Community Engagement

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WHY WE PROTEST: Black Actors and Artists Discuss Activism in Their Work

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On June 9th at 5:30 PM, following his portrayal of controversial revolutionary figure Nat Turner and the exploration of identity and rebellion in last month’s Virginia Stage Company Virtual Stage presentation of P.A. Wray’s “Nat’s Last Struggle,” actor, playwright, activist and Chair of the Norfolk Commission on the Arts & Humanities, Terrance Afer-Anderson, will lead a virtual conversation with local Black actors and artists on activism in their work. Free and open to the public, via Zoom video call.

Learn more about the panelists below.

  • Panel Leader: Terrance Afer-Anderson is the Chair of the Norfolk Commission on the Arts & Humanities. Afer-Anderson is an Actor, Playwright, Producer, CEO/TerraVizion Entertainment Network. The TerraVizion Entertainment Network is a multimedia production company that produces stage, television, video, and film projects, designed to chronicle and document the American experience, for diverse local, regional and national audiences. 

    Website: terravizioninc.com 

  • Tommy Coleman is an Actor and Voiceover Artist. Coleman is the former director of VSC Urban Theatre “The Line: Art for Social Change”, a project geared towards deconstructing racial/economic boundaries in Hampton Roads in response to the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. He is also the co-founder of The Silent Mile, a community group geared toward protesting extrajudicial justice by police. 

  • Deirdre Love is a Poet, Artivist, and the Founder and CEO of Teens with a Purpose. Love is the curator of EXPRESSIVE ARTS programming for youth - for self-discovery, resiliency or change (activities that support intellectual, social & emotional development): Love is the Matriarch of a community within their organization, Teens With a Purpose that creates a safe space and platform for young people to use their voice, creativity, reflection, and action to affect personal growth, impact their peers and help transform their communities. Deidre love is a Public Works Virginia Community Partner

  • Kai B. White is the Co-Founder of “Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Performers in Hampton Roads,” a group created to be a sounding board and platform for all BIPOC across Hampton Roads to share their story and enrich the theater community through support, information, and accountability. White is an Actor/Singer, VSC’s The Wiz, Disney Cruise Ship Fantasy

  • Le’Royce Bratsveen is an Actor and the Artistic Director/Owner at Iron Street Productions. Productions include Purlie the 1961 musical by Ossie Davis satirizing racial stereotypes; Before It Hits Home a play about the impact of AIDS on an African-American family; and August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom exploring the exploitation of black artists by white producers in the 1920s.

  • Brittney S. Harris is the creator of “The Intersection (The Sandra Bland Project)”. Harris is the Assistant Professor of Theatre at Old Dominion University. Her specialty is Race Performance, Activist Theatre, and youth-based Cultural Enrichment programming.

  • Cory “The Talented Blind Guy” and LaQuita Marie Staten are the Founders of Atumpan Edutainment. They provide affordable and accessible opportunities for artist development on onstage and behind the scenes talents through arts education, professional performances, special projects, and community events. Atumpan Edutainment is Public Works Virginia Community Partner.

Updated 06/19 to include the panel

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