Directed by Beau Bratcher
March 1-31, 2023
Lapis Center for the Arts
The NOLA Project invites you inside the New Orleans Museum of Art for a contemporary Frankenstein story set in the fiercely competitive art world.
Gus is an ambitious artist with his sights set on a major exhibition. Unfortunately, he doesn’t quite fulfill the museum’s desire for “different voices.” With the aid of actor Vanessa, Gus creates the brash Balkonaé Townsend persona. All goes to plan until Balkonaé takes control and Gus has to face his creation head-on to ridiculous results.
Written by 2022 Pulitzer winner James Ijames, this will be the first theatrical production in NOMA's new Lapis Center for the Arts. Seating is provided in the indoor venue – no need to bring your own. The space is typically kept cool for the sake of performers and crew, so please prepare accordingly.
All performances start at 7:30pm. Café NOMA will be open nightly for pre-show dinner and drinks starting at 6pm.
WHITE is a dark comedy intended for mature audiences. The content includes overt racism as well as microaggressions against BIPOC people. It also contains adult language, examples of homophobia and misogyny, and a simulated sex scene.
a co-production of
MEET THE WRITER
James Ijames
JAMES IJAMES is a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, a director and educator. His plays have been produced by Flashpoint Theater Company, Orbiter 3, Theatre Horizon, Wilma Theatre, Theatre Exile, Azuka Theatre (Philadelphia, PA), The National Black Theatre, JACK, The Public Theater (NYC), Hudson Valley Shakespeare Theater, Steppenwolf Theatre, Definition Theatre, Timeline Theater (Chicago IL) Shotgun Players (Berkeley, CA) and have received development with PlayPenn New Play Conference, The Lark, Playwright's Horizon, Clubbed Thumb, Villanova Theater, Wilma Theater, Azuka Theatre and Victory Garden. James is the 2011 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Artist recipient, and two Barrymore Awards for Outstanding Direction of a Play for THE BROTHERS SIZE with Simpatico Theatre Company and GEM OF THE OCEAN with Arden Theatre. James is a 2015 Pew Fellow for Playwriting, the 2015 winner of the Terrence McNally New Play Award for WHITE, the 2015 Kesselring Honorable Mention Prize winner for ...MIZ MARTHA, a 2017 recipient of the Whiting Award, a 2019 Kesselring Prize for KILL MOVE PARADISE, a 2020 and 2022 Steinberg Prize and the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Drama recipient. James was a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia’s first playwright producing collective. He received a B.A. in Drama from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA and a M.F.A. in Acting from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. James an Associate Professor of Theatre at Villanova University. He resides in South Philadelphia.
Tickets:
$55 - Premier Seating - WHAT'S THIS?
$38 - Adult
$30 - NOMA Members
$20 - Under 21
Ticketing Notes:
Online ticket sales end two hours prior to performances. If you wish to purchase tickets less than two hours prior to a show, you will need to do so in person at the show venue.
Cast:
Jane - Grace Blakeman
Gus - Matt Armato
Tanner - Matthew Thompson
Vanessa - Tenaj Wallace
Production Team:
Production Manager/Projection Designer - Jenny L. Billot
Stage Manager - Tova Steele
Assistant Stage Manager/Sound Designer - Ryan Wiles
Costume Designer - Grace Smith
Lighting Designer - Joan Long
Paint Props Designer - James Bartelle
This production is supported by grants from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation and the New Orleans Theatre Association (NOTA)
This season is supported by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council. Funding has also been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
