Bucharest Inside the Beltway is pleased to introduce the grassroots creative selected for our Denver Artist Residency Program 2023 ... JELISA JAY ROBINSON. A playwright from Houston, Texas, with many national credits to her name - Robinson brings a fresh new perspective to BiB. We discovered her work during our RADIANCE Playwrights' Residency application process and knew that a more focused opportunity would fit best. Robinson will be developing her original play "We Both Suck Our Teeth" with Bucharest Inside the Beltway in partnership with Metropolitan State University of Denver's Theatre & Dance Department. Students from "Staging Cultures," MSU Denver's multicultural theatre course will work with Robinson via Zoom to develop her play and then perform a portion of the script in their final play showcase - to be performed at the CVA - Center for Visual Art, MSU Denver in December 2023 (exact date/time TBD). Please check out her website: www.jelisajayrobinson.com and follow her on Instagram: @jelisathewriter1 to support her work!
BIO: Jelisa Jay Robinson is a Black American playwright and educator from Houston, Texas. Her plays include Once an Emo..., The Stories of Us, Fae and Paciencia, Delivery, Circle and We Both Suck Our Teeth. Her work has been developed and/or presented at Mildred Umbrella (Houston),Sandrell Rivers Theater (Miami), African American Shakespeare (San Francisco), The Billie Holiday Theatre (50in50), Fade to Black (Houston), Teatrx (Houston), 14/48 Theatre Festival (Austin), Austin One Minute Play Festival (Austin), the Austin Latino New Play Festival, Teatro Vivo (Austin), Now Africa Festival (New York), The Black and Brown Theatre (Detroit), The Rec Room (Houston), the Echame Un Ojo Festival (commission), Fornes Playwriting Workshop (Chicago), The Black and Latino Playwrights Celebration (San Marcos), The Landing Theatre (Houston) and Vision Latino (Chicago).
She is a Rec Room Writer (2019-present), a former fellow at the Citadel Playwrights Group (2021), a semi-finalist for the Bucharest Inside the Beltway Virtual Residency (2021), a finalist for La Mansion Baldwin Writers Residency in France (2020), a Bay Area Playwrights Festival Semi-Finalist (2020), a finalist for the Seattle Public Theatre New Play Prize (2017), a writer in the Rec Room Writers Group, a two time Fulbright Alternate and an alumni of the Fornes Playwrighting Workshop where she worked under the tutelage of Migdalia Cruz.
Jelisa has held residencies with Vision Latino Theatre Company (Chicago), the National Playwrights Retreat (Colorado) and Texas State’s Black and Latino Playwrights Celebration. She is a theatre educator who has taught high school and elementary theatre. Jelisa has hosted various writing workshops for organizations like Sisters Only Language Summit, Clinton Global Initiative University, University of Houston-Downtown, Texas State University, University of Texas-RGV, and Sovereign Noir's Black Women Virtual Writers Conference.
Jelisa also works as a Dramaturg on projects that deal with the African diaspora and identity. Jelisa is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild, ScriptWorks, Artist Inc. and a sister of Kappa Delta Chi Sorority, Inc. She leads a writers ministry called Light Write. She was also a 2022 fellow in the Dots in Between program. You can follow her on New Play Exchange.
Photos below: First 3 pictures of Teatrx's production of my play The stories of us. Photo credit: Melissa Taylor; 4th photo Reading of Delivery at Black and Latino Celebration at Texas State University; 5th photo: Jelisa performing in her short play the Morning Affirmations; 6th photo: Jelisa photo from her website; Headshot Credit: Tasha Gorel
She is a Rec Room Writer (2019-present), a former fellow at the Citadel Playwrights Group (2021), a semi-finalist for the Bucharest Inside the Beltway Virtual Residency (2021), a finalist for La Mansion Baldwin Writers Residency in France (2020), a Bay Area Playwrights Festival Semi-Finalist (2020), a finalist for the Seattle Public Theatre New Play Prize (2017), a writer in the Rec Room Writers Group, a two time Fulbright Alternate and an alumni of the Fornes Playwrighting Workshop where she worked under the tutelage of Migdalia Cruz.
Jelisa has held residencies with Vision Latino Theatre Company (Chicago), the National Playwrights Retreat (Colorado) and Texas State’s Black and Latino Playwrights Celebration. She is a theatre educator who has taught high school and elementary theatre. Jelisa has hosted various writing workshops for organizations like Sisters Only Language Summit, Clinton Global Initiative University, University of Houston-Downtown, Texas State University, University of Texas-RGV, and Sovereign Noir's Black Women Virtual Writers Conference.
Jelisa also works as a Dramaturg on projects that deal with the African diaspora and identity. Jelisa is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild, ScriptWorks, Artist Inc. and a sister of Kappa Delta Chi Sorority, Inc. She leads a writers ministry called Light Write. She was also a 2022 fellow in the Dots in Between program. You can follow her on New Play Exchange.
Photos below: First 3 pictures of Teatrx's production of my play The stories of us. Photo credit: Melissa Taylor; 4th photo Reading of Delivery at Black and Latino Celebration at Texas State University; 5th photo: Jelisa performing in her short play the Morning Affirmations; 6th photo: Jelisa photo from her website; Headshot Credit: Tasha Gorel
