05/21
2013
PassinArt & Damaris Webb present
a reading of a new play by Don Wilson Glenn
American King Umps
A Midsummer Night’s Melodrama on the Tragedy of Slavery
Set during the Civil War on the King Cotton Plantation in West Texas, the story of American King Umps begins as the Master of the Plantation, fearing the oncoming of the Union Army, sells his large holding of slaves and then attempts to burn the entire plantation. In the Master’s absence the slaves are left both to govern themselves, and define their own identities. King Umps is high comedy from beginning to end, a parody of Gone With the Wind and Comedy of Errors meets Roots.
Incorporating the playwright’s Great-Great-Grandfather’s stories of slavery with mistaken identities, vaudeville and farce, this celebration of Juneteenth allows us, through humor, a deeper journey into the tragedy of slavery and a chance to reflect on how this chapter of the American Experience continues to impact us today.
Run time: 2hrs including intermission
With:
Noah Cotter, Ricardy Fabre, Jerry Foster,
Jennifer Lanier, Anya Pearson and Damaris Webb
Come celebrate Juneteenth!
Saturday June 1st, 3pm
Reading held at Redeemer Leaven Church
5431 NE 20th Avenue at Killingsworth
Free to the public
02/17
2013
Read The review…
“(Webb) proves to be a highly likable performer, subtly illuminating some thematic contours through stylized movement, but relying mostly on a personable way with anecdotes and a real knack for varied character voices and accents.”
02/14
2013
The Portland Observer ran an interview with me about The Box Marked Black as their cover story! Read the interview…
01/07
2013
THE BOX MARKED BLACK
Tales from a Halfrican-American growing up Mulatto. With sock puppets!
FOUR SHOWS PER WEEK FEBRUARY 8th – 24th!
Friday 2/8 at 7:30, Saturday 2/9 at 3:00 & 7:30, Sunday 2/10 at 7:30
Friday 2/15 at 7:30, Saturday 2/16 at 3:00* & 7:30, Sunday 2/17 at 7:30
Friday 2/22 at 7:30, Saturday 2/23 at 3:00 & 7:30, Sunday 2/24 at 7:30
Join us for talkbacks after each Saturday matinee, * 2/16 matinee sign interpreted
Presented at Ethos/IFCC 5340 N Interstate Ave Portland, Oregon 97217
ADA accessible, Tickets are $15 general, $10 students/seniors
and are available at the door for cash purchase 30 minutes before curtain,
or in advance at brownpapertickets
“Yes, I knew the issue of diversity was important, but not till Damaris Webb in The Box Marked Black did diversity, dance, sing, do a puppet show– and winningly speak from, and to, the heart.”
- Michael Wolk, Executive Director, All For One Theater Festival NYC
“Damaris Webb is a truly integrated contemporary artist and The Box Marked Black is an important work in the evolving dialogue of race in this country. Both the subject matter and the artistry appeal to and bring together a wildly diverse audience through laughter and humble admission of raw truths. As a believer in the power of art to build bridges and heal communities, I highly recommend this work to people of all age and color.
”- Mizu Desierto, Co-Founder and Artistic Director, The 1Festival/Water in The Dessert
What does it mean to be black?
Is it the shade of your skin? The kink of your hair? Is it learned?
What is its language, both in the body and on the tongue?
written and performed by Damaris Webb,
directed by Debra Disbrow, dramaturgy by Ashley Hughes
The Box Marked Black is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.
10/16
2012
The Box Marked Black:
Tales from a Halfrican-American growing up Mulatto.
With sock puppets!
Presented at CCD Studio Theater
in the King Center on the Auraria Campus
855 Lawrence Way Denver CO 80204
TWO PERFORMANCES
Thursday November 1, 7:30pm & Friday November 2, 7:30pm
Please join us for a talkback following both performances
Run time 55 minutes
Tickets available at the door, or online at
What is its language, both in the body and on the tongue?
“Yes, I knew the issue of diversity was important, but not till Damaris Webb in The Box Marked Black did diversity, dance, sing, do a puppet show– and winningly speak from, and to, the heart.” – Michael Wolk, Executive Director, All For One Theater Festival NYC
“Damaris Webb is a truly integrated contemporary artist and The Box Marked Black is an important work in the evolving dialogue of race in this country. Both the subject matter and the artistry appeal to and bring together a wildly diverse audience through laughter and humble admission of raw truths. As a believer in the power of art to build bridges and heal communities, I highly recommend this work to people of all age and color.” – Mizu Desierto, Co-Founder and Artistic Director, The 1Festival/Water in The Dessert Portland, OR
“The Box Marked Black is educational theatre at its best. That is to say, it is good theatre that has the added advantage of being educational. With theatrical sensibility as a creator and versatility as a performer, Damaris Webb crafts moments that range from touching to zany. At once personal and historical, The Box Marked Black offers a unique perspective, teaching you things you might not learn elsewhere, while making you think with your heart as well as your mind.” – Cynthia Ward, Educational Director, Boulder International Fringe Festival
The Box Marked Black is a tender solo performance piece, tracing the experience of growing up mulatto in the pre-Huxtable era. With only Jenny Willis from The Jeffersons as a guide, our multi-disciplinary storyteller creates narrative from the perspective of both sides of her interracial family, embodying multiple characters, childhood memories (including a “Roots” sock puppet re-enactment) and fantasy.
written and performed by Damaris Webb
directed by Debra Disbrow
dramaturgy by Ashley Hughes
07/27
2012
somaphrase: dancing the translation
join me with the modern dance awareness society for a unique workshop and site specific performance opportunity on the island of Andros, Greece. August 16 – 31 2012
06/02
2012
Tales from a Halfrican-American growing up mulatto. With sock puppets!
written and performed by Damaris Webb, directed by Debra Disbrow, dramaturgy by Ashley Hughes
What does it mean to be black?
Is it the shade of your skin? The kink of your hair? Is it learned? What is its language, both in the body and on the tongue?
The Box Marked Black is a tender solo performance piece, tracing the experience of growing up mulatto in the pre-Huxtable era. With only Jenny Willis from The Jeffersons as a guide, our multi-disciplinary storyteller creates narrative from the perspective of both sides of her interracial family, embodying multiple characters, childhood memories (including a “Roots” sock puppet re-enactment) and fantasy.
“Yes, I knew the issue of diversity was important, but not till Damaris Webb in The Box Marked Black did diversity, dance, sing, do a puppet show– and winningly speak from, and to, the heart.”-Michael Wolk, Executive Director, All For One Theater Festival
IN PORTLAND, OREGON
Saturday, June 2nd at 5pm, Sunday, June 3rd at 7pm, Monday, June 4th at 9pm
Presented by The 1 Festival at The Headwaters Theater 55 NE Farragut #9
Tickets $15 & $10 Buy Tickets https://www.boxofficetickets.com/go/event?id=184445
Directions http://theheadwaters.net/?page_id=23
AND
IN BOULDER, COLORADO
Saturday, June 16th at 7pm & Sunday, June 17th at 3pm
Presented by We’re House at the We’re House Theater 5763 Arapahoe Ave. Unit P / Tickets $10 Buy Tickets http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/245695
Directions http://www.thewerehouse.org/Directions.html
05/18
2012
Check out Crosstalk Coconut-
Created and performed by the Stenographers-
Téana David, Debra Disbrow and Damaris Webb
Dramaturgy by Ashley Hughes
syn·es·the·sia
1. (noun) from the ancient Greek “syn”, (together), and “aisthesis”, (sensation), is a neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.
2. The poetic description of a sense impression in terms of another sense, as in “a loud perfume.”
CROSSTALK COCONUT, a submersion into the neurological condition of synesthesia, is a visceral and stimulating romp examining known synesthetes such as Vladimir Nabokov, Joan Mitchell, Marian McPartland and others. This interdisciplinary theater piece with a winning DIY aesthetic by the Stenographers invites the audience to question: how much do our sense perceptions affect the way we want to communicate with the world?
What if you had no choice but to taste a personality? Or see explosions of magenta every time a word is spoken?
CROSSTALK COCONUT at Dixon Place,
161A Chrystie St. (between Rivington and Delancey)
THURS, MAY 17, 9:30 PM (One night only!)
https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/9665654
THE STENOGRAPHERS is a new performance collective that builds interdisciplinary collaborative works, with a focus on documentary dance theater. Members Téana David, Debra Disbrow and Damaris Webb’s combined credits reflect original performance for Joyce Soho, Undergroundzero Festival, Movement Research, New York Int’l Fringe, Live Arts, Earthdance, Estrogenuis, NY Musical Theater Festival, and New Dramatists, amongst others. The three met while earning their MFA’s in Contemporary Performance at Naropa University. The Stenographers have developed the ensemble piece, HUETOPIA for the Fury Factory in San Francisco, and the solo piece THE BOX MARKED BLACK for Dixon Place.
04/01
2012
Dixon Place is to Produce Crosstalk Coconut a submersion into the neurological condition of synesthesia for May 17th. This is an original theater piece I am co-creating with three other theater makers under the performance group title of The Stenographers.
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