OM! A Street Corner Griot's Comedy Comes to Roxbury Center for the Arts

New African Company and Mwalim *7) bring award-winning show to the Roxbury Center for the Arts. Event marks the 38th season of New England's oldest professional Black Theatre company.

Boston, MA (PRWEB) August 20, 2006 -- “OM! A Street Corner Griot’s Comedy” by Mwalim *7) will be presented September 15 – 24 by New African Company and the Roxbury Center for the Arts, directed by Born Bi-Kim and costume and prop design by Cilla Albee. “OM!” kicks off New African Company’s 38th season, continuing as New England’s oldest professional Black theatre company. Since 1968, New African Company has provided training and experiences for people aspiring to enter theater as a profession, and has been the launching pad for hundreds of young artist’s careers.

“OM!…” is the tale of a Street Corner Griot (storyteller and poet), where ill-fated love affairs sparked in subterranean jazz and poetry clubs; Friday night card games with the fellas, and rites of passage; and a nation-wide manhunt for an escaped convict named OM! are all just part of a normal weekend. "OM!..." Was originally presented as a workshop production in 2001 at the African Meetinghouse by New African Company, subsequently presented as a full Off-Broadway production in New York City by the Harlem Theatre Company and Live From The Edge Theatre. Act One of the play gained national attention as the comedy “Working Things Out” at the 2005 National Black Theatre Festival. This past April, the play was presented as a staged reading at Karamu House in Cleveland, Ohio, the nations oldest professional Black theatre company.

Mwalim, who is a Playwright-In-Residence at New African Company, recently received his MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College where he studied with award-winning playwright, Leslie Lee.

Born Bi-Kim is the Artistic Director of New African Company and like Mwalim *7) one of the many artists whose early career experiences were with the company. An award-winning actor, director, choreographer, and dancer, he is a long-time part of Boston’s performing arts scene. A long time collaborator of Mwalim’s, Bi-Kim played Oliver in the 2005 production of “Working Things Out” and led the workshop that developed Mwalim’s short play collection “Look At My Shorts.”

“OM! A Street Corner Griot’s Comedy” will be presented at the Roxbury Center for the Arts @ Hibernian Hall, 184 Dudley Street, Boston, MA 02119. Tickets are $10 & $15, with Fri & Thursday shows at 7:30 PM and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM. For tickets and info, 617-541-3900 x2324 or www.rcahh.org

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