Waafrika 123: A Queerly Scripted Tragic Rise to African Fantasia

Nick Hadikwa Mwaluko (he/they/Nick) plays include: Silence Is A Sound; Cock Tales for Christmas; 37; S.T.A.R: Marsha P. Johnson; Waafrika 123: A Queerly Scripted Tragic Rise to African Fantasia; THEY/THEM/THEIRS; Home is the AfterLife; Blueprint for an African Lesbian; SH/Ero; Asymmetrical We; Brotherly Love; Trailer Park Tundra; Once A Man Always A Man; Mama Afrika; Queering MacBeth; Life Is About the Kill; That Day God Visits You; Ata; To Dyke Trans; Gayze; Good Grief; Pence At The Border and many more. Residencies include: Playwrights’ Center (2022-26); Resident Playwright Initiative with Playwrights’ Foundation (2019-2023); Resilience and Development (R&D) Writers’ Lab (2017-2018); New York City’s EWG (Emerging Writers’ Group) at the Public Theater and more.

é boylan (they/them) is a New York City based director, creator, and composer developing new work towards trans liberation. Selected honors include: New Writer in Residence at Lincoln Center Theater, Musical Theatre Factory Makers Cohort II, 2022 Jonathan Larson Grant (Finalist), 2022 Relentless Award (Honorable mention), 2023 June Bingham New Playwright Commission (Finalist), 2023 NAMT Fall Conference (Finalist), 2024 Polyphone Artist, 2023 SPACE on Ryder Farm Creative Resident, 2018 and 2021 O’Neill Resident Artist, 2019 Trans Lab Fellow, 2019–2020 Manhattan Theatre Club Directing Fellow, 2021 Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriter, 2021 Prospect Theater Co. MT Lab, 2022 MTFxR Garage Artist, and 2020–2022 Roundabout Theatre Co. Directors Group. Graduate of The University of Chicago and National Theater Institute. www.eboylan.com

National Queer Theater (NQT) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit theater company based in New York City, dedicated to celebrating the brilliance of generations of LGBTQ+ artists and providing a home for unheard storytellers and activists.

Tẹmídayọ Amay (they/he) Off-Broadway: Classic Stage Company, MCC Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem, The Public Theatre, Ars Nova, Clubbed Thumb. Regional: Round House Theatre: School Girls… (Helen Hayes Award winner); Signature Theatre: The Color Purple; Woolly Mammoth: Describe the Night; Arena Stage: Longacre Lea: The Interstellar Ghost Hour (Helen Hayes Award nomination). Writing: Pool, The Invention of Women, The Legend of Zora, That’s Queer(?!). Affiliates: BTB New Works Playwright, MAESTRA Mentee, TPOC Fellow, MTF Fellow. Temidayoamay.com

Amari Flynn (she/her), is incredibly honored to be performing in such a groundbreaking piece of theatre for the annual Criminal Queerness Festival! She is immensely grateful to be alongside such a beautifully Black cast! Amari is an East Coast native, born and raised in Upstate South Carolina. She is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy Musical Theatre conservatory program. She hopes to play a vital role in the movement for representation of more Black, queer/trans art and artists/creators in the future. Off-Broadway: The Importance of Being Earnestly LGBTQ+, Sleeper, and The American I.D. Channel: Vol. I. Amari is non-union and currently seeking representation in theatre. #BlackTransLivesMatter

Bernadette Mira Hagen (she/her) is so excited to be making her theatre debut after being away for over a decade from performing. She is an alumni of Circle In The Square’s Musical Theatre School, Class of 2011. She is extremely grateful to be a part of Waafrika 123. She wants to thank her younger self for never giving up and the people that she loves dearly in her life. Thank you for always believing in me.

Le’Asha Julius (she/her) is an actress from Washington, DC. She attended Duke Ellington School of the Arts and received her BFA from SUNY Purchase College. Recent credits: Wendy in HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness and Jasmine in Still Here which premiered at Sundance Film Festival. Le’Asha has worked with The Public Theater, The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, Howard University, and Carnegie Hall among others. In her free time, she’s a rapper/songwriter who has performed at Black Thought’s “School of Thought” and has opened for several artists including Kendrick Lamar, Salt ‘n’ Pepa, Noname, and Talib Kweli. She was last seen as Mark Antony in an adaptation of Julius Caesar.

Shiro (she/her) is a Kenyan born actor. Recent credits include guest star FBI: Most Wanted (CBS) and a recuring role in Random Acts of Flyness (HBO). Theatre credits include African Mean Girls (Hangar Theatre); Nollywood Dreams u/s (MCC Theatre); and The Contract (Theatre Row). Thrilled to be a part of the NQT festival again. Shiro also holds a degree in culinary arts from The Culinary Institute of America.

Christopher (he/him) is an actor, singer, and educator originally from Detroit and an advocate for performers with disabilities. You can find him doing improv around the country with the team Full of Bones or singing with the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. He is honored to be working with NQT on this festival. Thank you to my family for your constant support and unending love.

Riw (pronounced Ree-you) (he/they) is a set and costume designer, animator and Chef from Bangkok, Thailand. He/They has worked at Yale Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, The Old Globe, Drury Lane Theatre, Asolo Rep, The Acting Company, 59E59, Edinburgh Fringe, Primary Stages, Hartford Stage, Baltimore Center Stage, The Public Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music amongst others. Broadway Associate Set Design: Pass Over, & Juliet, Parade.

Jason A. Goodwin (he/him) is a NY-based costume designer and scenic artist. Born and raised in Virginia, Jason moved to New York to attend NYU, where he graduated with a BFA in drama from Tisch’s production & design studio. Since leaving University, Jason has supported projects on and off Broadway, including Disney’s Aladdin (national tour), Tina – The Tina Turner Musical (national tour), Back to the Future: The Musical, Hell’s Kitchen at the Public Theatre, Disney’s Hercules in Hamburg, Germany, and All of Me at The New Group.

Moneé Stamp (she/her) is a third-generation Caribbean immigrant born and raised in Long Island, New York. She was previously lighting designer for the Criminal Queerness Festival at Lincoln Center with National Queer Theater. She received her BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design and her MFA from Ohio University. She has managed juggling being a full-time mom, owning her own business, freelancing, and using her art to help other BIPOC feel represented. Recently, she designed God’s Way (Braata Productions) and Panther Women.

Ryan Gamblin (they/them) is a sound designer, composer, and performance-maker based in Brooklyn, NY, working across performance, installation, and music. Their work centers around the use of original composition, found media, and system manipulation. They have worked with artists including Faye Driscoll, Big Dance Theater, The Civilians, 600 Highwaymen, Talking Band, Mallory Catlett / Restless NYC, Jess Barbagallo, Stacy Grossfield, Theater Mitu, and many others. Member, TSDCA. RyanGamblin.com

Maria Mukuka (she/her) is a Greek/Zambian actor, educator, and dialect coach. She has worked on numerous Off-Broadway productions both as an actor and dialect coach at renowned theaters including The Public Theater/Shakespeare in the Park, La MaMa ETC, Irondale, The Tank, and others. Additionally, Maria works in her home country of Zambia, adapting classics into contemporary Zambian plays. Maria is a lecturer of acting at Brooklyn College, where she received her MFA in acting.

Ann C. James (she/they), sensitivity specialist, debuted as the first Black intimacy coordinator on Broadway for Pass Over. Recently, her company Intimacy Coordinators of Color was awarded a Special Citation from the Obie Awards. Broadway: Lempicka, Hamilton, Parade, Sweeney Todd, Heart of Rock and Roll, The Outsiders, Jelly’s Last Jam.

Begüm “Begsy” Inal (they/she) is a gender non-conforming theater artist born and raised in Turkey. Begsy graduated from Columbia University’s Dramaturgy MFA and brings their multi-disciplinary work and Turkish delight to many sides of performance—stage, props, and costume designing; writing; and dramaturging arts pieces. Begsy is an artistic associate at La MaMa ETC and works on different mediums of performance centered around marginalized voices. They were the dramaturg for National Queer Theater’s 4th and 5th Annual Criminal Queerness Festival at the Lincoln Center. Begsy is currently working on their new caffeinated and transformational project Magic Coffee Shop.

Joseph Hayes (he/him) is a casting director who is at the forefront of creating and inciting the change that is inevitable in our industry. TV: The Bear (Hulu), Emperor of Ocean Park (MGM+), Mr. Throwback (Peacock), Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies (Paramount+). Film: Alto Knights. Broadway: Chicago, Hadestown, Six, Dear Evan Hansen, The Phantom of the Opera, Aladdin, and Sing Street. National Tour: Hairspray, Sound of Music, Les Misérables, Cats, and Aida.

Vaibu Mohan (she/her) is a writer, musician, dancer, director, and producer specializing in bringing South Asian forms of storytelling and theater making into the Western sphere. She founded the Work in Progress series (54 Below), giving early career writers a place to present their work. As a Bharatnatyam performer and creator, Mohan creates pieces stretching the genre and exploring connections between disparate artforms. Mohan has performed at 54 Below, Greenroom 42, La Mama Theater, Lincoln Center, and Midnight Theater. She is a graduate of the NYU Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program.

Rose Oser (she/they) is a Brooklyn-based theatremaker from the Bay Area. They worked at Z Space from 2017-2022 where they rose from Associate Artistic Director to Producing Director, and produced The Red Shades: A Trans Superhero Rock Opera and the Problematic Play Festival (LMDA Bly Award). Librettist: Shoshana in December (Custom Made, Relentless Award Honorable Mention 2022, NEA ArtWorks recipient) and Tinderella: the modern musical (FaultLine, Custom Made, Portland’5). Producer and host: Tinder Disrupt and Poly Poly Oxen Free. Resident dramaturg at The Grove at Goodspeed. More at www.roseoser.com.

Adam Odsess-Rubin (he/him) is the Founding Artistic Director of National Queer Theater (NQT) and Co-Founder of the acclaimed Criminal Queerness Festival. At NQT, Odsess-Rubin has presented work with Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, NYTW, NYC Pride, and MCC Theater. He has published work in Howlround and The Teaching Artist Journal on queer theater education, and is a 2020 Mayor’s Grant for Cultural Impact awardee and AM NY LGBTQ+ Power Player. BA: UC Santa Cruz MA: NYU.

Emani Brielle Simpson (she/her) is also an actor, producer, playwright and director. She is the founder of the production company, The Real Artists (TRA), whose mission is to create an inspirational environment where artists can hone their crafts, thrive and network to build a career out of their passions. Emani is passionate about bringing artists together and collaborating on new works. She is an associate producer for and a proud member of Breaking and Entering Theater Collective. She is also one of the producers of SERIALS, a late-night play competition-series. Emani recently stage managed Pecong at BMCC/Cuny and Francois & The Rebels: A Punk Rock Musical at the Public Theater. She recently also co-produced with the Sheen Center for Thought and Culture, Dust of Egypt; Sojourner Truth’s Story.