Marissa's first play post-grad: Being Up In Here
Donation protected
Hi! My name is Marissa Joyce Stamps, and I’m a NYC-born and based Haitian-American writer, director, and educator. As you read this, I am excitedly preparing to go into the production process for a new play of mine, Being Up in Here and All the Other Businesses that Don’t Concern You OR When You See a Buncha Black People Running, What Do You Do?. This play, which I am also directing, will premiere at The Brick Theater from January 4th-13th, 2024 as part of the selected lineup for Exponential Festival 2024, a Brooklyn-based month-long theatre festival that is committed to NYC’s experimental artists. What's so special to me is that this play was written during my second semester at Brooklyn College in 2022 and this will be the first production of a play of mine post-grad school. It truly feels like a full circle moment I'm incredibly grateful to be in.
Being Up in Here and All the Other Businesses that Don’t Concern You OR When You See a Buncha Black People Running, What Do You Do?
Written and Directed by Marissa Joyce Stamps
Presented at The Brick as Part of The Exponential Festival 2024: January 4th-13th
Produced by Thalia Sablon, Nola Latty and Ava Elizabeth Novak
Photo from the December 2022 Staged Reading at The Brick Aux.
From Left: Aja Mahogany, Essence Johnson, Alexis Dobynes, Travis Raeburn, Aja Downing
ABOUT THE PROJECT
“We runnin cross country.”
Being Up in Here… follows best friends Aaliyah and Eli who get magical running sneakers and run On Their Way, as far as space as near as Brownsville's GnM bodega, to reach The Final Destination where they're to meet Mama She. But, what happens when they make the unfamiliar familiar and run off course?
By invoking running, the play centers the utopian possibilities in Black folks', especially Black women and femmes', relationship to rest, recuperation and restoration, while trying to conquer the utter guilt that comes with embracing those principles for ourselves. Why can’t we just take a second to breathe? And in the same breath, Being Up in Here… brings into focus the internal conflict of deciding whether to it's better to stay close to the familiar, like one's close-knit hometown community, or if it's better to uncover the unfamiliar and take the risk of seeing what lies outside in uncharted territory, and examines the nuances of prioritizing one over the other in one’s search for home, belonging, and self-actualization.
YOUR IMPACT!
Through Exponential Festival, our performance space at The Brick is graciously covered. Now, our work is to raise the funds for all other aspects of this project to bring it to life in January and we need your help; look at the ways in which your donations will do so! No amount is too small!:
- Artist Pay: Artists' pay is of the utmost importance to us. And with your donation, you’ll be contributing to the compensation of our cast, creative, and personnel, which amounts to over 70% of our total budget. Aside from us four producers, Being Up In Here... features a team of 12 (6 actors, 5 designers, and a stage manager).
- Social Impact: We will partner with a community organization near The Brick to organize a shoe drive. It is our belief to give back to and engage with the community that we have the privilege and honor of creating and showcasing our art in.
- Community Engagement: We will have a panel and artist talkback after two of our performances.
- Keep Theatre Alive: As you may know, the nationwide impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to theater closures, staff layoffs, and reduced programming, with many high-performing regional theaters planning to produce 20 percent fewer shows compared to pre-pandemic seasons. Several prominent experimental theater festivals in New York, including The Public’s Under the Radar, have also ceased to exist, limiting opportunities for local artists. In this challenging landscape, we're grateful for Exponential's support in enabling us to pursue our artistic visions and contribute to NYC's experimental theater tradition. There are not a lot of spaces like Exponential Festival and The Brick that give opportunities to up and coming artists; they are a staple in the DIY theatre scene and your support allows their legacy, as well as their artists' legacies, to continue.
FOLLOW US FOR MORE!
You can also support us by following us on Instagram @beingupinhere where we'll be sharing behind-the-scenes shenanigans, news about special events this fall with our production and Exponential, and more! If you share any of our posts, be sure to tag us and #BeingUpInHere #BlackPeopleRunning!
ABOUT THE PRODUCING TEAM
Marissa Joyce Stamps is a Black, Haitian-American, NYC-based Afrosurreal artist + educator. She is the recipient of the 2023 Princess Grace Playwriting Award, Marissa Joyce Stamps is a Black, Haitian-American, NYC-based Afrosurreal artist + educator. She is the recipient of the 2023 Princess Grace Playwriting Award, a member of Clubbed Thumb's 2023-2024 Early-Career Writers' Group, a Mercury Store Fall 2023 Lead Artist, a New Georges Affiliate Artist, + was named a 2023 Finalist for National Black Theatre’s I AM SOUL Playwrights Residency. Recent: …Twisted Juniper (2022 O’Neill NPC Finalist, Chatauqua's NPW), Blue Fire… (Exponential Festival 2022; Orchard Project 2021), Letiche… (Bushwick Starr SRS 2023), deadbodydeadbodydeadbody (Ars Nova ANT Fest 2022). Marissa serves as The Workshop Theater's Literary Manager. MFA Playwriting: Brooklyn College. marissajoycestamps.com
Ava Elizabeth Novak is a director and producer dedicated to creating spaces that center black/queer people and foster the intersection of arts and community. They are also the Artistic Production Associate at Dr. Barbara Ann Teer’s National Black Theatre.
Thalia Sablon “Born in Haiti and raised in Queens, New York, I have my mother’s tongue and a New York accent.” Thalia earned her MFA in playwriting at Rutgers University. As an artist, she is focused on creating work that challenges people's capacity for care and understanding. She loves diving into new work and loves a process-based collaboration. When she isn’t writing or producing, she is trying hard to not wreak havoc around New York.
Nola Latty is a director, producer, and performance artist from Philadelphia, based in Brooklyn, New York. They create work that balances the intimate with the avant-garde. Their surreal digital play, Still Goes, was a part of the 2022 Exponential Festival. They have produced shows at Ars Nova, The Brick, and New York University, and performed at New York and Denver Fringe Festivals, Chaos Computer, and The Tank, along with several other small DIY Venues.
Organizer
Marissa Joyce Stamps
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY