John “Ray” Proctor

August Wilson’s Jitney | Dramaturg Carlyle Brown’s The African Company Presents: Richard III | Dramaturg The Black Rep Theatre, St Louis, 2022

Set in the late 1970s, August Wilson’s first play in his 10-play cycle of ten decades of history in Pittsburgh takes place in the midst of urban renewal, which threatens to eliminate the makeshift gypsy cab service. The story follows a group of men who make a living driving these cabs, as they navigate love as fathers and sons, loss and hope, and ultimately, community. This must-see work comes to life with a passion that transcends all races.

It’s 1821 in New York, and two productions of Shakespeare’s Richard III are vying for audiences. One is presented by the African Company of New York, a downtown theater known for its growing popularity with both Black and white audiences. A white theater owner is threatened by the success of his competition and will stop at nothing to shut them down. Learn what happens in this true story straight from American theater history.

Summer Lyric Music Theatre - Into the Woods | Director Crescent City Stage - Derek Walcott’s Pantomime | Director New Orleans, 2022

What happens after happily ever after, after all? In Sondheim and Lapine’s beloved musical retelling of the Grimm classics, a parade of familiar folktale figures find their way “into the woods” and try to get home before dark.

Set in Tobago, in the hope of entertaining future guests, a white English hotel owner proposes that he and his black handyman work up a satire on the Robinson Crusoe story. This metatheatrical two-hander dissects the effects of colonialism, examining the way that British imperial policies create fateful cultural links forever. Joy and dark humor abound as the hotel owner and handyman explore who is allowed to use language and in what way.