and more. He co-wrote and starred in Mirrior Mime and The Loop with Arev Studios. 

Jasmine Renee (Costumer) is a multi-disciplinary artist born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated with a BFA in Dramatic Arts from The New School of Drama. Most recently, Jasmine costumed a production of King Lear (Cleveland Shakespeare Festival). Jasmine wants to thank her mom, siblings, grandparents and Cody for being the best and forever supportive.

Cassandra Miller (Lighting Intern) is ecstatic to be supporting the In Our Own Words series as a Lighting Intern. She is a recent graduate from Cleveland State specializing in Theatre and Dance. Cassandra’s recent backstage work includes: Wardrobe Head for Avenue Q and Costumer for Blakk Jakk Dance Collective. She also served as Choreographer for Jungle Book Kids and Frozen Jr  with Near West Theatre, and as movement assistant for Ancestra at CSU. Cassandra is grateful to be continuing her exploration of Lighting Design with Ensemble Theatre. Her recent on- stage work includes: Vera, in By the Way, Meet Vera Stark; Janis, in Ancestra; and as a member of CSU’s Dance Company in the Spring Dance Concert. Cassandra is a current company member of Blakk Jakk Dance Collective and is a Teaching Artist and Site Coordinator for Cleveland Public Theatre. Cassandra thanks God, her husband, family and community for their continuous support. A Special shoutout to her former professor Dave, “Thanks for teaching me lighting”. Matt 5:16

Leila Elise (Stage Management Intern) was born and raised in Jacksonville FL. She has recently relocated to Cleveland to fully embrace her passion for the arts. Since moving to Cleveland Leila has been involved with local theater, as well as taking classes around the city to master her craft. Some recent work includes Web of Anansi at Karamu House and D.O.C studios summer showcase 2024.