Rap Monologues
Written and performed by Austin Dean Ashford
Directed by Raymond O. Caldwell
Booking and details
Dates Thu, Jan 25, 2024, 7pm
Tickets Festival pass - $35; All-access pass - $75
Step into the world of “Rap Monologues,” a dazzling one-person show that redefines tradition. Follow the journey of a storage unit trainer at Safe Guys who, through a passion for hip-hop verses, transforms classical texts into electrifying monologues.
This tour de force performance is a fusion of hip hop history, humor, and a fresh perspective on the classics.
“Rap Monologues” is a cultural phenomenon, offering an unforgettable experience that will have you laughing, grooving, and reimagining the boundaries of art. Don’t miss this unforgettable theatrical masterpiece and witness tradition and innovation collide in spectacular fashion on stage!
Post-show conversation
Karen Ann Daniels moderates a conversation with Austin Dean Ashford, and Raymond O. Caldwell.
Students receive free admission with valid ID, 30 minutes before event start time. General admission seating is available for this performance on a first-come, first-serve basis after festival pass holders are seated.
Who’s who
Austin Dean Ashford
Austin Dean Ashford (Playwright) has presented his work at The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in Washington DC, the United Solo Festival in New York City, the San Diego International Fringe Festival, and the Dunedin and New Zealand Fringe Festivals. He was nominated for a Latin Grammy Award and became a Hip-Hop Cultural Ambassador for the US Embassy. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Interdisciplinary Fine Arts at Texas Tech University. Received a dual MFA in Acting and Playwriting at the University of Arkansas.
Raymond O. Caldwell
Born in Wiesbaden, Germany and raised all over the world, Raymond O. Caldwell (he/him/his) is an award-winning director and producer who has been leading Washington, DC’s Theater Alliance as Producing Artistic Director since 2018. Regionally he has directed for Signature Theatre, Round House, Imagination Stage, Mosaic Theater, The Kennedy Center, National Players/OTC, Solas Nua, CulturalDC, African Continuum, and the Hegira. Prior to leading Theater Alliance, he was a faculty member and resident director in Howard University’s Department of Theatre Arts for six years, and spent six seasons as the Community Engagement Partnership Manager at Arena Stage. He is committed to using theatre as a tool to transform communities, and has partnered and worked with artists, activists, non-profits and NGOs throughout the world. In October 2022—in partnership with the US Department of State and Contact Base (a cultural NGO based in West Bengal) — he developed a play (A GLOBAL I.D.E.A) with 23 artists and activists from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and the US that explored what Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility mean on the global stage. He has done similar work throughout the US, India, Ukraine, and Croatia. MFA, Acting/New Play Development: The Ohio State University; BFA, Acting: University of Florida.
Caleen Sinnette Jennings
Caleen Sinnetee Jennings (Dramaturg) is an actor, director, playwright, and a founding member of The Welders, a D.C. Playwrights’ Collective. Dramatic Publishing Company has published eight of her plays, and her work has appeared in seven play anthologies. Caleen has received play writing awards from the Kennedy Center and The Actor’s Theatre of Louisville. In April 2022, her play Queens Girl in the World had an off-Broadway run. The other two plays in her Queens Girl Trilogy (Queens Girl in Africa and Queens Girl: Black in the Green Mountains) have been performed at Mosaic Theatre in Washington D.C. and at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore, M.D. Arena Stage commissioned her to write monologues for two pandemic-related Zoom plays: May 22, 2020 and The 51st State. She wrote the final episode for Round House Theatre’s zoom series, Homebound. She was commissioned by the Kennedy Center to write a stage adaptation of Walter Dean Myers’ novel, Darius & Twig, which was produced at the Kennedy Center Family Theatre and did a national tour. She is currently writing the book for a new musical on the life of famous black contralto Marian Anderson and working on a commission from Arena Stage. Caleen is Professor Emerita of Theatre in the Department of Performing Arts at American University in Washington, D.C. where she taught playwriting, among many other theatre courses, for 31 years. She has been a workshop teacher for Kennedy Center’s Playwright’s Intensive for over 20 years, and she has been a faculty member for the Folger’s Teaching Shakespeare Institute for 28 years. Jennings has her B.A. in Drama from Bennington College, and her M.F.A. in Acting from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Tori Schuchmann
Tori Schuchmann (she/her) is a Maryland-based Stage Manager. Recent production credits include: Theatre J: Tiny Lights, Constellation Theatre Company: Orlando, School for Lies, and Once on this Island, Geffen Playhouse + TheaterWorks Hartford: Someone Else’s House; Vineyard Theater: On the Beauty of Loss; Tori is also the Production Manager for Andy’s Summer Playhouse in Wilton, NH.
Karen Ann Daniels
Karen Ann Daniels is the Director of Programming/Artistic Director of Folger Theatre. A native San Diegan, she is an accomplished actor, director, playwright, vocalist, musician, and community organizer. Prior to joining the Folger, she was director of the Mobile Unit at The Public Theater in NYC, producing tours around all five boroughs of NYC bringing the tools of theater to incarcerated community through Mobile Unit In Corrections (MUiC).