Black Space S2E6: Khalia Davis and Idris Goodwin on Maya Angelou's I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

JCTC’S TALK SERIES “BLACK SPACE” WITH ASHLEY NICOLE BAPTISTE CONTINUES SEASON TWO WITH KHALIA DAVIS (DIRECTOR), AND IDRIS GOODWIN (ADAPTED BY) ON THEIR PRODUCTION OF MAYA ANGELOU’S I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS. ASHLEY WILL HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THEM ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE OF RECREATING MAYA ANGELOU’S LIFE AND ADAPTING IT FOR STAGE. THIS CONVERSATION IS TAKING PLACE ON THURSDAY, MAY26TH @ 2:30 PM PST/ 3:30 PM MST/5:30PM EST/ STREAMING ON FB LIVE, ZOOM WEBINAR, and YOUTUBE LIVE

Baptiste, an actor and a veteran youth theatre educator with the JCTC Youth Theatre and the Stories of Greenville initiative, “I want to create a virtual space where Black artists from around the world can come together and have a human-to-human exchange about art, race and life,” she says. “This series is about expansion, and pushing past preconceived notions of blackness.”Baptiste's next guest are Khalia Davis and Idris Goodwin.

About Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

On a rainy day in Stamps, Arkansas, Maya Angelou has returned to the now-abandoned general store where she grew up and came of age. While inside, the room conjures memories, and she reminisces out loud the events and lessons learned on her tumultuous, painful, beautiful, and extraordinary journey into womanhood.

Adapted by award-winning playwright Idris Goodwin and directed by Khalia Davis, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings weaves unaltered prose directly from Angelou’s groundbreaking and controversial book and introduces a new generation to this American literary icon. Purchase Show Tickets: Here

Khalia Davis (Director)

Khalia Davis(she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist and Artistic Director of Bay Area Children’s Theatre where she recently led the world premieres of a kids play about Racism, which brought together over 40 theater producing partners and was viewed on Broadway on Demand nearly 80,000 times during its limited run then became a free resource for educators and their students, and The Imaginaries: An Immersive Musical, an original new work created by the newly-formed BACT Writer’s Room. As a director and arts educator, she has worked with prominent theaters such as Bay Area Children’s Theater, Atlantic Theater Company’s Atlantic for Kids, New York City Children’s Theater, Disney Theatrical Group, Spellbound Theatre and more. As a producer, Ms. Davis has helped organizations reach hundreds of thousands of young people through, interactive “edu-tainment” with the nationally known Story Pirates, generating new digital pre-school content with Spellbound at Home, and a children’s web series chronicling the experiences of a little black puppet girl named Nia living through the COVID-19 pandemic with her personal web-based company, Kids at Heart Productions. Before assuming her new role as Artistic Director, Ms. Davis served as the Director of Inclusion and Education with Brooklyn Children’s Theatre restructuring their children’s musical theater programming through an anti-racism lens. She made her professional theatrical debut at thirteen years old launching a life-long career as a performer splitting her time between California and NYC. Awards: 2019 Emerging Leader Fellowship-TYA/USA, 2019 NYCCT Leader Fellowship, 2021 Corey Medallion Award-Children's Theatre Foundation of America. BA in Theater Arts from the University of Southern California www.khaliadavis.com!

The conversation is taking place on Thursday, May 26 @ 5:30PM EST; FB Live, Zoom webinar, and YouTube Live.

Webinar Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81675999907?pwd=NEV0NDV4QU0wa2x0cVRGQWJvb2FEZz09

Meeting ID: 816 7599 9907 | Passcode: 359546

Idris Goodwin is a multiple award-winning playwright, breakbeat poet, content creator and arts champion. A 2021 United States Artist Fellow, Goodwin is recognized as a culture bearer who celebrates community values and cultivates histories with care. Idris is the author of over 60 original plays ranging from his Hip Hop inspired breakbeat series to historical dramas to works for young audiences. Goodwin’s created original content for and/or appeared on Nickelodeon, HBO Def Poetry, Sesame Street, NPR, BBC Radio, and the Discovery Channel. “Your House is Not Just A House,” his first picture book, will be published by Harper Collins in 2024. Idris actively serves on the board of the Children's Theatre Foundation Association and was recently named Board President of Theater For Young Audiences/USA. Find him at www.idrisgoodwin.com and on across all the socials