SISTAHFRIEND
May 16 & 17 at 4pm
Magic Theatre's Fort Mason
For Portia, Kendra, and Sia, friendship has meant showing up through decades of triumphs, heartaches, motherhood, spiritual journeys, and all the messy, beautiful moments it takes to become your truest self. Time and time again, they've weathered it all. But what happens when this sacred friendship between these three Black women is shaken to its core?
Drawn from real-life events, playwright Phaedra Tillery-Boughton’s SistahFriend is a new dramatic comedy about love, faith, and the friendships that make us whole.
Don't miss this bold New Black Voices Workshop Production—a play about friendship, for anyone who has ever dared to love fiercely.
REHEARSAL PHOTOS
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Phaedra Tillery-Boughton is a passionate creative artist dedicated to theatre, production, and community advocacy. She serves as associate producer and casting manager at SFBATCO and co-hosts Creatively Shaded, a podcast amplifying Black theatre voices in the Bay Area.
A teaching artist with SFArtsEd, Berkeley Rep, A.C.T., and Pacific Singers & Actors, she recently played Rabby in Fat Ham at SF Playhouse and was named the 2025–26 Lorraine Hansberry Theatre New Black Voices Mentee. A 2024–25 Black Futures Awardee, her credits include The Color Purple, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and directing Legally Blonde. @phaedratboughton
ABOUT NEW BLACK VOICES
LHT’s New Black Voices Mentorship Program remains central to the company’s mission of uplifting Black female and femme-identifying playwrights, by offering opportunities to develop new works or to showcase them live to new audiences.
Currently, the New Black Voices Advisory Board includes Lydia Diamond, Nambi E. Kelley, Dominique Morisseau, and Lisa B. Thompson. The advisory board assists with the selection process of new mentees and the personalized structure for mentorships while serving as mentors within the program.
THE CAST
* Member of Actors Equity Association
Photo Credit: Tyler Wang
Asia Nicole Jackson* is honored to work with Lorraine Hansberry Theatre again. Asia previously portrayed the characters Kendra and Portia in varied, wonderfully workshopped renditions of SistahFriend in association with LHT, 3GT, and Zaccho Dance Theatre. Asia also understudied in The Black Feminist Guide to the Human Body at LHT.
A few of her previous theatre credits include Lily Ann Green in Crumbs from the Table of Joy at Aurora Theatre, Amara in Onwu de Play – A WhatsApp Drama at Berkeley Repertory Ground Floor Summer Lab 2025, and Maggie/Mary in Sally and Tom at Marin Theatre.
Asia thanks Christ Jesus for His providence and for being her center. A huge thanks to her family, friends, and spiritual community for their continual love and support. www.asianicolejackson.com
Phoenyx Rose is a Bay Area native whose artistry lives at the intersection of music, movement, and storytelling. An international artist and Broadway performer (Hairspray), she has traveled the world captivating audiences with a presence that is both powerful and deeply expressive. Her work as a choreographer reflects her ability to shape rhythm into visual language, creating performances that are as intentional as they are unforgettable.
Known for her signature “Phoenyx blend” of soul, hip-hop, and jazz, she is also an international recording artist whose sound carries both emotional depth and cultural resonance. As the First Lady of Hip-Hop TV, Phoenyx stands as a voice for elevation, using her platform to inspire, connect, and amplify creative expression across communities.
Phoenyx makes her debut with the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre in Sistah Friend, a moment she embraces with gratitude and pride. To join a legacy rooted in bold storytelling and Black artistic excellence is both an honor and a meaningful step in her journey as an artist.
Beyond the stage, Phoenyx is committed to empowering others through her art, creating work that uplifts, heals, and reflects the fullness of the human experience. Her presence is not only felt in performance, but in the intention she brings to every space she enters.
She is honored to be part of this production and looks forward to sharing this experience with audiences across the globe.
Sending love - Thephoenyxrose.com
Ryan Nicole Austin* (RyanNicole) is a GRAMMY®-nominated MC, actress, & impact producer, whose work blends hip-hop, storytelling, advocacy to explore racial justice, identity, and liberation. A TEDx and Rainin Fellow, her work has been featured internationally and performed for President Barack Obama. She is the preferred host of many of the Bay Area’s most auspicious events, to include: the Black Joy Parade Main Stage, Living Jazz’s In the Name of Love, and the Black Future’s Ball. Ryan co-wrote and co-produced Co-Founders: The Musical at American Conservatory Theater, which sold out a 40-show run in 2025.
Expanding that universe, she produces All People Powered, a live concert and pitch contest that funds underrepresented startup founders. RyanNicole is also the founder of Worth AI, an AI-powered artist rate calculator designed to help creatives price their work fairly. A third-generation Oaklander, she uses art and technology to build platforms for equity and cultural transformation.
CREATIVE TEAM
Playwright:
Phaedra Tillery-Boughton
Director:
Margo Hall
Props Design
Heidi Button
Lighting Design
Michael Combs
Sound Design
Alex Fakayode
Set Design Consultant
Brittany Mellerson
Costume Design Consultant
Jenn Stephens
Stage Manager/Board Operator
Victoria Erville