SEGAL TALKS: Akiba Abaka and Evoné Walters

The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center presented SEGAL TALKS: Akiba Abaka and Evoné Walters livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 3 July 2020 at 9 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 11 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 12 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 17:00 BST (London, UTC +1) / 18:00 CEST (Berlin, UTC +2).

Akiba Abaka is a distinguished director, dramatist, producer, actor and arts educator with over 20 years of experience in bringing theater to diverse communities throughout Greater Boston. As founder and artistic director of the former Up You Mighty Race Company she produced professional performances and community engagement programming dedicated to the research, preservation and advancement of African American theatrical art forms. Her service to the field also includes; Lead Theater Teaching Artist, Citi Performing Arts Center; Board Member, Boston Children’s Theatre; Community Member, Boston Children’s Chorus Innovation Team; Host Committee Co-chair, Theatre Communications Group National Conference; and Steering Committee Member, Berkshire Leadership Summit. Directing credits include: A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry; Leading from the Affair by Walter Mosley; 365 Days/365 Plays by Suzan-Lori Parks; In the Continuum by Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter; Fences and Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson; Patience of Nantucket by Robert Johnson Jr. and The Emperor Jones by Eugene O’Neil. Ms. Abaka is the recipient of the Boston NAACP Difference Maker Award; the Nathan Cummings Young Leaders of Color Fellowship from the Theatre Communications Group; the Independent Reviewers of New England Award for Best Director and the John Andrew Ross Award for Distinguished Direction from Oscar Micheaux Repertory Company. She is also an associate producer at ArtsEmerson, the professional presenting and producing theatre at Emerson College. Ms. Abaka is one of 3 co-founders of AKIBA ABAKA ARTS, an international theatre production company that make plays, concerts and talks centered on narratives from the global black world and tours them internationally.

Evoné Walters is a graduate of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, School of Drama in Kingston, Jamaica. She has over 10 years experience in the industry. She has worn hats such as stage manager, tv show production manager, radio producer and project coordinator. Currently she is a creative entrepreneur, theatre director and producer. She is the founder and managing director of Artribute Performing Arts, a company focused on using the arts as a medium of learning. Artribute's main service is staging secondary school English Literature texts as plays for students preparing for school exit examinations. Evoné is also proficient in using the arts as a vehicle for social and emotional change focusing on regressed behaviour in youths. Her passions also include the building of the creative industry in Jamaica and the education of creative entrepreneurs.

ABOUT SEGAL TALKS:

SEGAL TALKS is a daily one-hour LIVE online conversation from Monday to Friday about making art and making sense in the Time of Corona.

SEGAL TALKS was conceived, created and curated by Frank Hentschker in March 2020.

SEGAL TALKS has been made possible by the support of Susan and Jack Rudin, the Hearst Foundation, and Marvin Carlson, Sidney E. Cohn Chair, The Graduate Center CUNY.

ABOUT THE MARTIN E. SEGAL THEATRE CENTER:

Originally founded in 1979 as the Center for Advanced Studies in Theatre Arts (CASTA), The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center was renamed in March of 1999 to recognize Martin E. Segal, one of New York City’s outstanding leaders of the arts. The Segal Center curates over thirty events throughout the Spring and Fall academic seasons, all free and open to the public. Dedicated to bridging the gap between the professional and academic theatre communities, the Segal Center presents readings, performance, lectures, and artists and academics in conversation. In addition, the Segal Center presents three annual festivals (PRELUDE, PEN World Voices: International Pay Festival, and The Segal Center Film Festival on Theatre and Performance) and publishes and maintains three open access online journals (Arab Stages, European Stages, and The Journal of American Drama and Theatre). The Segal Center also publishes many volumes of plays in translation and is the leading publisher of plays from the Arab world. The Martin E. Segal Theatre Center (MESTC) is a vital component of the Theatre Program’s academic culture and creating in close collaboration a research nexus, focusing on dramaturgy, new media, and global theatre. The Segal Center provides an intimate platform where both artists and theatre professionals can actively participate with audiences to advance awareness and appreciation.

THE SEGAL TEAM

Assistant Creative Producer: Sunyoung Kim
Next Generation Fellow: Andie Lerner
Junior Assistant Director of Programs: Kyueun Kim

THE GRADUATE CENTER, CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, of which the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center is an integral part, is the doctorate-granting institution of The City University of New York (CUNY). An internationally recognized center for advanced studies and a national model for public doctoral education, the school offers more than thirty doctoral programs, as well as a number of master’s programs. Many of its faculty members are among the world’s leading scholars in their respective fields, and its alumni hold major positions in industry and government, as well as in academia. The Graduate Center is also home to twenty-eight interdisciplinary research centers and institutes focused on areas of compelling social, civic, cultural, and scientific concerns. Located in a landmark Fifth Avenue building, The Graduate Center has become a vital part of New York City’s intellectual and cultural life with its extensive array of public lectures, exhibitions, concerts, and theatrical events.

About HowlRound TV

HowlRound TV is a global, commons-based peer produced, open access livestreaming and video archive project stewarded by the nonprofit HowlRound. HowlRound TV is a free and shared resource for live conversations and performances relevant to the world's performing arts and cultural fields. Its mission is to break geographic isolation, promote resource sharing, and to develop our knowledge commons collectively. Participate in a community of peer organizations revolutionizing the flow of information, knowledge, and access in our field by becoming a producer and co-producing with us. Learn more by going to our participate page. For any other queries, email [email protected], or call Vijay Mathew at +1 917.686.3185 Signal/WhatsApp. View the video archive of past events.