Honorary Producer: Clifford Pearlman
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By Alice Childress
Directed by AZ Espinoza 
PAC is delighted to be returning once more with an in-person offering for the 2022 Philadelphia Fringe Festival!
Wine in the Wilderness is a powerful examination of race, gender, and class set against the 1964 race riots in Harlem. The plot unfolds in the apartment of a painter creating a triptych to illustrate the phases of Black Womanhood. When his friends introduce him to a potential model for the final painting, assumptions unravel, and the true power of Black women is both acknowledged and celebrated. This show is presented in collaboration with theBlackBestFriend, a creative hub for Black joy, resilience, and community. PAC and theBlackBestFriend extend Pay-What-You-Will tickets for those who identify as members of the Global Majority or BIPOC.
For more information or questions, contact [email protected]
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TheBlackBestFriend would like to thank all that are present for gathering in this space of Black Creativity. We honor the Black lives that have come before us and the creative legacy they have left. We celebrate each other, in our multiplicities, ingenuities, and resiliencies. We are here to uplift Black joy. We are here to hold space for Black grief. We are here to be amazed by our stories, past, present, and future. We say proudly that these stories are for us and by us and we warmly invite others into this act of witnessing.
Learn more about theBlackBestFriend at their website www.bbfphilly.com or on Instagram @the_blackbestfriend
Production photos by Ashley Smith, Wide Eyed Photography
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DESIGN/PRODUCTION TEAM:
Director: AZ Espinoza Stage Manager: Autumn Blaylock Lighting Designer: Bless Rudisill Costume Designer: Aly Gonzales Technical Director & Scenic/Projection Designer: Jim Mobley Sound Designer: Adiah Hicks Props Designer & Set Consultant: Sarah Outing Assistant Stage Manager: Victoria Crenshaw Film Designer: Taj Rauch Dramaturg: Kirstie Floyd Intimacy Director: Eli Lynn Artist-in-Residence: Jihan A. Thomas |
FEATURING:
Akeem Davis Ciera Gardner Brian Anthony Wilson Natajia Sconiers Keith Livingston |
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Akeem Davis - Bill
(he/him) Akeem Davis, from Miami, Fl, is a graduate of Florida State University. Regional credits include: Arden Theatre Company: A Streetcar Named Desire, Gem of the Ocean, A Doll's House (Barrymore Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Play); Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company: The Arsonists; Folger Theatre: King John, District Merchants (Hayes Nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play). People's Light: All My Sons; Theatre Horizon: Lobby Hero, In The Blood; InterAct Theatre: The Dangerous House of Pretty M'bane, Marcus/Emma; Theatre Exile: Buzzer; Philadelphia Shakespeare Company: Henry V, Romeo and Juliet; Simpatico Theatre Project: The Brothers Size. Recipient of the 2015 F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Philadelphia Theatre Artist, Akeem is a proud man of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. |
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Ciera Gardner - Tommy
(they/them) Ciera is a local actor, mover, and creator here in the Philadelphia area. They graduated from the University of the Arts ‘16 while also attending the Headlong Performance Institute ‘15. Credits include Richard III (Theatre in the X), Peter and the Starcatcher (Theatre Horizon), The Gap (Azuka Theatre), Coriolanus (Shakespeare in Clark Park), Liberty to Go to See (National Trust of Cliveden), No Child... (Theatre in the X). |
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Brian Anthony Wilson - Old Timer
(he/him) This is Brian's PAC debut! Recent Theatre: Taming Of The Shrew (SCP), The Reclamation of Madison Hemings (World Premiere @ IRT), King Lear (opposite Andre DeShields) @ St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Jitney @ The Nashville Shakespeare Festival, Looking Over The President's Shoulder (1 man Show) @ Act II Playhouse, Gem Of The Ocean @ Arden (* Barrymore Award for 'Outstanding Supporting Performance In A Play') & Thurgood (1 man Show) @ Olney Theatre Center in MD. Film/TV selected credits : St. Michael Of The City, Manodrome, Glass, Oceans 8, Creed, Limitless,The Postman / Poker Face, Interview With A Vampire, Manifest, Servant, Mare Of Easttown, FBI: Most Wanted, Dispatches From Elsewhere (Recurring), Wu-Tang: An American Saga (Recurring), Siren, Bloodline, Gotham, The Sopranos & The Wire (Recurring). |
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Keith Livingston - Sonny Man
(he/him) This is Keith's PAC Debut! NYC: Target Margin Theater, New Brooklyn Theatre. Regional: Utah Shakespeare Festival, Boise Contemporary Theater, Walnut Street Theatre, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Lantern Theate Company, Theatre Exile, Elm Shakespeare Company, Toms River Shakespeare Festival. He holds two B.A.’s from the University of New Haven and is a proud alum of the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center’s National Music Theatre Institute. Endless thanks to Mom. |
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Natajia Sconiers - Cynthia
(she/her) Natajia is a local performing artist from Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Associate Artistic Director of PAC and member of Theatre Contra. A former Arden Apprentice and acting apprentice at Delaware Shakespeare. Her favorite credit’s include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Delaware Shakespeare); Delaware Young Playwrights Festival (Delaware Theatre Company); Fourteen (National Constitution Center); The Sea Voyage (Philadelphia Artists Collective); Dream-Rushes (Theatre Contra) and Much Ado About Nothing (Delaware Shakespeare). Special thanks to this beautiful team of BIPOC artists, the PAC fam, and of course love to mom and Sav! |
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AZ Espinoza - Director
(they/them) AZ Espinoza is a transmasculine feminist who makes magic through theatre. Directing credits include the world premiere of R. Eric Thomas’s Backing Track at the Arden Theatre (associate director) and the Philadelphia premiere of Angelina Weld Grimke’s 1915 anti-lynching play Rachel at Quintessence Theatre Company. Their play All My Mothers Dream in Spanish will have its world premiere at Azuka Theatre in 2023, and their play Homeridae has been developed nationally and was an Honorable Mention finalist for the Terrance McNally Award. They are the co-creator and founder of theBlackBestFriend, a producing collective that uplifts Black multiplicities. They have been a theater educator at the Wilma Theater, Temple University, Haverford College, and the University of the Arts, and they are a student of liberation everywhere, and for everyone. |
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Autumn Blalock - Stage Manager
(she/her) Autumn is an interdisciplinary artist and Theater for Health (TfH) researcher originally from Capitol Heights, MD. A published playwright and scholar, her most recent works examine the way that Black people are visually interpreted onstage. Her work in theater scholarship has been recognized by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) among others. When she is not contributing to the literature Autumn is an administrator and dramaturg. She holds an MA in Theatre & Nonprofit Management from Villanova University. |
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Bless Rudisill - Lighting Designer
he/him Bless is a queer, Philadelphia-based lighting designer who wishes to pursue the more primal aspects of being human, and who highlights light's influence on our more animalistic attributes. However, in transforming light through different mediums, he aims to not only open paths to understanding his own perspective, but also the perspectives of those around him. He pushes to be able to translate the stories of others in a way that gives their truth the space it needs to survive. However, Bless doesn’t just do this through lighting. He also highlights the existence of other truths through photography, graphic design , and installation. |
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Aly Gonzalez - Costume Designer
she/her Costume Designer, WHITE, Villanova Theatre. She recently served as Dramaturgue for Pase Lo Que Pase, by Carl(os) Roa as part of the PlayPenn New Play Development Conference. As Playwright, her play, Invisible Ones, was a 2021 Sue Winge Playwriting Award joint winner. She adapted Alice Notley’s epic poem, The Descent of Alette, into a stage play, Descent, which appeared as a staged reading during the Villanova 2021 Studio Show. She is a classically trained soprano who loves stars, the Universe, and sparkles. Her goal is to leave a legacy as a defender of environmental protection, human rights, and justice in both her life and her life’s work. Aly is a proud alumna of Temple University where she received her BA in Art History, and she received her MA in Theatre from Villanova University. |
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James Mobley - Technical Director & Scenic/Projection Designer
(he/him) James has been technical director and resident designer for the Rutgers theater program since 1993. Prior to coming to Rutgers, Jim worked professionally in various venues, including the Des Moines Metro Opera, U.C. Berkeley Repertory Theater, The Kansas City Lyric Opera, The Missouri Repertory Theater, Lakeview Theater Company, Greystone Productions of West Virginia, and Circle Repertory Theater (off Broadway, NYC). He received a B.S. in Technical Theater and Design from Northwest Missouri State University and an M.F.A. in scenic design from West Virginia University. His interest in theater began while he was in high school, where he was the first student scenic designer to design a main stage production (God’s Favorite) and was also a member of The International Thespian Society, Troupe 3289. |
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Adiah Hicks - Sound Designer
she/her Adiah is a multidisciplinary theatre artist based in Philadelphia, PA. She is a graduate of Arcadia University and a former Arden Professional Apprentice. Her design credits include Good Cuban Girls (SD; Teatro Del Sol), The Garden (ASD; Nichole Canuso Dance Company), Unwound: Beyond the Labyrinth (SD), and Fefu and Her Friends (SD; Temple University) . This is Adiah’s first show with PAC and she is incredibly grateful to be working on Wine In The Wilderness with so many talented theatre artists. |
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Sara Outing - Props Designer & Set Consultant
she/her Sara is a designer and fabricator with a background in illustration, scenic design, and radical puppetry. Her work is influenced by personal mythologies, afrofuturist inquiry, and a delight in second-hand materials. Recent object design projects include BLACKBESTFRIEND (Alexandra Espinoza) and TROUBLE IN MIND (Philadelphia Artists Collective), as well as parcels delivered by mail for A BREATH FOR US (Tiny Dynamite) co-created with Jarrett McCreary, which was named The Billies’ Socially Distanced Showstopper in 2021. Prop designs have been featured at 1812 Productions, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret, EgoPo Classic Theatre, Lantern Theater Company, Orbiter 3, and Act II Playhouse, Hedgerow Theatre, The Renegade Company, UArts, and the Penn Theatre Arts Program. Sara is an Artistic Associate at Tiny Dynamite and a student performing arts advisor at the University of Pennsylvania. www.saraouting.com |
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Kirstie Floyd - Dramaturg
(she/her) Kirstie Floyd is a Playwright and Dramaturg from Philadelphia whose passion for storytelling and commitment to serving Community has crystallized her purpose: to build bridges to the future and vehicles to carry our dreams. Although the bulk of her dramaturgical experience has been new work, she is excited to be working on an established piece, furthering her knowledge on the art of dramaturgy. Past productions include: (2018) University of the Arts Polyphone Festival: White Girl in Danger by Michael R. Jackson (Dramaturg Apprentice), (2018-2019) EgoPo Classic Theater: Season of South Africa (Season Dramaturg), and (2021) EgoPo Classic Theater: Wine in the Wilderness (Dramaturg). |
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Eli Lynn - Intimacy Director
(they/them) Eli (they/them) is a certified Intimacy Director with Intimacy Directors & Coordinators (idcprofessionals.com), a Barrymore Nominated fight director, and an actor in the greater Philly area. Recent Intimacy credits: A Streetcar Named Desire (Arden), Carroll County Fix (Azuka), Dance Nation (Wilma), Among The Dead, Completeness (Theatre Exile), Shakespeare in Love, Such Things As Vampires (People’s Light). They are also an Artistic Associate with PAC. www.eli-lynn.com |
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Victoria Crenshaw - Assistant Stage Manager
(she/her) Victoria was born and raised in the Tacony section of Philadelphia. She works as an Accountant. She loves to read and write. As a young girl, she went to her first play and fell in love with the theater. She wrote her first play "Generations" in 2005 and has written many other poems and skits. She is a member of Star of Hope Baptist Church where she is active in the drama ministry. She worked as an Assistant Stage manager, StageManager and Box Office Staff. This is her first time working for Philadelphia Artists Collective as an Assistant Stage Manager |
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Jihan A. Thomas - Artist-In-Residence
(she/her) Jihan is a Black Woman, daughter, sister, visual artist, aunt, artivist, mother, abolitionist, afrofuturist and community and museum arts educator, who has been teaching in the Philadelphia community for over 16 years. She was worked with many arts and cultural institutions in Philadelphia such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The African American Museum of Philadelphia, The Barnes Foundation, The Dox Thrash House and Mural Arts Program, and is also currently the Museum Education Division Director with the Pennsylvania Art Education Association (PAEA) For more information on Jihan's work and art, check out her website HERE! |
Poth Brewery Lofts - Aaron Smith & MML Partners - Josh Dowiak & Rutgers University, Camden - Screengems Printing - Prudential Financial
Virginia Staudt Loomis - Charlotte Cushman Foundation - Wycote Foundation - Black Theatre Alliance of Philadelphia
Philadelphia Cultural Fund - Nine Hostage Arts
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Foundations
Philadelphia Cultural Fund Charlotte Cushman Foundation The Wyncote Foundation Individual Donors $5000 and up Angela Mullen & Lisa Yanak Anne Vogelmann $1000 to $4999 Rebecca H. Bradbeer Vanessa Stevenson Clifford Pearlman & Lynn Marks David & Gayle Smith Paige Willan & Laura Birchler Fantes Kitchen Shop $500 -$999 Louis Bluver John & Fern Culhane Brendan Bovaird Annn Garner Pamela & Gresham Riley |
$100-$499
Gregory Batker & Suet Lim Harry Bambrick Jaya Ramji-Nogales Jack Gilhooley Michael McKeever Monika Burke & Kresimir Starcevic Paul Mazzochetti Philip Wagner Andrea Selitto Anne Schuster Hunter Emily Darigan Tina Phipps & Barbara Rice Laurie Selitto Jessica Doheny Robert Weinberg & Eleanor Wilner Zach Marks William A. Loeb Wioleta Pitak Carla Puppin & Lawrence Lindsay Harriet Power & Robert Hedley Gene & Diana Bonetti Michael A. Norris & Matt Varrato Bob Paul Claire & Lud Pisapia Ellen Podolsky Jay & Nancy Berkowitz Janice Smith & Reuben Wade Stacy Skinner John & Kathy Burmaster Dan Hodge Gigi Naglak Chris Coucill Kathleen A. Foster Janean Clare Steven Peitzman Carol and Ray Cook |
Up to $99
Dana O'Malley Glynnis Nadel Jamel Baker Mark Cofta Wendy Herlich Micheal Toner Robert & Jane Weiss Lois Shestack Brion Shreffler Anthony Diaz Jane Barry & Patrick O'Kane Frederick Jackes & Judith Adamson Frances Hoenigswald Elizabeth Filios Margaret Lonzetta Mary Ann Murphy Nona Reinhart Patty Brotman & Jim Mullahy Peggy & Douglas Gordon Robert & Joanne Clothier Stanley & Ellen Poster Tom Helmer Timothy P. Carey Judith Clarke Keith Eckert Suzanne Walker Brian Anthony Wilson Michael & Frances Baylson Steve Harlen Brittany Onukwugha & Hunter Smith Terry Marek Archibald Hewes Daniel Coren & Gretta Leopold Jessica DalCanton Jim & Cynthia Burkeitt Joan Saltzman Robert & Mizuho Grundlock Russell Walsh Ruthie Levikoff William Rahill Phillip Graneto & Janice Breen John Ashmead Judith A. Foys Marta Nolan-Alley Mickey & Chip Herr Susan Giddings Bob Weick |
