Black Eagles

Written by Leslie Lee
Directed by L. Peter Callender

An extraordinary drama about the Tuskegee Airmen, America’s first black fighter pilots. The play opens at a reception honoring the airmen. As the elderly WWII pilots reminisce, they are joined by their younger selves and the story of this brave company is retold.

“‘Black Eagles’ recaptures Black History and makes it live.”
—Robert M. Gardner, Theatrius

“…director L. Peter Callender coaxes the individual stories into the spotlight, drawing emotionally honest performances”
—Robert Sokol, San Francisco Examiner

“excellent cast […] talented actors under Callender’s superb direction”
—Gaetana Caldwell-Smith, For All Events

“compelling […] The cast both elders and younger selves are excellent.”
—Wanda Sabir, San Francisco Bay View

“illuminates a pivotal moment in US history. […] The courage and principled stand of the Tuskegee Airmen eventually led to the desegregation of the US military—something they fought for in the air and on the ground. A standing ovation is due—and was given on opening night—to L. Peter Callender and the African American Shakespeare Company for amplifying their voices through Lee’s powerful Black Eagles.”
—Elaine Elinson, 48hills

#BlackEaglesAASC

Director’s Note

We DO need another Hero — ALL OF THEM!

In my recent travels, after announcing our season, which includes Leslie Lee’s Black Eagles, I have been regaled with stories from friends and colleagues about an uncle, or father, or grandfather, or relative, or friend of a friend, who knew someone who went to Tuskegee or who was an actual member of the Tuskegee Airmen. They shone with pride and expressed great interest in the production. This memory play documents the young Black men of the Fighting 99th, their unheralded duties as fighter escorts to the White bomber pilots in Italy during WWII. It tells, in dramatic fashion, of their fears and frustrations; their loves and losses and their staunch resilience in the face of condemning racism levied at them even thousands of miles from home. These men were real American Heroes. Former President Barack Obama once said that he “is standing on the shoulders of these trailblazers” and invited over 330 of these men to his inauguration. In 2007, surviving airmen were invited to our Nation’s Capitol’s rotunda to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor Congress can give. In November 2016, Willie Rogers, recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal, and the oldest surviving member of the Tuskegee Airmen, died in St Petersburg, Florida. He was 101. African-American Shakespeare Company and this company of actors dedicates this production and their work to their memory, with our individual and our Nation’s Thanks.

— L. Peter Callender

Cast

Elder Clarkie — Gift Harris

Gift Harris has been in numerous plays and films. This is Gift’s third show with African-American Shakespeare Company. He was previously in August Wilson’s Jitney and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Gift has also performed at Berkeley Repertory and did a tour of Europe that included performing at the Edinburgh Festival with Geese Theatre Company. Gift thanks God, his wife Hiawatha, mother Margaret Harris, and family for their support.

Elder Leon — Thomas Robert Simpson

Thomas Robert Simpson, actor, director, producer, photographer and writer, is the founder and artistic director of the AfroSolo Theatre Company. Since 1991 he has concentrated on presenting Black art and culture through solo performances and the visual and literary arts. For the past twenty-four years Thomas has produced the award winning AfroSolo Arts Festival. He has showcased celebrity artists such as: the late award-winning actor Ruby Dee, comedian and political activist Dick Gregory, beloved teacher, poet and social activist June Jordan, sensational black gospel singer Emmit Powell. Besides these, he had presented hundreds of local theatre, dance, and visual artists. Thomas won a coveted Bay Area Jefferson Award for Public Service in 2006. In 2009 he was awarded a Certificate of Honor from the San Francisco Board of Supervisor. Over the years has received awards and recognition from California Legislators, San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s Black Brothers Esteem Program, The Reggie Williams Achievement Award, the Oakland Supper Club to name a few. Since 2006 Thomas Robert Simpson has also used AfroSolo’s Community Engagement program to focus on important issues in the black community, such as: health, justice, and education. www.afrosolo.org

Clarkie — Luchan Baker

Luchan Baker has been in many Bay Area productions in Oakland and San Francisco. His love for the arts began at the age of eight years old when he was in his first production at the Black Repertory Theater in Berkeley. He’s also been a part of the Lower Bottom Players theater group and participated in four of their August Wilson performances including: The Piano Lesson, Fences, Two Trains Running, and Jitney. This is Luchan’s first time working with African-American Shakespeare Company and he’s excited to be a part of the company.

Nolan — Brandon Callender

Brandon Callender is an actor and software engineer from Oakland, and is excited to be making his African-American Shakespeare Company debut! He is a recent graduate of the University of Chicago, where he played Lloyd in Noises Off, Alioune in Belleville, Chorus in Henry V, and Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost. His passion is in bringing together arts and engineering, especially in education — bridging gaps between fields often cast as opposites.

Leon — Devin A. Cunningham

Devin A. Cunningham is an actor and singer from Oakland, CA and he is excited to work with the African-American Shakespeare Company. Devin studied acting on California’s central coast at PCPA—Professional Actor Training Program. Devin made his debut with AASC in their original production of Cinderella in the role of Shaniqua, the stepsister. Other credits include: Lord Mayor/Lord Grey, Richard III; Officer Lockstock, Urinetown the Musical; Ensemble, Cinderella; and Ensemble, The Pirates of Penzance.

Pia — Margherita Ventura

Margherita Ventura is a native of Florence, Italy, and studied acting in New York with Bill Esper at the legendary William Esper Studio. She is a member of Ubuntu Theatre Project, where she has recently appeared in Hamlet, Pool of Unknown Wonders, and Death of a Salesman, and will soon be featured in Lisa Ramirez’s Down Here Below. She’s really excited to have this opportunity to work with the African-American Shakespeare Company!

Roy Truman — Kyle Goldman

Kyle Goldman is very excited to be making his debut with the African-American Shakespeare Company. Kyle has worked all over the Bay Area with such companies as New Conservatory Theatre Center, the Custom Made Theatre Company, Livermore Shakespeare, Town Hall Theatre in Lafayette, Role Players Ensemble in Danville, and Douglas Morrisson Theatre in Hayward, where he most recently played his dream role of Dracula in Dracula. You may have also seen Kyle playing the role of Mickey Diamante in The Speakeasy with Boxcar Theatre from September of 2017 to September of 2018. Following Black Eagles, you can catch Kyle playing the role of The Officer in the world-premiere of Supremacy at the Exit Theatre in San Francisco.

Elder Nolan — Todd Risby

Todd Risby has an extensive career as an actor. At the early age of nine years old, Todd got his first introduction to the stage by playing Percy the Slave-boy in Helen Keller’s the Miracle Worker. As Todd made his way through grade school to college, aptitude for sports took him in a different direction. However, his love for the stage never died. As such, he later portrayed Ira Aldridge in Zero Hour, Nine AM at Richland Community College, in Decatur, IL; Todd later moved to California and got the opportunity to portray The Mayor in Hubba City, at the Berkeley Black Repertory Group. African-American Shakespeare Company stage projects include: A Raisin in The Sun (Walter Lee), The Colored Museum, and Cinderella. Todd’s television credits include: Midnight Caller, Love Kills, Wives with Knives, and Chance. Todd’s film credits include: Sneakers and Nine Months; and independent film projects: The Blind Artist, Rouges of Flat Oak, Fight 4 Your Fight, Drowning Hypothetically; and Deceived, and as a college professor in Joe Runs Dry. Todd is currently co-staring in the action drama, Talk to the Gun, scheduled for release later this year. This fall, you will be able to catch him on stage at the Marin Shakespeare Company in their production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in the role of Theseus. Todd last appeared on AASC’s stage as the Duke in Cinderella 2018.

General Lucas — Gene Thompson

Gene Thompson has performed in New York and Bay Area theatres for over 40 years, most recently playing The Senator in a staged reading of Mame Hunt’s Unquestioned Integrity with Velina Brown as Anita Hill and Dorian Lockett as Clarence Thomas, at Those Women Productions. Other local favorites include Ira in Arrivals/Departures (by Daniele Nathanson and Tania Katan), Dukes Frederick and Senior in As You Like It (Shakespeare), Chebutykin in Three Sisters (Chekhov), and Bob in the award-winning Swimming in the Shallows (by Adam Bock), all at Shotgun Players; Skinner in A-A-America, (by Edward Bond) at Crowded Fire; and Houdini in Rosabelle-Answer-Tell (by Ellen Koivisto) at Theatre Artists’ Conspiracy. But his signature role in the Bay Area will always be Senator Bob Packwood in John Warren’s Groping for Justice, the Bob Packwood Story, at Unconditional Theatre.

Roscoe — Ron Chapman

Ron Chapman is a Bay Area based actor who believes in the power and necessity of great storytelling. He is excited to be working with the African-American Shakespeare Company for the first time. He previously appeared as Boodah in Salt, Pepper Ketchup with the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company.

Buddy — Donald Ray Antoine

Donald Ray Antoine is a actor, writer, dancer, and director from the Bay Area, and is very excited and honored to be working with the African-American Shakespeare Company! He is a graduate of the Skyline High School Performing Arts Academy. He has appeared in Grease (Danny Zuko), Zooman and The Sign (Reuben Tate), Bugsy Malone (Bugsy Malone), and Bury the Dead (First Soldier). He has studied at the Berkeley Repertory School of Theatre for many seasons and has appeared professionally in It.Is. Productions Best.Worst.Best and Disney’s High School Musical, and has served as Assistant Director to Yes Theater’s production of Journey to the End of the Earth. Donald has a passion for community service, performing arts education/funding, and Christian Mime Dance.

Othel — Joseph Pendleton

Joseph Pendleton is an actor, singer, and dancer who got the acting bug at age 10 when he began acting and directing his siblings in plays he himself wrote. At Skyline High School, he was inspired by the example of fellow alum Tom Hanks. Black Eagles will be his first production with the African-American Shakespeare Company and he is excited to be showcasing an important historical moment, not least because his great-uncle was a Tuskegee Airman. Joseph received his Bachelor’s Degree in Theater Arts from Sonoma State University. He played the Logger in Eisa Davis’s play Bulrusher, directed by Harry Waters, Jr., and has played Ezra/the Son in Facing our Truth, Cinderella’s Father in Into the Woods, and The Ghost/Prince Fortinbras in Hamlet. He recently was featured in an independent film called The Curb.

Dave Whitson — William Robert Caldwell

William Robert Caldwell is a performer, writer, and musician from the Bay Area and is ecstatic to be working with the African-American Shakespeare Company! He has been lucky enough to perform his work in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, and all across Australia, but always finds his way back to Oakland. He is a founding member of the San Francisco Neo-Futurists, which creates non-illusory interactive performance that conveys experiences and ideas as directly and honestly as possible. He also has been known to vomit slime at Klanghaus, a collective that facilitates introductions between emerging and established artists and always encourages collaboration and conversation. He enjoys scaring tourists at the San Francisco Dungeon and half jokingly says that theme park acting is the purest form of theater. He is the third Caldwell to graduate from San Francisco State University and thinks that’s pretty neat.

Production Team

Director — L. Peter Callender

L. Peter Callender is the Artistic Director of African-American Shakespeare Company, Bay Area veteran actor, director, teacher, mentor, father, and proud member of Actors Equity Association. He’s been a visiting professor at Stanford University (Acting Shakespeare and Fundamentals of Directing), and conducted classes at Waterfront Conservatory Playhouse, UCEB and Emory University in Atlanta. His recent directing credits include: Safe House at Aurora Theater Company; We are Proud to Present… at San Jose Stage; Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Jitney, A Raisin in the Sun, and Pipeline at American Stage Company (St. Petersburg, FL); and A Raisin in the Sun, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Much Ado About Nothing, Jitney, The Winter’s Tale, and A Streetcar Named Desire at African-American Shakespeare Company. A few acting credits: Master Harold…and the Boys (Sam, Aurora Theatre Company), Swimmers (Walter, Marin Theater Company), Whipping Man (Simon, Marin Theater Company), Breakfast with Mugabe (Mugabe, Aurora Theater Company), Proof (Robert, TheatreWorks) and 20 years of great theater at California Shakespeare Theatre! www.lpetercallender.com.

Stage Manager — Arashi Veronica Cesana

Arashi Veronica Cesana is delighted to join African-American Shakespeare Company for the second time! Arashi was the Stage Manager for AASC’s 2018 production of William Shakespeare’s Richard III. You can also find Arashi running around fixing things in Magic Theatre as Production Associate, taking notes as Secretary of the Board for Playwrights Center of San Francisco, designing and running lights/sound for burlesque and musical acts, practicing violin, crafting, making videos, and sharpening their problem-solving skills. Previous productions include Oh My Sweet Land (Golden Thread); PLAYOFFS 2016/2017, Sheherezade’s Last Tales (PCSF); Suddenly Split and Swiping Over, Six Monsters: A Seven-Monster Play (All Terrain Theater); Margaret of Anjou (Those Women Productions); Whale’s Wake (Ragged Wing Ensemble); Ring of Fire, Nunsense (Altarena Playhouse). They would like to thank their husband for making sure they remember what food and sleep are.

Lighting Designer — Kevin Myrick

This is Kevin Myrick’s 17th season working with the African-American Shakespeare Company as the company’s resident Technical Director and Lighting Designer, sometimes switching to sets, sound, or projections. He studied technical theatre at San Francisco State University, and later earned degrees and worked in Computer Science and Technology. Since 1974 Kevin has worked as a designer, technical director or theatre tech for many artists and arts organizations including civic organizations like the San Francisco Arts Commission, the San Francisco Neighborhood Arts Program, and the Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs; theatre companies like San Francisco’s Lorraine Hansberry Theatre Company, AfroSolo, Cultural Odyssey, Oakland Ensemble Theatre Company, Atlanta Children’s Theatre Company, Alliance Theatre Company, Just Us Theatre Company; and dance companies like the Wajumbe Cultural Ensemble, Dimensions Dance Theatre Company, and the Village Dancers. Kevin has also produced and designed for local cable television in metro Atlanta and San Francisco.

Costume Designer — Sarah Smith

Sarah Smith is delighted to work with the African-American Shakespeare Company for the first time on Black Eagles. Sarah was born and raised in beautiful Boulder, CO, and moved to San Francisco in 2014. She works as a freelance costume designer, costume builder, and personal tailor throughout the area and has worked with numerous theatrical and dance companies including Colorado Shakespeare Festival, American Conservatory Theatre, ACT Conservatory, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Lines Ballet, Menlowe Ballet, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Ubuntu Theatre Project and others. During the day Sarah runs the costume shop at Marin Theatre Company. She holds a BA in Theatrical Arts and Classical Studies from the University of Puget Sound and is currently pursuing an Associate’s Degree in Fashion Pattern Making and Design at Apparel Arts in Oakland.

Production Manager & Props Manager — Leontyne Mbele-Mbong

Leontyne Mbele-Mbong is in her second season with the African-American Shakespeare Company as Production Manager. She is the founder of CogentOAK, a virtual admin business that provides administrative assistance. Prior to starting her own business, Leontyne worked for 10 years at an engineering consultant firm, working her way from temporary receptionist to business development coordinator. The customer service skills she learned in her first job as travel agent fresh out of college, she now puts to use at the American Conservatory Theater box office, and at various theaters across the city where she can be seen working front of house. The over-arching theme of this patchwork is assisting people with just what they need to do what they desire hassle-free—be it seeing a show or working on the aspect of the budding business they love. She even creates websites! Check hers out at www.cogentoak.com

Set Designer — Kate Boyd

Kate Boyd is a scenic and lighting designer and teacher. She recently designed sets for Altar Boyz at Center Rep and Safe House at Aurora Theater Company, and lighting for Love Sick. Other Aurora productions include Mud Blue Sky and Rapture Blister Burn. She is a resident designer at Golden Thread Productions and recently designed both sets and lights for Isfahan Blues. She has also designed for Magic Theatre, Merola Opera, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Company C Ballet, Marin Theatre Company, Theaterworks, and Brava! Kate teaches stagecraft and design Lick-Wilmerding High School, and was a recipient of the Gerbode Design Fellowship.

Sound Designer — Everett Elton Bradman

Everett Elton Bradman’s 2018–2019 composer/sound designer credits include Marin Theatre Company’s How I Learned What I Learned, African-American Shakespeare Company’s productions of Richard III and A Streetcar Named Desire, Faultline Theater Company’s Where the Boys Are, and Skeleton Crew at Geffen Playhouse. Other adventures include Skeleton Crew at Studio Theater in Washington D.C.; music direction for As You Like It at the California Shakespeare Theater; music for The Winter’s Tale, also at Cal Shakes; music/sound design for Thurgood, at the Lorraine Hansberry Theater; and assistant sound designing The House That Will Not Stand at Berkeley Rep and Detroit ’67 at Aurora Theatre. Elton’s resumé also includes music for Lincoln-Mercury, the San Francisco Mime Troupe, the New Pickle Circus, as well as bass work on Madi Das’s Grammy-nominated 2015 album Bhakti Without Borders and performances with Oakland’s very own MoonCandy, featuring Valerie Troutt.

Choreographer — Kendra Kimbrough Barnes

Kendra Kimbrough Barnes, MAA, has studied Contemporary, African, Brazilian, Indian, Dunham & Horton Techniques. Kendra has been guest choreographer for San Francisco State University, Dimensions Extensions Youth Performance Ensemble, Move Dance Theater, and Abundant Life Christian Fellowship. Her work as co-choreographer (with Latanya d Tigner) for CalShakes’ Black Odyssey was a finalist for the Theater Bay Area Best Choreography Award. In 1996 she founded the Kendra Kimbrough Dance Ensemble. Most recent works include notable dance-dramas: Home Is That Way?, with the mentorship of Rhodessa Jones, and In The Meantime, and Angst in collaboration with Delina Patrice Brooks. A long time community and adjunct dance instructor, she currently teaches dance at UC Berkeley and freelances as an administrator, teacher, and choreographer. She has been an artist in residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts and CounterPULSE/SF, and her work has received funding from several prominent foundations. Kendra Barnes is co-founder/director of the Black Choreographers Festival.