PROGRAMS
We believe in play and experimentation. We believe in community and the importance of gathering. We believe in place-making and the urgency of continually examining how we relate to each other and the world through storytelling.
Current Events
State of DC Black Theatre
Created by Marjuan Canady, Seshat Yon’shea Walker, and Dr. Nina Angela Mercer
State of DC Black Theatre" series seeks to amplify the VOICES, STORIES, and EXPERIENCES that shape DC’s Black Theatre community. Over the course of four thought-provoking sessions, we will explore the rich legacy of DC Black Theatre, confront the pressing challenges currently facing our community’s practitioners, while imagining a future where our voices continue to not only be heard but to thrive at the forefront of the arts.
This series is dedicated to fostering honest dialogue, community engagement, and actionable steps toward a more equitable and sustainable theatre landscape.
Gathering Rites
Ocean Ana Rising specializes in the development of boldly relevant live storytelling that sparks critical conversations, helps people consider possibilities for change, and deepens our celebration of life through theater.
GATHERING RITES is a series of socially-engaged art and culture events and activities (WORKSHOPS & COMMUNITY PROVOCATIONS) culminating in two theatrical productions developed by Ocean Ana Rising, Inc. (OAR) - Gypsy and the Bully Door and Waafrika 1-2-3: A Queerly Scripted African Fantasia
Gypsy & the Bully Door (2023)
By Nina Angela Mercer, directed by Eric Ruffin
Sara has a dream, but life just keeps happening in ways that seem to pull that dream further and further away at every turn, especially when she keeps losing the people she loves. Though she fights to hold on, determined to shake loose the haunting of many past lives, there’s a cost. There’s also a way to heal. But the choice to be well is often more difficult than it seems.
Gypsy & The Bully Door was developed through the Lorraine Hansberry Experimental Lab, a space co-produced by Georgetown’s Laboratory for Global Performance and Politics, The Woodshed Center for Art, Thought, & Culture, and Ocean Ana Rising, Inc. in 2023. From July 5th, 2023 to July 19th, 2023, the play had a music and script development workshop. Then, the team returned to the Woodshed Center for Art, Thought, & Culture from September 28th to October 8th, 2023 for a creative process laboratory with a full cast. The Lab culminated with an open performance for the public on October 8th at The Devine Theater at Georgetown University. The performance was followed by a talk-back discussion featuring Georgetown University and DC-metropolitan area community members.
Waafrika 1-2-3: A Queerly Scripted African Fantasia (2022)
By Nick Hadikwa Mwaluko, directed by Eric Ruffin
Meet Awino; s/he is he is African is non-binary is a non-believer in gender. Meet Bobby who self-identifies as a biracial, African American, queer, lesbian woman and Peace Corps volunteer. But in 1992 Kenya, Awino and Bobby do not exist ...
Waafrika 1-2-3 was developed in the 2022 F!RE!! Summer Play Lab, a 6-week theatre residency that provides development resources for the under-produced stories that center the experiences of Black LGBTQIA+ writers and communities. Hosted by the Howard University Department of Theater, the residency culminated in a staged reading on June 25th, 2022.
