651 ARTS Presents A SHIFT IN GRAVITY by Kathleen McGhee-Anderson

Proceeds to Benefit Girls Write Now

Featuring S. Epatha Merkerson, Peri Gilpin, Daniel Mitura and Jean Brassard

Monday, December 9th @ 8:30 PM at the Signature Theatre’s Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre

480 West 42nd Street @ 10th Avenue

Tickets: $100 Special Friends of Girls Write Now Discount Price of $55

Proceeds Benefit Girls Write Now For Reservations Email: [email protected]

"A clash of wills disrupts the friendship between two friends, both writers, (born in the Boomer Generation,) when a handsome young journalist, (an X’er,) visits them in Martha’s Vineyard and insinuates himself into their lives. K.C. is the daughter of a famous black-listed writer from the McCarthy era. She’s had one major novel and never another. Her friend and helpmate, Jewel, also boasts a stunning first novel, but she’s long since buried her literary ambition, The tragic epitaph of Zora Neale Hurston hovers over her. Unexpected literary success tests their once solid relationship and shifts everything in their lives." S. Epatha Merkerson has won a Golden Globe, an Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, an Obie Award and four NAACP Image Awards. She has also received two Tony Award nominations. She is best known for her role as NYPD Lieutenant Anita Van Buren from 1993 to 2010 on the long-running NBC police procedural drama series, Law & Order. She appeared in 391 episodes of the series—more than any other cast member. In 2012, Merkerson became the host of Find Our Missing, a reality-reenactment series on TV One which profiles missing people of color.

Peri Gilpin played Roz Doyle in the U.S. television series Frasier from 1993 until 2004. Along with the principal cast, Gilpin won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 1999. She has also received a Gracie Award in the category of "Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series" for her performance in the ABC Family drama Make It or Break It. As one of the first Black women to work in the TV writer’s rooms, the award winning producer has written for and produced many popular shows, including Little House on the Prairie, The Cosby Show, Touched by an Angel, and most recently the ABC series Lincoln Heights. She boasts an impressive roster of network and film hubs which she has developed, sold pilots to, and collaborated with, including such heavyweights as NBC, Fox, CBS, Showtime, Columbia Pictures, and Paramount Motion Pictures.

Daniel Mitura has had several plays produced in New York and internationally. His adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (dir. Henning Hegland) played at Theatre Row and is currently in production in Brazil for a tour in Rio and Lisbon. His play Locker Room Talk was performed at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Other works include The Genius! about the life of Salvador Dali, and a companion piece entitled The Boy With Seven Hearts about the poet Garcia Lorca. He is a graduate of Columbia University with a B.A. in Art History and Theater. Originally from Quebec City, Jean Brassard has been an actor, singer, dancer and writer for as long as he remembers. He also plays the accordion and the flute. You can see his tv and film credits on imdb.com; he has been involved in many stage productions. He is the recipient of a 2012 Bistro Award for his singing tribute to Yves Montand, "The Kid From Paris" (CD available on cdbaby.com). For 5 years, Jean was also the voice of the WWE for all their International French market. He is also the voice of 31 audiobook titles which can find on audible.com. He has been living in New York City with his parter Dave for the last thirty years. Visit him at jeanbrassard.com. It is the mission of 651 ARTS to deepen awareness of and appreciation for contemporary performing arts and culture of the African Diaspora, and to provide professional and creative opportunities for performing artists of African descent.

We fulfill our mission by:

• Presenting live dance, music and theater events in venues throughout Brooklyn; • Maintaining a robust educational program that provides unique opportunities for youth in public schools to engage with professional artists from around the globe; • Investing in artists by providing financial and other resources needed to advance their careers and to develop new work; • Supporting exchange between U.S.-based and African artists in both the United States and Africa; • Leveraging years of experience and leadership to advocate for artists, to develop projects that impact the field of performing arts, and to provide expertise about the artists and art forms of the African Diaspora; • Linking communities, artists and audiences as close as our Brooklyn neighborhoods, as varied as our metropolitan area, and as integral as our African Homelands.

We abide by the following principles when undertaking our work:

• A healthy society requires diverse, continuously generative creativity. To ensure the vibrancy and continuity of artistic creation requires a commitment to both artist development and audience engagement. • Art and art appreciation must be fostered and nurtured in each generation: Having a community which values our art and culture in the future requires education of young people today. • Being a culturally specific organization provides a distinct platform on which the multiplicity of perspectives, aesthetics and disciplines being practiced throughout the vastly diverse African Diaspora can be acknowledged and celebrated. • Because of our unique history, Americans and especially Black Americans value connections to the heritage and culture of Africa. Channels for communication, collaboration and information between the United States and Africa need to be expanded and fortified. Girls Write Now (www.girlswritenow.org) is New York’s first and only organization with a writing and mentoring model for girls. Distinguished by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities as one of the nation's top 15 afterschool arts and culture programs, Girls Write Now is a community of seasoned professional writers dedicated to providing the guidance, support and opportunities for high school girls to develop their creative, independent voices, and write their way to a better future.

Over the past 15 years, Girls Write Now has served nearly 5,000 marginalized teen girls, building a record of achievement and innovation recognized twice by the White House, by The New York Times, the MacArthur Foundation’s Hive Learning Network, and evidenced by the hundreds of Scholastic Art & Writing Awards their girls have earned. 100% of Girls Write Now seniors graduate and go on to college, bringing with them portfolios, awards, scholarships, new skills, and a sense of confidence.