SEASON 29 - 2022
Thank you to everyone who came out to our SOLD OUT performances of External Forces in May.
And a very special thank you to A NOISE WITHIN for hosting us in our Return to Live Theatre in Two Years!
TST's External Forces has been added to the APGRD (Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama) database.
Being listed in the APGRD (Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama) database is both an honor and a mark of scholarly significance. The APGRD, based at the University of Oxford, is one of the world’s foremost research centers dedicated to the study of classical drama and its modern performance history.
A play’s inclusion in this prestigious archive signifies that it contributes meaningfully to the ongoing global dialogue around Greek and Roman theatrical traditions—whether through adaptation, reinterpretation, or innovative staging. It demonstrates that the production holds academic, historical, or cultural value, and is worthy of documentation for future study.
In short, being listed in the APGRD means a play has become part of a living legacy that spans millennia, placing it in conversation with performances from antiquity to the present day.
TST's return to live theatre was a triumph!
Praise From The Audience
"Clever, trenchant and engaging, External Forces imaginatively explores the contemporary truths in myth."
"Magical!"
"So good!"
"I had a great time!"
"Bravo!"
"Thank you for an amazing ride down the Greek Tragedy lane! It was uniquely creative and I applaud all your efforts and talents External Forces was beautifully executed (loved what you did with the space as well), rich, and bold. What a treat to be immersed in these modern retelling of the Greeks."
"We really enjoyed our afternoon. It was great to witness Towne Street Theatre's work and community."
"Congrats on the return to LIVE theater!!!!"
Fanbase Press interviewed Dara Harper on her play, "Real Housewife of Trachis" featured in External Forces.
EXTERNAL FORCES
Greek Tragedy Travels to the 21st Century
Experience a retelling of classic Greek tragedies through the lens of Towne Street Theatre, Los Angeles’ premiere African-American Theatre Company. This production of short plays explores drama, humor, love, and loss spanning from the Civil War to modern-day America. Experience engaging, complex, and rich stories showcasing diverse and brave voices.
Isabella Estrada
The war between north and south is over, but the hostilities have moved to the western frontier. As the bodies mount, one woman has had enough. Isabella Estrada rallies the women to bring an end to the conflicts by withholding the one thing all their men want... and it ain’t whiskey.
Written by: Tony Robinson
Source: Lysistrata by Aristophanes
Time: Old West / 1870
Directed by: Nancy Cheryll Davis Bellamy
Playwright
Director
Isabella
Jewel
Minerva
Carol
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Medea
Medea’s jealousy results into the ultimate tragedy and Black Twitter is all over it!
Written by: Barbara White Morgan
Source: Medea by Euripides
Time: 2022 / Belle Canto, an upscale California city
Directed by: Nancy Cheryll Davis Bellamy
Playwright
Director
Medea
Glauce
Patrice
Jason
Creon
Aegeus
Black Twitter Chorus
Black Twitter Chorus
Juked
The cheapness in which Black life is held infects the house of Agamemnon in a 1940's Mississippi Delta juke joint.
Written by: Mildred Inez Lewis
Source: Electra by Sophocles
Time: 1940 -Mississippi Delta juke joint
Directed by: Nancy Cheryll Davis Bellamy
Playwright
Director
Lectra
Themis
Nestra
Queen of Sorrows
It is 1864, and the South is losing the Civil War. General Aldous Bremerton is forced to sell several of his two hundred slaves, including young Polly (Polyxena), to Major Achilles in order to pay his own regiment. But Cynthia Bremerton, his wife, goes insane with grief, and begs him not to sell Polly, who has been gently raised as her "companion." What is the terrible secret Cynthia has kept from her husband, and from Polly? Has it caused the curse which murders their son Doros? Can Polly and Cynthia escape the wrath of Achilles -- and the slave system which entraps them both --- and go North to live in Boston? Or is it already too late?
Written by: Madeline Daly Puccioni
Source: Hecuba by Euripides
Time: 1864 - the American Civil War. The Acropolis – a plantation near Athens, Georgia
Directed by: Veronica Thompson
Playwright
Director
Cynthia
Bremerton
Polly
Achilles
Real Housewife of Trachis
A former beauty queen turned reality star confronts aging and her husband’s young mistress with tragic results.
Written by: Dara Harper
Source: Women of Trachis by Sophocles
Time: Summer 2021 / The largest mansion in a Beverly Hills neighborhood, home to the stars.
Directed by: Veronica Thompson
Playwright
Director
Diane
Herman
Junior
Iris
The Fire Burns Deepest at Night
Unfolding in the midst of the Detroit '67 riots and a historic election, Cynthia falls for a sly congressman who may or may not be her son...
Written by: Raymond Mitchell
Source: Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
Time: Detroit, 1968
Directed by: Veronica Thompson
Playwright
Director
Judah Iscariot
Maleah
Cynthia
Langston
Mason
Solomon
Ron Kelly
SCENE TRANSISTION CHORUS:
Written and Directed by RJ Wayne
Members: Major Culbert, Alisa Murray, Melissa Kay Anderson, Skylar Silverlake, Amani Atkinson, Charlotte Williams-Roberts
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Kristina Roth: Production Stage Management/Lighting Design
Kira Hoag: Asst. Stage Manager
Tony Robinson: Sound Design
David Mac: Assistant Sound Designer
Nancy Renee: Costume Design
RJ Wayne: Writer/Transition Chorus Verse
Producers:
- Nancy Cheryll Davis-Bellamy
- Nancy Renee
- Teressa Taylor
- Veronica Thompson