Los Angeles' IAMA Theatre Company is currently presenting a workshop production of Douglas Lyons' Don't Touch My Hair through February 24 at the Atwater Village Theatre.
Directed by Velani Dibba, this new work about friendship features Sarah Hollis, Jasmine Ashanti, Jenna Anne Johnson, James Luster, and Michael Rishawn. The company is rounded out by standbys Jamal Henderson, Obehi Janice, Mike Bash, and Marnie Price.
Check out photos from the limited engagement in the gallery below:
Don't Touch My Hair is the final offering in Lyons’ The Deep Breath Trilogy: New Plays for Black Women, following Chicken and Biscuits, seen on Broadway in September 2021, and the recent Off-Broadway romantic comedy Table 17.
The new play spotlights lifelong best friends Eemani and Jade as they decompress over a good blunt, not knowing the weed is laced with something else. As the duo spiral into hilarious hallucination, they are able to confront the oppressors of the past dead-on.
“Don’t Touch My Hair is dedicated to the dozens of fabulous Black women in my orbit. They constantly inspire me with their light, their spirit, their intelligence, love, and friendship. I wanted to create a world that discussed America’s race problem without forcing Black Queens to endure the harm they live every day,” shared playwright Lyons in an earlier statement. “In this play, Black women have superpowers, and one day, America will realize they always have. To premiere this workshop production in Los Angeles with IAMA Theatre Company is a career dream come true. IAMA has been part of this play's development since its first 20 pages back in 2020, when Don’t Touch My Hair was commissioned by Queens Theatre. This production will mark my L.A. playwriting debut, and I couldn't imagine a more supportive and artist driven company to partner with on this adventure.”
The production also has lighting design by Erica
Ammerman, casting by Jordan Bass, sound design by Brendan Doyle, wig
design by Shelia Dorn, production stage management by Dennis Ho,
intimacy and fight direction by Celina Lee Surniak, original
compositions by Ethan Pakchar, technical direction by Zachary Phaneuf,
costume design by Devario Simmons, and set design by Randy
Wong-Westbrooke.
Visit IAMATheatre.com.
