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Few plays put authentic African American female voices center stage.
DON'T TOUCH MY HAIR by Douglas Lyons is a hilarious new play that does just that. Here is this week's press announcement about this show being the third installment in what is being called the "deep breath trilogy."
https://playbill.com/article/douglas-lyons-announces-deep-breath-trilogy-of-plays-dedicated-to-black-women
Douglas's last show CHICKEN & BISCUITS played on Broadway and subsequently became one of the most produced shows in theaters across the country. His current show TABLE 17 is playing to rave reviews at MCC in New York (NY Times "critic's pick") and DON'T TOUCH MY HAIR is set to begin its life with a developmental production at the acclaimed IAMA Theater (link below) here in Los Angeles this February.
The production at IAMA, to be directed by Velani Dibba (bio below) will explore the setting, music, and comedy that will shape future productions. Set in modern times, DON'T TOUCH MY HAIR exposes how Black women in America are marginalized and overlooked by comically transporting our two leads to the antebellum South. Through comedy and music, our heroines find their voices and step into their worth to take charge of the issues they face today.
Thank you so much for helping to get the word out and I can't wait to share what comes out of this integral step in the life of a new play.
Thank you!!
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Velani Dibba is an LA-based director and multidisciplinary artist of Gambian-Tongan descent. Her work focuses on the collision of cultures through design-focused and ensemble-driven pieces.
An Inaugural Fellow at the Laboratory for Global Performance & Politics in Washington D.C., Velani is also a former Global Cultural Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, a co-founding member of The SuperGeographic Ensemble Theatre, and a former SITI Company Artistic Associate. Her work has been reported on by The New York Times, Vulture, The Scotsman, and various other outlets. Select credits include Pride and Prejudice (The Dramat at Yale Repertory Theatre), we need your listening (New Ohio Theatre Ice Factory Festival), Apologies to the Bengali Lady (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Tank NYC, The Gathering), I Pledge Allegiance (UNESCO International Theatre Festival and World Congress, TCG National Conference), and Space Odyssey (Columbia School of the Arts). She has associate directed under Obie Award-winner Anne Bogart, MacArthur Genius Elizabeth Streb, HAMILTON Resident Director Tiffany Nichole Greeneand Tony Award-winner Darko Tresnjak, among others.
MFA Columbia University. BSFS Georgetown School of Foreign Service.