Join us for a virtual conversation with the core creators of C1’s latest production Black Super Hero Magic Mama, playwright Inda Craig-Galván and director Monica White Ndounou, together with organizer/activist Latoya Gayle and clinical health and human services leader Nikki Tennermann, to discuss how the play radically imagines justice and health for Black mothers and caregivers, while exploring a vision for community care and support that will help families truly thrive.
Meet this episode's special guests!
Inda Craig-Galván (she/her) writes stuff – mostly plays and TV. Her work often explores intra-racial conflicts and politics within the African-American community. Grounded in reality with a touch of magical realism that fucks with time & memories. Inda’s currently developing new works of theatre on commission with The Old Globe and Roundhouse Theatre. Produced plays include a hit dog will holler (Skylight Theatre & Playwrights’ Arena co-production, Los Angeles), Black Super Hero Magic Mama (Geffen Playhouse, Los Angeles), and I Go Somewhere Else (Playwrights’ Arena, Los Angeles). Inda is the recipient of the Kesselring Prize, Jeffry Melnick New Playwright Award, Blue Ink Playwriting Prize, Jane Chambers Student Award for Feminist Playwriting, and Stage Raw Best Playwright Award. Inda’s plays have been included on the Kilroys List (twice) and Steppenwolf Theatre’s The Mix. Inda has developed & presented work at Ashland New Play Festival, Orlando Shakes, Ojai Playwrights Conference, Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Black Swan Lab, The Old Globe Powers New Voices Festival, Kitchen Dog Theatre New Works Festival, Black & Latino Playwrights Conference, WomenWorks, Humanitas, Chalk Repertory Theatre, Skylight Theatre, San Francisco Playhouse, Trustus Theatre Playwrights Festival, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Intiman, and others. Aside from theatre, Inda is a writer on the upcoming JJ Abrams series Demimonde (HBO), and previously wrote on Happy Face, How to Get Away with Murder, and The Rookie. She is in development with Universal TV Studios to write and executive produce Cotton Club Princess, adapted from the novel by Karla Diggs. a hit dog will holler, Inda’s 4-episode fiction podcast adapted from her play, premiered March 16, 2022 on Radiotopia.fm or wherever you get your podcasts. MFA in Theatre: Dramatic Writing, University of Southern California.
Dr. Monica White Ndounou (she/her) is an Associate Professor of Theater at Dartmouth College and the founding Executive Director of The CRAFT Institute which convenes The International Black Theatre Summit and administers the Pay-It-Forward All-Career Level Mentorship Program along with various initiatives designed to create culturally inclusive ecosystems throughout the world of arts and entertainment by transforming formal training and industry practices while promoting equitable access. In addition to being a scholar-artist, she is also the past President of the Black Theatre Association (BTA) (2016-2018), immediate past Vice President of Advocacy for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) (2019-2021) and currently serves on the board of The August Wilson Society. She is also a founding member of the National Advisory Committee of The Black Seed, a national strategic plan to create impact and thrivability for Black theater institutions and initiatives. She is an alum and guest lecturer of The Black Arts Institute and a co-founder of CreateEnsemble.com, a digital platform for creative artists of color.
Latoya Gayle (she/her) has been an advocate for Boston’s families for the past 10 years. She served as founding Executive Director for Boston School Finder, and was the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Phenomenal Moms, a Boston-based organization that aimed to reduce educational, social, and economic opportunity and achievement gaps by increasing engagement in schools and communities among parents and families of color. Gayle is also a Racial Equity Strategist and on the Board of Embracing Equity, a social change agency dedicated to centering racial justice in education through racial and ethnic identity development, critical consciousness, and critical action. She has also worked closely with Disruptive Equity Education Project (DEEP), a professional development and strategy organization that is focused on the intentional, developmental, and complex work that is associated with changing mindsets around equity and dismantling systemic oppression and racism. In response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Armaud Arbery, she co-founded and produced March Like a Mother for Black Lives Boston, a powerful and empowering rally that took place at Boston’s historic Copley Square on June 27, 2020. Calling on all mothers to stand in solidarity against anti-blackness and racism, March Like a Mother featured a diverse panel of speakers including Boston’s new mayor, then city councilor Michelle Wu, Suffolk County D.A. Rachael Rollins, and Rep. Liz Miranda. Organized in just three weeks, the rally assembled 20 partners and sponsors and more than 500 socially distanced attendees and hundreds of live streams. Gayle lives with her family in Boston and has four children.
Nikki Tennermann (she/her) is a health and human services leader with a background in complex care, early childhood development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Identifying as an anti-oppressive clinical social worker, Nikki practices from a social justice standpoint. She pays particular attention to race/ethnicity, culture and beliefs as they impact care delivery and practices in English and Spanish. Nikki maintains a small telehealth private practice in the greater Boston area that focuses on BIPOC and LGBTQ mental health. Throughout her career, Nikki has consulted professionals on reducing bias in clinical judgment through critical exploration of self. She has developed curricula for trainings on unconscious bias and racial identity development and has investigated how social determinants of health impact individuals with chronic medical conditions. Nikki has a BA in psychology and Spanish, Bard College, an MSSW in Advanced Clinical Practice, Columbia University and a certificate in CBT, Boston University. Nikki is a Project Director with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and was previously the Administrative Director for the Office of Health Equity and Inclusion at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Summer L. Williams (she/her/hers) is an award-winning director and Co-Founder/Associate Artistic Director of Company One Theatre in Boston. Her most recent directing credits include sandblasted by Charly Evon Simpson with Vineyard Theatre and WP Theater, Off-Broadway, The Arboretum Experience at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T), Daddy Issues at Salt Lake City Acting Company New Play Sounding Series, and the Digital World Premiere of Downtown Crossing at Company One Theatre.
Regional credits: Wolf Play at Company One Theatre, School Girls, or The African Mean Girls Play at SpeakEasy Stage Company, Miss You Like Hell with Company One Theatre and OBERON at American Repertory Theater, the World Premiere of Leftovers at Company One Theatre, Wig Out! with Company One and OBERON at A.R.T.; Smart People at Kitchen Theatre Company in Ithaca, NY and Geva Theater in Rochester, NY; Barbecue at Lyric Stage Company of Boston—Winner of the 2018 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director; Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. at Company One Theatre; Bootycandy at SpeakEasy Stage Company; An Octoroon and Colossal with Company One Theatre—Winner of the 2016 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director for both productions. Intimate Apparel at Lyric Stage Company of Boston; Shiv as a part of The Displaced Hindu Gods Trilogy; Shelter of Last Resort by Miranda Craigwell as a part of XX PlayLab 2014; the New England Premiere of Jackie Sibblies Drury’s We Are Proud To Present A Presentation About The Herero Of Namibia, Formerly Known As Southwest Africa From The German Sudwestafrika Between The Years 1884-1915; Idris Goodwin’s How We Got On; Lynn Nottage’s By The Way, Meet Vera Stark at the Lyric Stage Company of Boston; The Brothers Size and Marcus; Or The Secret Of Sweet as part of The Brother/Sister Plays (2012 Elliot Norton Award nominated for Outstanding Production and winner of the 2012 IRNE Award for Best Play); Neighbors, Grimm; The Good Negro; Voyeurs De Venus (Winner of 2009 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director); The Bluest Eye (IRNE and Elliot Norton Award nominated); The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot; Spell #7 (IRNE nominated); Jesus Hopped The A Train (2004 Elliot Norton Award for Best Fringe Production); and Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 (IRNE nominated).
Pictured: Ramona Lisa Alexander and Joshua Robinson. Photo by Lauren Miller.