The Wicked One (Formerly named The 626 Project)
By Lisa Sanaye Dring
Directed by Shariffa Chelimo Ali
Thursday, March 14 at 12pm
The Wicked One is the story of a mother faced with a brutal decision. Based on a true story out of Rosemead, California, a terminal cancer diagnosis forces a first-generation Laotian immigrant to confront her son’s schizophrenia. The Wicked One explores the piercing isolation experienced by single mothers, the shame around mental illness that often plagues Asian families, and the heft of having to carry your culture with you in a foreign land.
Lisa Sanaye Dring is a playwright, director and actor. She was recently selected as one of two finalists for the 2018 Relentless Award for The 626 Project. Kaidan: Walls Grow Thin, a play Lisa co-wrote with Chelsea Sutton, was recently nominated for 8 Ovation Awards including Best Production, and won 5. Lisa has worked with Asolo Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, East West Players, Circle X Theatre Co., Playpenn, SCF @ Son of Semele, One Year Lease, Bread & Puppet Theater, Bootleg Theater, Boston Court, Sacred Fools and Theatre of NOTE. She co-founded Rogue Lab, a new play incubator with Rogue Artists Ensemble, and is a proud ensemble member of Rogue Artists as well as Hero Theatre. lisasanayedring.com
Shariffa Chelimo Ali is a creative leader committed to working with an open-heart at the intersection of the performing arts and humanitarianism. Shariffa has worked at the Public Theater in New York since 2013 where she has served in numerous capacities often piloting new roles that serve her interest in curating radical spaces of hospitality, equity, inclusion, diversity and promoting anti-racism throughout the institution.
As a director, Shariffa moves her audiences to engage with timely issues touching upon Black, Afropolitan, and African-American identities. Select directing credits include Mies Julie (Classic Stage Company), The Year of the Bicycle (The Cell Theatre), Love’s Labor’s Lost (NYU Tisch), Detroit 67 (Brooklyn College), Eclipsed (Princeton University) & We are Proud to Present…(Yale University). Shariffa’s award winning Virtual Reality (VR) prototype Atomu (formerly titled ROUND ROUND) has received incubation at various international development labs including La Nurserie (Paris, France), The Sundance Institute (Park City, USA), The National Theater (London, UK) POV Spark (New York, USA). Atomu will go into production in the summer of 2019.
Shariffa has served as Assistant Director to mentor Cynthia Nixon for Rasheeda Speaking, Steve (The New Group, NY) and Motherstruck! (Culture Project, NY). Shariffa is a member of Black History Museum, a collective of interdisciplinary artists presenting an immersive theatrical installation produced by HERE Arts and Smoke & Mirrors Collective. Black History Museum will receive a full production in the fall of 2019.
Shariffa is a graduate of the University of Cape Town’s select Theater and Performance division and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) degree. And perhaps the thing that she is most proud of, is that she was featured in the New York Times Gentleman’s Style section for her great taste in fashion. shariffa.com
