THe champion
by Amy Evans
Performances:
6/18 2:00pm at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
6/25 5:30pm at TheatreSquared
It’s 1962 and R&B legend Nina Simone is holed up in a snowstorm in a small-town café somewhere in North Carolina. Tempers flare between band members, and as secrets start to surface, it’s soon clear this small room in unfriendly territory may well be the place where life-changing decisions are made. A sharply drawn, exciting new play by Brooklyn-based playwright, Amy Evans.
The Champion was originally commissioned by Dumbfounded Theatre Company UK. It was developed with a grant from the Peggy Ramsay Foundation and support from 651 ARTS’ Artist Development Initiative and a BRIClab residency at BRIC Arts Media House.
Meet the Playwright: Amy Evans
Amy Evans writes about race, gender, and social justice. Her plays include Achidi J’s Final Hours (Finborough Theatre), Many Men’s Wife (Tricycle Theatre), The Next Question (HB Playwrights Foundation), The Big Nickel (Soho Theatre), and The Champion, an original play inspired by the life of legendary artist Nina Simone. Her political drama The Most Unsatisfied Town premiered in April 2016 at English Theatre Berlin International Performing Arts Center. Amy has given workshops Humboldt University and the Institute of Cultural Inquiry Kulturlabor in Berlin, and is an alumnus of Hedgebrook Women Writers’ Residency, BRICLab Performing Arts Residency, 651 Arts’ Artist Development Program, and Interstate 73 Playwrights’ Group. She holds an MA in Theatre Arts from Goldsmiths College, University of London.