Dissonance by Marci J. Duncan and Kerry Sandell

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Arts Garage

Dissonance

DISSONANCE is a two-person play about race, love, and friendship.

Angela, a Black woman, and Lauren, a White woman, have been friends for 20 years. They met in graduate school, became godmothers to each other’s children, and most recently, started a new business, but they have never had a candid conversation about race…until now.

As they open their cafe in a historically Black neighborhood, they uncover deeply held perceptions about race and have to decide if being brutally honest and devastatingly vulnerable is worth the risk of their friendship’s potential end.

On the heels of George Floyd’s murder and the summer of 2020, these women allow themselves to have the hard conversation and become closer than ever as a result of it.

PERFORMER BIOS:

Kerry Sandell holds a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Performance and a Master’s degree in Strategic Communication from the University of West Florida. She is passionate about connecting people through storytelling, which was the genesis for developing Dissonance with Marci. A few of her past theatrical credits include M’Lynn in Steel Magnolias, Ruth in Collected Stories (which she also produced), the titular role in Medea, Kate in Dancing at Lughnasa, Meg in Crimes of the Heart, and Mary in On the Verge. This is her first play collaboration – with more on the way.

James Webb is a New York-based playwright, director, and educator, whose work is centered on the southern Black experience. His plays include The Contract (Lorraine Hansberry National Playwriting Award); Mississippi Crossroad (O’Neill Semifinalist); The House of Jean-René; Wrestling With Angels, a hip-hop children’s musical; and Sibling Rivalry. His work has been presented at the National Black Theatre Festival, Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA, Kraine Theatre NYC, FAMU Essential Theater, Confrontation Theater, and Producer’s Club. Webb is an Assistant Professor of Theatre and Communications at Bronx Community College and spends his summers as a resident playwright for the Irene C. Edmonds Youth Theatre.

Marci J. Duncan earned a BA in performance at Florida A&M University and her Masters in Acting at the University of Florida. She studied television and film acting with the late Evonne Suhor at Orlando’s Art Sake Acting Studio, where she starred in three consecutive seasons of their Play De Luna Series. Some of her extensive theater credits include Romeo and Juliet, Two Trains Running, Crowns, From the Mississippi Delta, The Mountaintop, the world premiere of Ntozake Shange’s Lavender Lizards and Lilac Landmines: Layla’s Dream, and a one woman show called Florida Girls. Marcis film work includes “(Just) Another Day” co-starring Jamie Hector from HBO’s “The Wire” and “Life is not a Fairytale: The Fantasia Barrino Story” working alongside Debbie Allen and Fantasia Barrino. Most recently, Marci performed in Dwayne the Rock Johnson’s new television series” Young Rock.” Marci is currently teaching acting and directing at the University of West Florida where she is the director of the acting program. This is Marci’s playwriting debut.