African storytelling has many forms. Ancient wisdoms were passed down through song, dance and (often comical) metaphorical re-tellings. Anansi and the Halfling brings those storytelling mediums to light in a modern way through the experiences of a young, black millennial. As the story snakes through a college classroom, a mystical story realm, and the home of the gods themselves, puppetry, drumming, and movement are as crucial to the storytelling as the words themselves are. Our heroine strives to learn that in order to know where you’re going, you have to know where you came from… even when the past is painful.
Written by Madison Jade Jones
Directed by Jay O’Leary
Read Madison Jade Jones’s interview with Gemma Wilson in City Arts Magazine.
CAST
Maizah – Madison Jade Jones
Anansi – Bob Williams
Ensemble:
Patrick Tolden
Anjelica McMillan
Saige Hawthorne
CREW
Director – Jay O’Leary
Stage Manager – Josh Valdez
Scenic Design – Gerard Menendez
Costume Design – Sadiqua Iman
Original Music – Thione Diop
Sound Design – Chris Leher
Co-Lighting Design – Angelo Domitri
Co-Lighting Design – Mel Alleyne
Props Design – Kyleigh Archer
Dramaturg – Brandon J. Simmons
Dialect Coach – Gin Hammond
Production Manager – Madison Silva
Technical Director – Chris Leher