NEW YORK – Jamaican actor Miranda Melhado has joined the forged of Karl O’Brian Williams’ award profitable drama Not About Eve, which might be offered as a staged studying manufacturing by the Atlantic Theater Firm as a part of their Caribbean MixFest play pageant. The pageant runs from September 14 by 20 at The Atlantic Stage 2 Theater.
The presentation of Not About Eve might be a one evening solely occasion and takes place on Wednesday September 18 at 7pm.
Melhado joins an all feminine forged of three that additionally consists of fellow Jamaican actors Heather Alicia Simms (Broadway’s Purlie Victorious) and Mitzie Pratt (Amazon Prime’s Nanny).
Award profitable Jamaican born filmmaker, actress, author and director Patrice Johnson Chevannes -whose performing credit embody Broadway’s The Crucible with Liam Neeson and Laura Linney, in addition to the Shakespeare Theater of DC’s Othello reverse Star Trek actor Sir Patrick Stewart- will direct.
Set in modern-day Jamaica, Not About Eve tells the story of three generations of girls within the Shields family- ‘Mama’ Agatha Rochester (Pratt), her daughter Katherine (Simms) and her granddaughter Kimberly (Melhado), who all reside underneath one roof and but reside surprisingly disconnected lives. Out of the blue and unexpectedly, the anniversary of the demise of Katherine’s husband serves as a catalyst for a collection of dramatic occasions within the family that may drive all three ladies to face harsh truths about their relationships – and in the end take a look at the bonds that bind them collectively.
Not About Eve had its world premiere in Kingston Jamaica in 2006 and went on to win the 2007 Worldwide Theatre Institute (Jamaica) Actor Boy Award for Finest New Jamaican Play for playwright Williams. It had its New York Metropolis premiere on the Arias Studio Theatre in 2012 and subsequently grew to become an Official Mainstage choice of the 2013 Nationwide Black Theatre Competition in Winston Salem North Carolina – the biggest black theatre pageant on this planet.
Kimberly Shields’ Function
The function of Kimberly Shields is one other breakthrough for Melhado, who was final seen on the New York stage earlier this summer time within the extremely acclaimed American premiere manufacturing of Alwin Bully’s McBee, and who additionally seems within the horror characteristic Amityville Vampire, presently streaming on Amazon Prime. Her extra credit embody the pilot of the brand new TV collection From Yard– which can make its Canadian premiere this month on the Nollywood Movie Competition in Toronto- in addition to the staged studying manufacturing of David Heron’s courtroom drama Towards His Will at The Apollo and at Manhattan Theatre Membership’s Metropolis Middle Stage II.
“I’m very excited to be a part of such a tremendous forged of fellow Jamaican actors and to be working underneath the course of the multi proficient Patrice Johnson Chevannes,” she says. “In Not About Eve, Karl has created a household of three extremely sturdy, advanced feminine characters who’re financially safe however emotionally challenged. Relationships between moms and daughters could be tough, and that is actually the case on this intriguing play. So I’m wanting ahead to bringing Kimberly to life and providing audiences a memorable expertise on September 18.”
Melhado was born to folks of Syrian and Portugese descent and grew up in Jamaica. She attended The College of Southern California (USC) the place she earned her BA diploma in performing. Sarcastically, her function as Kimberley in Not About Eve is barely the second time in her profession that she has really performed a Jamaican character- the primary being in Towards His Will during which she portrays a femme fatale enterprise proprietor accused of sexually assaulting her male worker.
“No person I meet ever guesses that I’m Jamaican,” she says. “They suppose Brazilian, Italian, Latin American and even Greek. So I by no means get forged as Jamaican. My function as Kimberly provides me a brand new alternative to play somebody from my homeland in one other participating Jamaican story, which is nice since now we have so many thrilling Jamaican and Caribbean tales to share. Caribbean MixFest is an actual probability to do this.”
Since being based in 1985, the Off Broadway Atlantic Theatre Firm has produced over 200 performs, together with the Tony Award profitable Broadway productions of Spring Awakening, The Band’s Go to and Kimberly Akimbo. MixFest is the corporate’s annual free studying collection, exploring and celebrating the abundance of culturally various tales within the theater. Along with Williams’ Not About Eve, this yr’s Caribbean MixFest may also current readings of full-length performs by Nelson Diaz-Marcano, Fedna Jacquet, Iraisa Ann Reilly and La Daniella.
The Atlantic Stage 2 Theater is positioned at 330 West 16th Road, New York, NY 10011.
Admission to all studying productions is free, nevertheless reservations are required.
For reservations to see Not About Eve, go to AtlanticTheater.org.
