The Olney Theater Center is sponsoring three week-long workshops on April 24-25

The Olney Theater Center announced the three collaborative projects it will develop during the 24-25 season with week-long workshops as part of its Vanguard Arts Fund (VAF). The first of the projects, In Dahomey (a collaboration between Monty Cole and Breon Arzell), will take place December 9-15, 2024 at the Olney Theater’s William H. Graham Actors’ Hall. Artificial (by Prince Gomolvilas and directed by Jeff Liu). ) will work on the Regional Theater campus from March 3rd to 9th, 2025. The final project, Okuni (book and lyrics by 24-25 Hermitage Major Theater award winner Naomi Iizuka (music and lyrics by Paul Hodge and direction: Lisa Portes) returns for her second VAF workshop, focusing on the second act of the musical , after a workshop was held in June 2023, in which the first was developed from March 31 to April 5, 2025. All workshops end with a final presentation, which is not open to the public.

Jason Loewith, artistic director of the Olney Theater Center, said: “This round of Vanguard Arts Fund projects is particularly exciting because of the breadth of themes explored, the mix of new and returning collaborators, and the diversity of technologies, stories and media explored. It’s a special pleasure to be working again with Breon (whose magical choreography for Fela! was rightly recognized at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards), Prince and the entire Okuni team. These workshops are critical not only to our pipeline, but also to the pipeline of new work across the country.”

Projects were selected from over 300 submissions reviewed by Olney Theater Center’s artistic staff in a process coordinated by Hallie Gordon, Senior Associate Artistic Director, and Irene Martinko, Associate Artistic Director/Casting Director. Each winner will receive one week of workshop space, $1,000 per generative artist, travel and lodging expenses, and assistance from the Olney Theater staff with casting, contracting, and management. The application window for the next round of projects opens at the beginning of 2025.

Several previous VAF projects launched in 2018 with seed funding from the Eugene B. Casey Foundation and were included in the Olney Theater season, including the critically acclaimed AD 16, created by playwright Bekah Brunstetter, composer/screenwriter Cinco Paul and the director Stephen Brackett, which has Broadway expectations; the world premiere of the dramatic comedy “The Joy That Carries You,” written by Awa Sal Secka and Dani Stoller, which won the Helen Hayes Outstanding New Play Award; and the groundbreaking production of Meredith Willson’s The Music Man for deaf and hearing people, which also won awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical and Outstanding Directing for a Musical at the Helen Hayes Awards. Ken Ludwig’s “Lend Me A Soprano,” which received a workshop in 2022, was produced at the Olney Theater during its 23-24 season.

In Dahomey (December 9th – 15th, 2024)

Creatives: Monty Cole, Breon Arzell

This project is a revival of the first Broadway musical, “In Dahomey,” written by and starring African-Americans. The 1903 hit was a satire of the Reconstruction-era American Colonization Society’s efforts to send formerly enslaved people “back to Africa.” This new revival is a way to honor the legacy of what was written and bring it into the present.

Artificial (March 3 – 9, 2025)

Creatives: Prince Gomolvilas, Jeff Liu

After a failed career in standup comedy, Simon has taken a heartbreaking job as an AI engineer at his younger brother’s thriving chatbot company Jetsada. But when the artistic bug strikes again, Simon decides to use the company’s AI technology to write jokes and starts attending open mic nights again – much to Jetsada’s dismay. The sparring brothers’ sibling rivalry reaches epic proportions in this timely yet timeless exploration of a fractured Thai-American family, the uncertain intersection of art and technology, and the question of what it means to be human in the modern age.

Okuni (March 31 – April 5, 2025)

Creatives: Naomi Iizuka, Paul Hodge, Lisa Portes

The untold story of Kabuki is that it was actually founded by a woman: Okuni. Although centuries separate us from 16th-century Japan, Okuni’s life raises questions that eerily affect our present: What role does the artist play in a totalitarian regime? What does it mean to be a woman in a man’s world? How do you survive the vicissitudes of politics, war and economic turmoil? And beyond survival, how can one understand and challenge the corrupt status quo? Okuni’s story explores these questions and more in a compelling and thought-provoking way.

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