In 1881, Black laundresses in Atlanta led a strike weeks before the International Cotton Exposition came to town. Demanding $1/dozen pounds of laundry, the Atlanta Washerwomen’s Strike of 1881 was one of the largest, successful interracial labor strikes of the post-Civil War era. "The Wash" offers an intimate and often funny look at ordinary women who went from workers to fighters– and won. The Wash is a part of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere.
(For more information, please visit nnpn.org)
Intended Audience Age: 10 and up
Meet Playwright: Kelundra Smith
Kelundra Smith is a storyteller whose mission is to connect people to cultural experiences and each other. A Georgia native, she got into theatre because that’s where teachers put the kids who talk too much in class. As a playwright, she has a passion for southern historical narratives and writing stories about people who no one else sees. Her play The Wash is a recipient of a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere, with productions in Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago, and New York. Kelundra is also a theater critic and arts journalist whose articles about artists from historically excluded groups have been published in The New York Times, ESPN’s Andscape, Garden & Gun, American Theatre, ArtsATL, Atlanta Magazine, and elsewhere. Her long-term goals are to land on The New York Times bestseller list, open a late-night dessert restaurant and have her plays adapted for television.
Meet Director: Myesha-Tiara
Myesha-Tiara hails from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and received her Bachelor of Science in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Performance and Directing. After college she performed for regional and touring theatres until she decided to make the big move to the Windy City. At the end of 2019 she also opened her own 501 c3 non-profit theatre company, Perceptions Theatre, on the Southside of Chicago. Some directing credits include Falsettos (Court & Timeline Theatre/ Jeff Nominated); Non Equity Jeff &, Black Excellence Awards Nominated, Panther Women: An Army for the Liberation (Prop Thtr & Perceptions Theatre); A Hit Dog Will Holler (Artemisia); and The Little Foxes (Associate Director / Citadel Theatre Company). Some acting credits include: For Colored Girls… as Lady In Brown and Lady In Blue u/s (Court Theatre /Jeff Awarded); Steel Magnolias as Annelle (Theatre at the Center); The Wedding Band as Mattie (The Artistic Home/ Jeff Recommended) and Hamlet as Gertrude and Ophelia/Osric u/s (The Gift Theatre) and Oscar winning film 12 Years a Slave. She is Artistic Director of Perceptions Theatre (Emerging Theatre & Best New Storefront Awarded). She is represented by Shirley Hamilton.
Meet the Cast
