A new play by Tony-nominated actor Pascale Armand will be among the works on offer at this year's New Black Fest at the Lark. The lineup also features new plays by Erika Dickerson-Despenza and James Ijames, as well as an industry panel and a Storyteller's Night inspired by The Moth.

Kicking off Black Fest on April 1 at the Apollo Theater Soundstage will be a panel titled Black Progress, Black Erasure. Moderated by Artistic Director of The New Black Fest Keith Josef Adkins, the panel will feature playwright Donja R. Love (The Love* Plays), social justice arts and cultural leader Robyne Walker Murphy, and documentary filmmaker and NAACP Image Award-nominee Yoruba Richen (The New Black, Promised Land). The panel will begin at 7 PM.

The first of three new play readings will be Ijames' Tank Stranger Sees the Face of the Divine in the Condensation of a Water Glass, a "super black, super futuristic" retelling of the birth of Dionysus (April 3).

Next up on April 4 will be Armand's $#!thole Country Clapback, a rebuttal to a Donald Trump comment, as well as a chronicle of her family's journey to American citizenship.

Rounding out the lineup is [hieroglyph] by Dickerson-Despenza, set for April 5. The new play explores a 13-year-old girl's experience navigating the Chicago public school system while silently coping with the PTSD of a secret assault at the Superdome during Hurricane Katrina.

All three plays will be presented at the Lark (located at 311 West 43rd Street) at 7 PM. Click here to reserve free tickets.

The Storyteller's Night, an open-mic style event, will be held April 2 at 7 PM at the Lark and will feature stories by Keli Goff, Kareem Lucas, and James Scruggs. The evening will also be open to members of the public to present stories, with sign-ups beginning at 6 PM.