PERFORMANCES


Friday	July 15	8pm
Saturday	July 16	8pm
Sunday	July 17	3pm

Running time: Approximately 2 hours

VENUE

Marines Memorial Theater
609 Sutter Street
San Francisco, CA, 94102
Nearest BART Station: Powell Station

IN COLLABORATION

The African-American Shakespeare Company in collaboration with the Craft Institute and the African Diasporic Network

PHOTOS

July 15–17, 2022
ECHOES OF US
Directed by Michele Shay

The African-American Shakespeare Company in collaboration with the Craft Institute presents, ECHOES OF US. Directed by Tony Award nominee Michele Shay, ECHOES OF US is a series of curated monologues from writers spanning the African diaspora that dramatize the interconnections of who we are as Black people. Featuring Vanessa Bell Calloway, Anna Maria Horsford, L. Peter Callender, Jason Dirden, Sola Bamis and Desean Terry, this creative expression of blackness is a unique live experience that speaks to the evolving nature of our lived experiences and transcends across generations. With a limited run at Marines’ Memorial Theater in San Francisco from July 15th – July 17th we welcome you to recollect and reimagine the possibilities of our existence across time, through the echoes of our ancestors, families, and communities.

#ECHOESOFUS

MEET THE CAST

SOLA BAMIS

Sola Bamis is an actress, writer, performance artist, and filmmaker committed to high-quality artmaking across media platforms. She also serves as the founder of Still Brave Productions, an entertainment production cooperative that specializes in the development, production, and curation of culturally enlightening projects for a global audience. Sola received her BA in Chemistry from the University of Miami and MFA in Acting from the California Institute of the Arts. She earned a SAG Award Nomination for Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble in a Drama Series for her work as Shirley on the final season of Mad Men, and appeared as Afeni Shakur, former Black Panther Party member and mother of rapper, actor, and artist Tupac Shakur, in USA Network’s Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. Other television credits include True Detective, Marvel: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The Magicians, three seasons on Freeform’s Stitchers, and more. She has worked on regional theatre world premieres, performed in countless readings of new plays, and has also lent her voice talents to several video games and radio and television commercials.

L. PETER CALLENDER

L. Peter Callender is Artistic Director of African-American Shakespeare Company in San Francisco, Ca., former resident director at American Stage in St. Petersburg Fl, Westcoast Black Theater Troupe in Sarasota, Fl, and is Associate Artist at N.Y. Classical Theater. Mr. Callender has had the honor of being a guest lecturer at Stanford University, for three years, teaching Acting Shakespeare and Fundamentals of Directing. He’s also conducted Master Classes in acting at Emory University (Atlanta) and at the Juilliard School, (New York City), where he received his formal training in theater. His further training took him to Webber/Douglas Academy in London, England (now Central School of Speech and Drama), and Waseda Sho-Gekijo (Suzuki Technique) with Tadashi Suzuki in Toga-Mura, Japan. Mr. Callender is a multi-award-winning actor and director whose professional career spans over 40 years from Broadway (Prelude to a Kiss) to the Bay Area. He has performed in over 22 Shakespeare plays and directed 9. His directing credits include JITNEY, JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE, A RAISIN IN THE SUN, SKELETON CREW, ROMEO AND JULIET and PIPELINE at American Stage, winning Best Director awards for all but one. L. Peter Callender is also a renowned acting coach with clients locally, nationally, and internationally. More on Mr. Callender: www.lpetercallender.com

JASON DIRDEN

Jason Dirden has appeared on Broadway in two Tony Award winning productions, A Raisin in the Sun, and Fences opposite Academy Award winners, Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. He has been a part of 7 of the 10 plays in August Wilson’s Century Cycle, including playing the lead role in the west coast revival of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom directed by Phylicia Rashad, which earned an Ovation Award in 2017.

In addition to his illustrious theatre career that has taken him all over the country, Dirden has starred in various television and film projects, such as Pastor Basie Skanks in OWN’s hit original series Greenleaf, and Lifetime’s Mahalia, opposite Danielle Brooks. Other credits include, American Soul, Elementary, Hawaii Five-0, BOSCH: Legacy and POWER BOOK III: Raising Kanan.

ANNA HORSFORD

As one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood, Anna Maria Horsford continues to inspire audiences through cinema, television and theatre. Her career and influence span generations, weather you know her as Thelma Frye(Amen) Mrs. Jones (Friday, Friday After Next), Dee Baxter (The Wayans Brothers) or Vivienne Avant (Bold and Beautiful) she has brought to life some of our favorite characters. 

The Emmy-nominated actress can recently be seen on a wide-range of projects premiering 2021-2022, which include her roles as Roberta on TBS’s “The Last OG”, Nicole on ABC’s “The Conners”, Jolene Hernandez on Amazon Prime’s “Studio City”, Aunt Deedee on BratTv’s “Sunnyside Up”, and Gramma Missy on Amazon Prime’s “Ghost Tape”. Fans will be excited to see Anna in the Hulu premiere of “Vacation Friends” starring John Cena. She also recently landed a guest star role on FOX’s hit series “Pose” along with Billy Porter and can be seen on the new CBS hit series “B Positive”, Thursdays at 9:30pm.

Keep an eye out for Anna this December on RuPaul’s How the Bitch Stole Christmas, as well as feature film “Me Time” on Netflix, alongside Kevin Hart, Regina Hall and the legendary John Amos.

Most recently, she joined the discussion for the GreenLight Grant Presentation and panel for Mr. SOUL! on HBO Max. During this panel, Anna was highlighted for her contributions to not only the shows success, but the blueprint she set forth for women of color to advance in positions of power within the television and film industry. As one of the first Black Female Executive Producers of a television series, she was essential in curating content that reflected the black experience in America though entertainment, community outreach and artistic expression. 

In January 2021 she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for her role as Jolene Hernandez on Amazon Prime’s “Studio City”, which received high praise from critics and fans. She recently contributed her expertise to the critically acclaimed discussion with Netflix”s “The Forty-Year-Old Version” star Radha Blank. This discussion was produced virtually by NYU, and is just another example of the invaluable contributions Anna has made to the industry. As a member of DGA (Directors Guild of America) continues to be a viable resource to aspiring actors, directors and creatives looking to be inspired. 

In 2016, Ms. Horsford returned to daytime television joining the cast of the CBS soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful” as Vivienne Avant. Anna Maria received high praise for her emotionally-compelling performance, earning her 2 Daytime Emmy nominations for; Outstanding Special Guest Performer in a Drama Series in 2016 and Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2017.

DESEAN TERRY

Desean K. Terry is a Los Angeles based actor, writer, and director. He is a graduate of the Juilliard School. Currently, he is enjoying his role as Daniel Henderson in the Emmy nominated series The Morning Show, opposite Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Steve Carell. He has had guest appearances and recurring roles on Shameless, Grey’s Anatomy, Scorpion, The Night Shift, Sleeper Cell and numerous others. Desean’s film credits include Post Grad, God’s Army, Somebody’s Mother and States of Grace. In addition to his film and television work, he has been twice nominated by the NAACP for his stage work. He has worked Off-Broadway, regionally, and was privileged to work opposite Cicely Tyson, Vanessa Williams and Blair Underwood on the Tony winning production of A Trip to Bountiful. As a director, he helmed Behind the Mask: a compilation of plays from Negro Ensemble Company, James Baldwin’s Blues for Mr. Charlie, George C. Wolfe’s The Colored Museum, Suzan Lori Parks’ Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom and most recently, Gunshot Medley: part 1 by Dionna Michelle Daniel. He is the Artistic Director of Collaborative Artists Bloc and founder of The Last Acting Studio.

VANESSA BELL CALLOWAY

Vanessa Bell Calloway has earned eight NAACP Image Award nominations. She won the NAACP Theater Award for Best Actress for her role as Zora Neale Hurston in her one-woman critically-acclaimed play “Letters From Zora”. She also co-starred in Nate Parkers feature film “American Skin” and reprised her role as Princess Imani Izzi in “Coming 2 America”. Some of Calloway’s other memorable film roles include “Harriet”, South Side With You”, “What!s Love Got to Do With It”, Coming To America” “Biker Boyz”, “Daylight”, “Crimson Tide”, “Love Don’t Cost A Thing”, “Cheaper By The Dozen” and “The Inkwell”. Her other TV credits are many including: “Unbelievable”, “Love Is”, “Survivors Remorse”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Real Husbands Of Hollywood”, “Hawthorne RN”, “The Closer”, “NCIS”, “Castle”, and “The Temptations”