#WhileWeBreathe: A Night of Creative Protest, an evening of virtual world premieres benefiting justice-focused organizations, premieres July 29. The roster of performers for the one-night only benefit includes Tony winner Patina Miller (Pippin, Madam Secretary), Emmy winner and Golden Globe nominee Lynn Whitfield (Greenleaf, The Josephine Baker Story), Obie Award winner Alfie Fuller (BLKS, Is God Is), Tony nominee Will Swenson (Jerry Springer: The Opera, Hair), and Get Out's Marcus Henderson.
Watch the trailer above.
#WhileWeBreathe debuts at 9 PM ET on WhileWeBreathe.com, YouTube, and Facebook. The premiere will be followed by a live discussion at 10 PM ET, hosted by CBS host Michelle Miller.
The evening features short works written and directed by theatre alums, to benefit the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, The Bail Project, Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity (BOLD), BYP100 Education Fund, Forced Trajectory Project (FTP), The Justice Committee, and SONG. Make a donation here.
The cast also features Birgundi Baker (The Chi, Heathers), NAACP Theater Award winner Vanessa Bell Calloway (Coming to America, Letters from Zora), Bryan Terrell Clark (Hamilton, When They See Us), Neil Brown Jr. (Insecure, SEAL Team), Keith Eric Chappelle (Billions, Cyrano), Kevin R. Free (Dave, Eighth Grade), Chris Herbie Holland (Berkeley Rep, White Noise and Williamstown Theatre Festival, Soft), NAACP and Obie Award winner Ty Jones (The Great Society, The Blacks: A Clown Show), Lori Elizabeth Parquet (Dispatches from (A)mended America, Rizing), Esau Pritchett (Iron Fist, Prodigal Son), Obie winner Michele Shay (Seven Guitars, Meetings), Hailey Stone (Matters of Chance, Nasir), and TL Thompson (Is This A Room, Straight White Men).
Writers tapped to pen work for the night are Azure D. Osborne-Lee (Mirrors, Glass), Liza Jessie Peterson (The Peculiar Patriot, Bamboozled), Lee Edward Colston II (The First Deep Breath, For Life), Arvind Ethan David (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency), Cheryl Davis (The Bones of Giants, Law & Order: SVU), Nathan Alan Davis (Nat Turner in Jerusalem, Sorry For Your Loss), Steve Harper (God Friended Me, American Crime), Bianca Sams (At The Rivers End, Charmed), Keenan Scott II (Thoughts of a Colored Man, A Luv Tale), Aurin Squire (Fire Season, Good Fight), Khari Wyatt (Stomping Down at Sugar's Love, Africana!), and Karen Zacarias (Native Gardens, Destiny of Desire).
Carl Cofield (The Bacchae, Antigone), Kirya Traber (Both My Grandfathers, Permitted), and Tamara Tunie (Law & Order: SVU, Flight) join the previously announced Steve Broadnax III (The Hot Wing King, The Hip Hop Project), Bianca LaVerne Jones (Armed, FEAST), Patricia McGregor (Lights Out, Nat King Cole, Hamlet), Pratibha Parmar (Nina's Heavenly Delights, Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth), and Charles Randolph-Wright (Motown: The Musical on Broadway, Greenleaf) direct the short pieces.
“The quality of this company, and the power of their work, speaks to the depth of talent in the BIPOC creative community and to a shared understanding of the importance of this moment," shared producers of the event Brian Moreland (Blue) and Arvind Ethan David (Jagged Little Pill). "We can’t wait to share what we’ve made with the world and to raise funds and attention for the cause."
#WhileWeBreathe features music by Segun Akinola (Doctor Who), and editing by Shannon Baker Davis, supervising editor, and editors AJ Francois, Aric Lewis, and Aimee Jennings. Amanda Kay Price is the post-production supervisor, and casting is by Venus Kanani and Benton Whitley of Stewart/Whitley.
Following the premiere, all of the works will remain available for viewing.
(Updated July 29, 2020)
