By William Wells Brown
Directed by Mark H. '18

“It is often said that the darkest hour of the night precedes the dawn.”

Glen jumped out of the window. Melinda fought tooth and nail and ran. Cato snuck out in full disguise. Now, with only the North Star as their guide, they run towards the land of the free…Canada. Considered the first African American play ever to be published, The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom is a satirical play on America, and a celebration of the moment when you’ve said “Master” for the last time.

Production Team 

Producer: Andreas Huang
Production Stage Manager: R Christopher Maxwell
Assistant Stage Managers: Lanie Liu & Lola Bao
Company Manager: Laura Peterson
Music Director: Jerome Brooks, Jr.
Composer: Nolan Williams Jr.
Dance Choreographer: Matia Johnson
Scenic Designers: Maryam Khosravi
Props Supervisor: Cole Stern
Costume Designer: Ramaj Jamar
Lighting Designer: Tim van’t Hof
Assistant Lighting Designer: Tyler Dubuc
Sound & Video Designer: Ian Wehrle
Fight Choreographer: Mark H.
Makeup Designer: Jas Lee 
Graphic Designer: Anchuli Felicia King

Featuring

Adeyinka Adebola, Odera Adimorah, Ademide Akintilo*, Candace Boahene, Trevor Brown*, Aisha Carpenter, Dawn Clements, David Glover, Shaniqua Henry, Brian Demar Jones*, Ben Killen, Jacqueline Nwabueze, Anthony Pratt, Nathaniel J. Ryan, Judy Brown-Steele, Tamera Tomakili, Titus VanHook, Justin Withers.

Schedule

Feb. 14, 8:00 PM
Feb. 15, 8:00 PM
Feb. 16, 8:00 PM
Feb. 17, 2:00 PM
Feb. 17, 8:00 PM 

About the Director

Mark H. – Columbia University directing credits include: King Lear, The Cherry Orchard, The Henry Dumas Project, A Haunting, And You Try to Become a Bird; Other Directing Credits include: Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea for the 2014 DC Source Festival; Fires in the Mirror at Howard University; Blood Knot with Company 608; Marisol and Topdog/Underdogwith Rutgers Theatre Company; Movin' On and The Handshake at Forum Theatre's (Re)Acts Festival, Ms. Washington at DC Hip-Hop Theater Festival, and Like Father, Like Son with Young Playwrights' Theater. Along with having directed various staged readings, Mark was the assistant director of Not About Nightingales at Howard University's Ira Aldridge Theater, and Broke-ology at Theater Alliance in DC, and has also worked extensively as an actor. He received his BFA in Acting from Rutgers University, and was classically trained at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. Mark is currently pursuing an MFA in directing at Columbia University School of the Arts.