Single Black Female
“Single Black Female” is at its strongest and funniest when the two actors, Tanika Baptiste and Paige Mayes, let loose and play off each other. The two women bring the house down, laughing as they dance wildly to passionate gospel music...READ MORE
-Jordan Freed, THEATRIUS
About:
Single Black Female
Oct. 25th - Nov. 10th
by Lisa B. Thompson
Directed by Aejay Mitchell
Nominee! 2004 LA Weekly Theater Award, Best Comedy
Single Black Female is a two-woman show with rapid-fire comic vignettes that explore the lives of thirty-something African American middle-class women in urban America as they search for love, clothes, and dignity in a world that fails to recognize them amongst a parade of stereotypical images. SBF 1, an English literature professor, and SBF 2, a corporate lawyer, keep each other balanced as they face their fears of rejection, hopes for romance, and reminisce about black girlhood wounds.
While embodying a variety of characters, the girlfriends discuss the absurdities of interracial dating, the lure of recreational shopping, and the merits of college reunions for bolstering one’s self-esteem. After reviewing their escapades in past relationships and confessing their own mounting anxieties about commitment and the possibility of motherhood, the pair realize their best chance at love may be found closer than they ever imagined.
Meet Our Director:
AeJay Mitchell
AeJay Mitchell is a director, choreographer, scholar, and actor based in Oakland, California. Originally from Louisiana, their direction and choreography has been seen in Detroit, North Carolina, Louisiana and the Bay Area where they were nominated for the Best Choreography Award by the Bay Area Critics Circle Awards for their work on Priscilla: Queen of the Desert in 2017.
They recently directed the critically acclaimed, gender explosive production of Sister Act: The Musical at Theatre Rhinoceros. As current Director of Theatre at Contra Costa School of Performing Arts, they have directed The Crucible, The Secret Garden, Marisol, and Footloose. They will direct Footloose again this spring at California State East Bay, following their production of Little Shop of Horrors there last year. AeJay is a company member of TheatreFirst and of Black Artists Contemporary Cultural Experience, where they performed in Robert O'Hara's Bootycandy and American Maul at BRAVA!
Our Actors:
Paige Mayes
HAIR (Ronny, Dionne, Abraham Lincoln) Falcons Eye Theatre, The Wiz (Aunt Em/Glinda) Black Repertory Group Theater, 2018 Pop Tour Home of the Brave (Gina) La Jolla Playhouse, A Civil War Christmas (Hannah) and A New Brain (Lisa) with Diversionary Theatre, Disgraced (Jory u/s) and Violet (Lula Buffington) San Diego Repertory Theatre. Thank you Lorraine Hansberry for your Black Queen Magic!
Tanika Baptiste
Tanika Baptiste is grateful and excited for her debut at Lorraine Hansberry Theatre Company! Regional Credits: Sister Act (Deloris Van Cartier) Pittsburg Community Theatre, A Midsummers Night Dream (Snout/1st Fairy u/s) California Shakespeare Theatre, Smokey Joes Cafe (BJ) Tri-Valley Repertory, Violet (Lula Buffington/Landlady) Bay Area Musicals, Avenue Q (Gary Coleman)
New Conservatory Theatre, She Persisted, the Musical (Harriet Tubman) Bay Area Children’s Theatre, Dreamgirls (Effie) Berkeley Playhouse, Rock of Ages (Justice Charlier) Pacific Coast Repertory Theatre, HAIR (Ronny, Dionne, Abraham Lincoln) Falcons Eye Theatre, The Wiz (Aunt Em/Glinda) Black Repertory Group Theater, 2018 Pop Tour Home of the Brave (Gina) La Jolla Playhouse, A Civil War Christmas (Hannah) and A New Brain (Lisa) with Diversionary Theatre, Disgraced (Jory u/s) and Violet (Lula Buffington) San Diego Repertory Theatre. Thank you Lorraine Hansberry for your Black Queen Magic!
We are a not-for-profit theatre. DONATIONS and support are always appreciated.