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FULL CREDITSStarring J Dontray Davis
Written by Alan Govenar and Akin Babatundé Directed by Akin Babatundé Stage Manager: Rob Menzel Lighting Design by Steve Woods Sound Design by Jason Johnson-Spinos Costume Design by Amanda Capshaw Front of House: Jay Brakefield Board Operator: Rob Menzel Musical direction by Akin Babatundé based on arrangements by Blind Lemon Jefferson, Akin Babatundé, Alisa Peoples Yarbrough and Cavin Yarbrough Guitar arrangements and recordings by David Weiss |
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
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J Dontray Davis
Actor
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J Dontray Davis is a native of Waco, Texas (by way of Mexia, Texas) where he spent many years doing plays and musicals in grade school and local community theater. He relocated to Dallas in 2012, where he quickly began doing shows. J has been seen all over DFW. Some of his acting credits include Mister in The Color Purple, Tom Collins in Rent, Shrek in Shrek the Musical and Tiny Joe Dixon in Dreamgirls at the Tony Award winning Dallas Theater Center. He was last seen as Reverend Hopkins in The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at Casa Manana in Fort Worth. J would like to thank Akin Babatundé and Alan Govenar for the opportunity and his family and friends for their continued love and support.
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Akin Babatundé
Playwright/Director
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Akin Babatundé is an accomplished actor, director, writer whose theatrical career spans the regional to Off-Broadway to international stages of the world—including film and television. He has been a resident company member of several prestigious theatrical institutions throughout the country Trinity Repertory Company-Providence, Rhode Island, Alley Theater—Houston, Texas, La Mama Theater—New York and the Dallas Theater Center. He was the founder and artistic director of Vivid Theater Ensemble of Dallas and Ebony Emeralds Classic Theater Company. Mr. Babatundé is a native of Brooklyn, New York. Although Mr. Babatundé has a national presence he chooses Dallas as his artistic base and continues to mentor aspiring artists throughout the metroplex. He served as theater specialist consultant for Dallas Independent School District and acting coach for celebrated recording artists such as Regina Belle, the late David Peaston, and the late great Phyllis Hyman.
He was the first African American to direct for Shakespeare Dallas in the celebrated diverse production of Taming of the Shrew in 1994. Recently he directed Blue Door at the Rep in Newark, Delaware along with is his longtime collaborator Emmy nominated actress Ptosha Storey serving as co-director and recently the Southwest premiere of Lonesome Blues at the Undermain Theater. He serves as coordinator and director of new plays with the Black seed project at The Black Academy of Arts and Letters. This project is devoted to new and emerging playwrights from HBCU higher institutions of learning. As a writer, Mr. Babatundé’s work has been commissioned by Florida Stage and Teen Pregnancy of Broward County, Florida Humanities Council, La Mama Theater, Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs, Arts Council; Cuney, Texas, Brown University, Black Academy of Arts and Letters, Documentary Arts—Core Ensemble (internationally celebrated chamber ensemble). His work, Shakespeare-Midnight Echoes, tours throughout the Dallas Metroplex paying homage to Black performing artists who mastered the Bard (Shakespeare) from slavery to the present. In the South Florida area, he has performed at Florida Stage, Caldwell Theater, and Duncan Theater and toured extensively with Core Ensemble in his One-man show Of Ebony Embers-Vignettes of the Harlem Renaissance. His One-man show Before the Second Set—a Visit with Satchmo, written alongside his brother, celebrates Emmy award-winning actor Obba Babatundé. It had its world premiere at TBAAL and received critical acclaim at theaters across the country. Mr. Babatundé's direction of Blind Lemon: Prince of Country Blues at Addison Center WaterTower Theatre, starring national recording artist the late David Peaston, garnered him a best director nomination. Additionally, along with co-writer Dr. Alan Govenar, the script received the 2001 Leon Rabin Award for best new play. Their new version Blind Lemon Blues toured successfully throughout Europe in Paris, Switzerland, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Mount Jolie. Blind Lemon Blues received rave notices in its New York premiere at Central Park’s Summer Stage and Off-Broadway at the York Theater for which he won the 2010 Audelco award for “Best Director of a Musical” and was nominated for a 2015 Audelco for his direction of Texas in Paris at the York starring Tony award winner Lillias White. Mr. Babatundé directed the European premiere of Black Pearl Sings at Vienna’s English Theater. He also had the honor of directing the 2006, 2007 and 2010 God’s Leading Ladies graduation event for First Lady Sarita Jakes at the Potters House. His work has been awarded with a D Magazine citation, Providence Journal citation, Dallas Observer Best of the Best-Best Actor Award (the first African-American to receive this distinction), the KRLD community service award, 2004 Legacy of Success-Alvin Ailey Performing Arts Award and the 2008 Jubilee Theater Mendie Award for his production of Blue. He has been the recipient of the prestigious Individual Artists Grant Award from the Palm Beach Cultural Council to create a new works Harvest of Voices based on the quaint and diverse Florida towns in Lake Worth, Belle Glades, Fort Lauderdale, and Delray Beach. He is the recipient of Dallas Critics Forum Award in 1991(outstanding actor), 2004, 2015 (outstanding direction), and 2016 (for his outstanding direction of The Mountaintop at the Dallas Theater Center and Bootycandy and Octoroon at Stage West Theater. He is the proud inaugural recipient of the DFW Black Arts Irma Hall Theater of Excellence medal. Mr. Babatundé holds a Master of Arts degree in Humanities from the University of Texas at Dallas and was honored with the 2012 distinguished alumni award. Mr. Babatundé has taught at universities and conservatories throughout the country. Presently he is an adjunct professor at Mountain View Community College. In the spring of 2016, he was the inaugural recipient of the Theodore U. Holger Distinguished Artist in Residence Fellowship for the School of Visual and Performing Arts at Lehigh University. |
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Alan Govenar
Playwright
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Alan Govenar is an award-winning writer, poet, playwright, photographer, and filmmaker. He is director of Documentary Arts, a non-profit organization he founded to advance essential perspectives on historical issues and diverse cultures. Govenar is a Guggenheim Fellow and the author of more than thirty books, including Boccaccio in the Berkshires, Paradise in the Smallest Thing, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Untold Glory, Texas Blues, Stompin’ at the Savoy, Everyday Music, and A Pillow on the Ocean of Time. His book Osceola: Memories of a Sharecropper’s Daughter won first place in the New York Book Festival (Children’s Non-Fiction), a Boston Globe-Hornbook Honor; and an Orbis Pictus Honor from the National Council of Teachers of English. Govenar’s film, Stoney Knows How, based on his book by the same title about old school tattoo artist Leonard St. Clair, was shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris and was selected as an Outstanding Film of the Year by the London Film Festival. His documentaries The Beat Hotel, Master Qi and the Monkey King, You Don’t Need Feet to Dance, Extraordinary Ordinary People, Myth of a Colorblind France, Looking for Home, and Down in Dallas Town are distributed by First Run Features. Govenar’s theatrical works include the musicals Blind Lemon: Prince of Country Blues, Blind Lemon Blues, and Lonesome Blues (with Akin Babatundé), Texas in Paris, and Stompin’ at the Savoy.
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Rob Menzel
Stage Manager
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Steve Woods
Lighting Designer
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International work has taken Steve Woods around the world with stops in Berlin, Moscow, London, Prague, Taipei, Budapest, Amsterdam, Madrid, and beyond. His work has been seen at many of the world’s national theaters, the Olympics, and International Festivals including the Festival de L’Imaginaire and the Festival Blues Sur Scene in Paris. New York City credits include work with Lincoln Center, Juilliard, Theatre for a New Audience (Lucille Lortel Award), Riverside, York Theatre, Ohio Theatre, Guggenheim Museum, Summer Stage, Masters of American Dance, and the Joyce Theatre. Since 1988, he has been a frequent designer for the Jose Limon Dance Company where his work has been seen in the New York, Washington DC, and Los Angeles seasons. His designs include works by Alwin Nikolais, John Cranko, Garth Fagen, Donald McKayle, Martha Graham, and Carlos Orta. Regionally his designs have also been seen at The Shakespeare Theatre (DC), The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Jacob’s Pillow, Los Angeles Music Center, American Dance Festival, Dallas Theater Center, Undermain Theatre, Kitchen Dog Theater, Utah Festival Opera, and the Spoleto Festival. His television work includes broadcasts of Evangeline, Lewis and Clark - Passages, Rigoletto, Heartbeats: The Dances of Donald McKayle, Susannah (conducted by composer Carlisle Floyd), and Lucia de Lammermoor with Roberta Peters (PBS) as well as work with the BBC, ESPN, MTV, VH-1, Showtime, and NBC.
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Jason Johnson-Spinos
Sound Designer
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Jason Johnson-Spinos is a theatre and film artist and educator. He designed the sound for the original Off-Broadway production of Lonesome Blues (as well as the Undermain Theatre and Circle Theatre productions) and designed sound and projections for the Off-Broadway production of Texas in Paris (also by Alan Govenar). As a documentary film editor, he has edited numerous features, shorts, and museum films. He has designed sound for dozens of productions at Outcry Theatre, the company he founded with his wife Becca, where he is the marketing director—more info at outcrytheatre.com.
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Amanda Capshaw
Costume Designer
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Amanda Capshaw is an artist and designer based in Dallas, Texas. Previous credits include: Feeding on Light, Stronger Than Arms, Hedda Gabler, Madame Bovary, Thanksgiving Play, Red Chariot, The Lady from the Sea, JOHN, so go the ghosts of méxico parts one through three, Life of Galileo, 10 out of 12, Jonah, The Droll, and The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls (Undermain Theatre). Other credits include The Seagull, An Octoroon (SMU), One Flea Spare, Dry Powder, Here We Go, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You, Lela & Co., Empathitrax, Martyr (Second Thought Theatre), Church & State (Stage West), The Adding Machine: A Musical (Theatre 3), A Year With Frog and Toad (Dallas Children's Theatre), Ring of Fire (WaterTower Theatre). Amanda holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Baylor University and an MFA from SMU’s Stage Design program. In addition, she teaches advanced digital rendering techniques to graduate designers at SMU's Meadows School of the Arts.
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David Weiss
Guitar arrangements and recordings
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David Weiss is a guitarist, songwriter and producer based in New York City. Among other credits, David’s music and songs have appeared on award-winning albums (Straight From The Heart--Rolling Stone Magazine’s Top Albums of 2003), HBO’s The Night Of, major motion pictures (Leatherface), and national ad campaigns (Shimano). David’s guitar has been a presence in many pivotal music scenes, from Canter’s Kibitz Room in Los Angeles in the early 90s to a year-long residency at Levon Helm’s legendary Midnight Ramble sessions, where he performed as a member of the Alexis P. Suter Band. In 2014, David was tapped to be “the other guitarist” in Steve Conte NYC, the band led by brilliant New York guitarist, singer and songwriter Steve Conte (Paul Simon, New York Dolls, Eric Burdon, Mink De Ville). David currently performs locally with critical favorites, Girls on Grass, as well as 2/3 Goat, a mainstay of the NYC roots-rock scene. In 2009, Weiss created alter-ego Travis Whitelaw, an outrageous redneck country singer from Texarkana, TX. Whitelaw has produced two albums of raunchy country music to date, Sexarkana! (2009) and Beer & Booty (2014). Sexarkana!, lauded by Guitar Player Magazine as “a cross between Steve Earle and the Porkys movies,” garnered widespread airplay on Sirius-XM satellite radio. Following several years in northern California where he cut his teeth playing in a variety of bands, Weiss moved to Venice, California. From the mid-nineties to early aughts, Weiss led his blues-funk quartet, SlackJaw Blues, on myriad cross-country treks, in which the band played most of the lower 48 states (plus Alaska) in venues ranging from dive bars in Fargo to the esteemed Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Oregon where SlackJaw Blues opened for Los Lobos and The Allman Brothers. The group also shared the bill with Charlie Musselwhite and Robert Cray at the band’s final performance during the National Orange Show in San Bernadino, California. SlackJaw Blues released two full-length independent recordings, Knuckle Down and Bourbon DeLuxe. Having gigged extensively with California guitar legend Carlos Guitarlos (Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs, Tom Waits, The Breeders), Weiss performed on Guitarlos’ solo debut, Straight from the Heart which won many accolades, including Rolling Stone magazine’s ‘Top Albums of 2003’. Weiss plays guitar on nearly all of the album’s 17 tracks alongside X’s John Doe, Cesar Rojas of Los Lobos, Dave Alvin, and Mike Watt. Weiss also penned the album’s haunting track, “When The Pain Stops Killing Me.”
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