Daughters of Lorraine

In this episode, hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley interview director and playwright Robert O’Hara about his approach to his craft, his experience as a Black artist in the theatre industry, and how he leans into discomfort.

In this episode, Jordan and Leticia interview Lydia Diamond and learn about her career as a playwright and her hopes for expanding Black theatre.

Leticia and Jordan delve into Zora Neale Hurston as a theatre artist and consider her plays, performances, and theories of dramaturgy and theatremaking.

In this episode, hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley reflect on their very positive feelings for Obsidian Theatre and Crow’s Theatre’s production of FLEX, as well as Candrice Jones’s gorgeous and nuanced depictions of Black girlhood and friendship.

In today’s episode, Leticia and Jordan discuss the Canadian premiere of A Strange Loop—a co-production between The Musical Stage Company, Soulpepper Theatre, Crow’s Theatre, and TO Live. They re-appraise the musical’s impact in today’s sociopolitical climate.

Jordan and Leticia interview actress, performance artist, and cultural worker Danielle Deadwyler and discuss the importance of care in the representation of Black life.

Jordan and Leticia interview Canadian playwright, director, and educator Djanet Sears, hearing about her unique approach to dramaturgy and an in-depth look at Black theatre in Canada.

Jordan and Leticia examine the short life of the Federal Theatre Project and its impact on the growth and expansion of Black theatre.

Jordan and Leticia interview arts journalist and playwright Kelundra Smith about the cultural landscape of theatre criticism and what it means to tell authentic Black stories.

In this episode, Leticia and Jordan interview Whitney White about her journey in theatre, her artistic craft, and the potentials and possibilities of Black theatre.

This podcast centers and privileges the narratives of Black theatremakers, scholars, and audiences while also underscoring the need for understanding the influence of Black theatre on the American theatre landscape.

Hosts Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey interview Oscar winner and MacArthur genius Tarell Alvin McCraney about his work as a playwright, how Black people tell stories, and what it means to be an artistic leader.

Masi Asare is an assistant professor of theater and performance studies at Northwestern University. She is a songwriter and dramatist and also works as a performance scholar specializing in the study of race and vocal sound and musicals. On this episode, hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley interview Masi on her experiences as a Black woman working in musical theatre and why Black women’s vocal training is so important.

Some stories transcend time and continue to resonate across generations. Undoubtedly, one might consider The Color Purple as one of those stories. Hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley discuss this new movie musical adaptation of The Color Purple and delve into questions around the genre of the movie musical and the challenge and necessity of representing Black women stories on screen.

Jonathan McCrory is a Tony Award and Emmy Award nominated producer and a two-time Obie Award-winning artist who has served as executive artistic director at the National Black Theatre since 2012. In this episode, hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley talk with McCrory about his work with the National Black Theatre and his ongoing commitment to nourishing and cultivating Black creativity and Black life.

In this episode, hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley talk about a filmed production of the opera X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.

Hosts Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey discuss Woodie King, Jr.’s 1978 documentary, Black Theater: The Making of a Movement. They explore the documentary’s different themes, its impact on Black theatre history, and what it means for our present and future.

Hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley discuss the contributions made by Alice Childress and the historical and contemporary significance of her play, Trouble in Mind, including the filmed 2021 production at the National Theatre in London.

Hosts Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey dig into the dramaturgies and theories of Suzan-Lori Parks and discuss Canadian Stage’s production of Parks’s Topdog/Underdog.

Hosts Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey interview scholar Professor Julius Fleming, Jr. about his book "Black Patience: Performance, Civil Rights, and the Unfinished Project of Emancipation (NYU Press, 2022)". They discuss the importance of theatre to the Civil Rights Movement and the relationship between Black theatre and performance and Black studies.

This episode focuses on the iconic Negro Ensemble Company (NEC). Hosts Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey delve into the NEC’s founding and history, its track record of producing successful Black plays, and its legacy within Black theatre and performance.

Hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley interview Kaja Dunn, who is an intimacy professional, director, actor, and scholar. They discuss her journey as a theatre artist, the importance of intimacy coordinator for theatre and television, and Kaja’s own artistry and creativity.

This episode will discuss the age old questions of what is Black theatre? What is a Black play? How do you know one when you see it? Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey provide an overview of the some of the most popular commentary on this question from Black theatre theorists of the past such as W.E.B Dubois, Alain Locke, and Alice Childress.

This podcast centers and privileges the narratives of Black theatremakers, scholars, and audiences while also underscoring the need for understanding the influence of Black theatre on the American theatre landscape.

In this episode, Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley look at the life and legacy of playwright Robbie McCauley, who recently passed away. They discuss her work as a pioneer of solo performance as a Black woman and how she impacted the world of Black feminist theatre.

In this episode, Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley interview artist/scholar Lisa B. Thompson. They discuss navigating life as a Black feminist artist/scholar, putting some respect on Black theatre, and why Black theatre is an integral part of Black Studies.

Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley interview award-winning and acclaimed playwright Dominique Morisseau about her recent Broadway productions of Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations and Skeleton Crew; the future of Detroit theatre and performance; and reckoning with American history. Ealey and Ridley discuss Morisseau’s practice of reparative creativity and the ability for theatre to serve as a rehearsal for true change.

This episode is inspired by recent and current events regarding Roe v. Wade and their potential impact on birthing people. We think about the representation of reproductive justice (things such as abortion, contraception, and anything regarding decisions to birth or plan a family) especially from Black women playwrights. We discuss plays such as They That Sit in Darkness by Mary Burrill, Rachel by Angelina Weld Grimke, Come Down Burning by Kia Corthron, In the Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks, and Abortion Road Trip by Rachel Lynett.

In this episode, Jordan and Leticia interview playwright Pearl Cleage. They discuss the way she has navigated her career as a Black feminist/womanist playwright often working in Black spaces; how she found her home in Atlanta, Georgia; and her most recent play, Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous.

In this episode, Leticia and Jordan finally explain what they mean when they say Black feminism, especially in theatre and performance. They engage Lisa M. Anderson’s tenets of Black feminist drama, alongside other contemporary scholars and artists expansion of Black feminist theatre. They discuss Black feminist theory, black feminist practice in creative work, and black feminist theatre theory.

This episode focuses on the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner, Fat Ham by James Ijames. Leticia and Jordan discuss the recent production at the Public Theater, its conversation and diversion from Shakespeare, representations of Black queerness, and what it means to be soft as a black person.

This episode honors the life and work of composer, writer, and performer Micki Grant, who passed away in August 2021. Grant was the first Black woman to write and compose a musical that made it to Broadway, and she is also the subject of Jordan's dissertation.

This episode is an interview with Addae Moon, the associate artistic director at Theatrical Outfit in Atlanta, Georgia. We discuss his journey as a theatre artist; his playwright development lab, Hush Harbor Lab; and his own artistry and creativity.

This episode explores the recent revival of Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, directed and choreographed by Camille A. Brown. Hosts Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey contextualize the production, its ongoing relevance and legacy, and its resonance in Black feminist theatre, dance, and performance.

On this special episode of Daughters of Lorraine, hosts Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey sit down with Aleshea Harris and Whitney White, the playwright and director of the powerful, ritualistic play, What to Send Up When It Goes Down.

For the last episode of season two of the Daughters of Lorraine Podcast, hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley talk with Hana S. Sharif about her journey to becoming one of the first Black women to be artistic director of a regional theatre, managing in a pandemic, her thoughts on the current state of American theatre, and more.

In this episode, Daughters of Lorraine Podcast hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley discuss how Black playwrights, such as Adrienne Kennedy, Tarrell Alvin McCraney, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Ntozake Shange, have experimented with form.

The Daughters of Lorraine Podcast hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley discuss the advent of We See You, White American Theatre and situate it within a history of Black theatre artists calling out the white supremacy endemic to American theatre, as well as interviewing The Black Artist Coalition founders Vaughn Midder and Kevin McAllister.

Daughters of Lorraine Podcast hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley interview actress Renea Brown on the interactions between Black theatre and Shakespeare, as well as her experience as a Black Shakespearean performer.

In this episode of the Daughters of Lorraine Podcast, hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley discuss "What is a Black musical?" using James Baldwin's Amen Corner and Angelica Chéri's Gun and Powder.

The Daughters of Lorraine Podcast returns for another episode where hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridely discuss Lorraine Hansberry's life, legacy, and other works of theatre and literature.

For the final episode of the first season of the Daughters of Lorraine Podcast, Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley interview dramaturg and director Otis Cortez Ramsey-Zoë about his work in the Washington DC area, as well as his general thoughts about the state of and stakes for Black theatre.

Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley discuss the transformative power of Aleshea Harris' What to Send Up When it Goes Down by centering Black rage, ritual, and healing on this episode of the Daughters of Lorraine podcast.

In this episode of the Daughters of Lorraine Podcast, Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley focus on representations of slavery on stage by Black playwrights beginning from the early 19th century to the 1960s.

On this episode of the Daughters of Lorraine Podcast, Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley review Arena Stage's production of August Wilson’s "Jitney", directed by Black theatre legend, Ruben Santiago-Hudson.

For this episode of the Daughters of Lorraine Podcast, Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley focus on the histories and enduring legacies of lynching dramas, covering early twentieth century history of Black women playwrights using theatre for protest ends, and situating them in Black feminism and Black radical tradition.

On this first episode of Daughters of Lorraine Podcast, Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey discuss Woolly Mammoth's production of Fairview by Jackie Sibbilies Drury, its theoretical and theatrical interventions, as well as situate it in the historical and cultural contexts of Black theatre.