call and response podcast

Another season finale has arrived! For our final season six episode, we welcome director, actor, author, and Black Theatre United co-founder Schele Williams, who leaves us with gems of wisdom to carry us forward until we meet again!

She may be the first Black woman to direct a Broadway musical in 50 years, but she certainly isn’t interested in being the last. We talk about the power of mentorship and peer fellowship, her epic Broadway debut in Rent, and the rewards that came from helming The Wiz and The Notebook during her rookie year as a Broadway director.

This week we welcome Tony Award-winning costume designer Dede Ayite! You’ve seen her designs in Broadway shows like Appropriate, Days of Wine and Rose, Hell’s Kitchen, and Jaja’s African Hair Braiding—and that was just for this 2023-2024 season! We dive into why research is her favorite part of the design process, what she hopes audiences receive from her work, and what it felt like making history as the first Black woman to win the Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Play.

This week we talk with Ambe J. Williams, a portrait and commercial photographer, director, and actor on sabbatical. We discuss the skills she relied on during her journey through the actor-to-photographer pipeline, the courageous cocktails that led to her film directorial debut, and the music videos that inspire her (when put on the spot).

This week we chat with The Theater Offensive’s executive director, Giselle Byrd. We dive into how liberation and community has always been at the center of her artistic philosophy—from her leadership beginnings in college as President of 3rd Act to building momentum as a talent manager to crafting her vision as the first Black trans woman leading a regional theatre in America.

This week we talk with writer, educator, and art critic Ricky Tucker. He is the author of And The Category Is…: Inside New York’s Vogue, House and Ballroom Community, for which he was a 2023 Lambda Literary Award Finalist in Nonfiction. We explore the idea of social versus stage performance, misconceptions of art criticism, and how the sacred space of voguing and ballroom is like church.

This week we chat with actor, dancer, producer, creative director, and wellness enthusiast Leroy Church. The Chita Rivera and Antonyo Award winner shares his story, starting with his church dance beginnings at age 13 all the way to his current expansion into producing and creative directing, like he did with the renowned Dreamgirls production on Clubhouse in 2021. We discuss why he believes in the power of gratitude, how we can dismantle the gatekeeping of the Broadway industry, and what led to his signature catchphrase, “Thank you, Happy New Year.”

This week we welcome Tony winner Nikki M. James! We discuss the beautiful breadth of Black women she has played in her career—from The Book of Mormon’s Nabulungi (which earned her a 2011 Tony Award) to The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin’s Viveca to real-life investigative journalist Ida B. Wells in Suffs, her current role that earned her a 2024 Tony nomination. It feels like we only scratch the surface of James’ long and varied career, but we dive deep into what she learned from these characters and examine how the political landscape impacted their resonance with audiences. 

This week we talk with the inaugural recipient of Vineyard Theatre’s Colman Domingo Award and the inaugural recipient of the John Singleton Screenwriter Award, playwright and screenwriter York Walker. We talk about the Disney kid to Broadway fan pipeline, his artistic philosophy as a playwright, and what he learned from working on his first professional production of his horror play Covenant.

This week we talk with Brooklyn McLain, the co-founder and COO of the first Black-owned Broadway merchandise company, “merch.” We chat about the musical that made him a self-described “theatre enthusiast,” why merchandising is so important to a show’s branding, and what it was like introducing the first durag to Broadway.

This week we chat with Thaïs Bass-Moore, who both as a kid and a theatremaker has done “everything and anything!” She is an actor, director, writer, mommy, wifey, Co-Founder and  Director of University of Texas’ Fearless Leadership Institute, and author of A Syllabus for Black Women: 110 Life Lessons for Sistahs in College. We dive into the moment that made her realize how thrilling the theatre was, the undergraduate class that opened up her mind, and the impact that Texas Senate Bill 17 had on her career.

Content warning: This episode discusses misogynoir and police violence 12:41-16:13 and suicidal thoughts 17:49-18:00. 

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