Hands Up & Kevin Jones

Dmae features Kevin Jones, artistic director of the August Wilson Red Door Project and  actor Alonzo Chadwick and their ground-breaking touring production of Hands Up: 7 Playwrights, 7 Testaments. The seven autobiographical monologues of this remarkable production were written by seven different Black playwrights who were originally commissioned by The New Black Fest in New York City after the deaths by police of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and John Crawford III in Beavercreek, Ohio. The production has toured throughout Portland and Oregon and creates a new model for community transformation through facilitated post-show conversations about police shootings and racial equity.

(Aired 11am 7/18/17 on KBOO 90.7FM or always on stagenstudio.com and always on  iTunes)

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August Wilson Red Door Project presents The New Black Fest’s
Hands Up: 7 Playwrights, 7 Testaments

Directed by Kevin Jones

July 22nd at 7:30 p.m & July 23rd at 2:00pm
Wieden and Kennedy, 224 NW 13th Ave. Portland
For more information, email our box office at boxoffice@reddoorproject.org

The seven monologues are:
Superiority Fantasy by Nathan James
Holes in My Identity by Nathan Yungerberg
They Shootin! Or I Ain’t Neva Scared…by Idris Goodwin
Dead of Night… The Execution of…by Nambi E. Kelley
Abortion by Nsangou Njikam
Walking Next to Michael Brown by Eric Holmes
How I Feel by Dennis Allen II

Free and open to the public. Donations accepted at the door. Reservations recommended and available here.

Kevin Jones is the co-founder and artistic director of The August Wilson Red Door Project – an organization that uses art as a catalyst to transform the racial ecology of Portland. He is a communication consultant with over 30 years experience working with organizations such as IBM, Nike, and Catholic Healthcare West.

He has worked on the American stage for more than 30 years. Regional theaters include American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St Louis, Asolo Repertory Theatre in Saratoga, Florida, Florida Studio Theatre, The Fountain Theatre (LA Drama Critics Circle Award for Actor in a Lead Role); Los Angeles Theatre Center, East West Players (LA Drama Critics Circle award for Actor in a Supporting Role); Great Lakes Theater, Magic Theatre, in San Francisco, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Arkansas Repertory Theatre and The Stanford Actor’s Project.

Locally he has performed at Artists Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Third Rail Repertory Theatre and Portland Playhouse where he received a Drammy Award for Performance in a Supporting Role for his heartwarming performance of Old Joe in Radio Golf by August Wilson. Kevin most recently received a 2017 Drammy award for Best Director in a Play” for Portland Playhouse’s production of August Wilson’s one-man show How I Learned What I Learned starring Victor Mack.