AT MARIST UNIVERSITY & THE BARDAVON
The Death Chronicles (portraits).. deals with people in the process of dying literally/ spiritually / it deals w/ our lack of acceptance of death /acceptance of death and celebration of the people who were here/ and transitioned and touched us
The Death Chronicles (portraits)
Written by and Featuring dael orlandersmith
Directed by Neel Keller
Saturday, August 1
Symphonic Hall at Marist University
5:00pm
This performance will be fully bilingual in American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken English.
Featuring 3x Obie Award-Winner John Douglas Thompson (HBO’s The Gilded Age, Tamburlaine, The Iceman Cometh, & Othello), Obie Award-Winner & Pulitzer Prize Finalist dael orlandersmith (Beauty's Daughter, Until The Flood, & Yellowman), Jahmaul Abiodun Bakare (Once on This Island, National Tour), and Ka-Ling Cheung (War Horse), Michael Laurence (Krapp, 39).
The Death Chronicles (portraits) was commissioned by the Goodman Theatre.
dael orlandersmith | playwright & actor
Dael’s plays include Stoop Stories, Black n’ Blue Boys/Broken Men, Horsedreams, Bones, The Blue Album, Yellowman, The Gimmick, Monster, and Forever. Ms. Orlandersmith was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Drama Desk Award nominee for Yellowman and the winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for The Gimmick. Dael is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts grant, The Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights, a Guggenheim, along with several other awards and honors. Her play, FOREVER, was commissioned and performed at the Mark Taper Forum/Kirk Douglas Theatre Fall of 2014, followed by performances at the Long Wharf Theatre Winter 2014/15, New York Theatre Workshop Spring 2015, and ran at Portland Center Stage Winter 2016. Her play ’Until the flood ‘ was done at St louis Repertory fall of 2016. She is currently working on two commissions for Artists Repertory theatre In Portland and Milwaukee Repertory theatre. ‘Until the Flood ‘ was done at Rattlestick theatre in 2018 and Milwaukee rep. in 2019 it was done at Portland center stage / ACT Seattle/ the Arcola theatre in London/ The Galway Arts festival at the Druid theatre/ and at the Traverse at Edinburgh Festival…the play was performed in Berlin at the Schaubuhne theatre in April of 2022 and at the Spoleto festival In Charleston SC in june 2022. Ms orlandersmith is working on a commission for Rattlestick theatre called .’watching the watcher’.. and had two plays opening at Milwaukee repertory theatre in 2022 -NEW AGE - directed by Jade king Carroll and ‘Antonio’s song/ I was dreaming of a son’ directed by Mark Clements which will open at the Goodman theatre Spring 2023/ MS orlandersmith ‘s new play SPIRITUS/VIRGIL’SDANCE commissioned by Merrimack theater in Massachusetts will be done at CATF theatre in west Virginia summer 2023 and Rattlestick and Merrimack theaters 2024.. In June - August of 2024 orlandersmith acted in Marin Ireland’s Pre Existing Condition at the directed by Maria Dizzia at the Connely theatre. Orlandersmith is currently working with writer/performer David Cale and director Robert falls on a play called ‘ you don’t know the lonely one’. In 2020 orlandersmith was the recipient of the Doris Duke grant.
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Neel Keller | Director
Neel has worked closely with Dael Orlandersmith for many years. They have collaborated on the development of several of her plays including, UNTIL THE FLOOD, SPIRITUS, and FOREVER. Their productions have been seen at theaters across the US and Europe. Neel is passionate about working with playwrights on new plays. In addition to his work with Dael, his recent directing projects include the world premieres of Deb Hiett’s CIRCLE FORWARD, Kimber Lee’s TO THE YELLOW HOUSE, Eliza Clark’s QUACK, Julia Cho’s OFFICE HOUR, and Jennifer Haley’s THE NETHER. Neel has directed at many theaters including, The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, La Jolla Playhouse, Goodman Theatre, South Coast Repertory, and Williamstown Theatre Festival. Neel is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and the Directors Guild of America.
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Jason Kaiser | Stage Manager
Jason Kaiser (Stage Manager): At NYS&F: A WRINKLE IN TIME, TAYLOR MAC’S 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC, DIANA: THE MUSICAL, MR. GOLDWYN, and Dael Orlandersmith’s HORSEDREAMS. Other credits include: SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER at Bard Summerscape, WHAT TO WEAR (BAM); CATS: THE JELLICLE BALL (Perelman); GRENFELL: IN THE WORDS OF SURVIVORS (St. Ann's); BARK OF MILLIONS (Sydney Opera House, tour); KIKI AND HERB SLEIGH (BAM); OKLAHOMA! (Broadway, St. Ann’s); AVAILABLE LIGHT with Lucinda Childs Dance Co.; EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH (BAM, tour); three world-premiere plays by Athol Fugard. Up next: BARK OF MILLIONS at the Delacorte; MUSIC FOR 18 MUSICIANS at Park Ave Armory; A 24-DECADE HISTORY OF POPULAR MUSIC with the Philharmonia Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall, London.
CAST
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Jahmaul Abiodun Bakare | Luc-Jean Toussaint
JAHMAUL BAKARE, began vocal training at Morehouse College and finished his graduate studies at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. Bakare has won prestigious awards for his interpretations of both operatic and musical theater repertoire. Some roles performed include: Otis Williams (AIN’T TOO PROUD), Mister (THE COLOR PURPLE), Apollo Creed (ROCKY), Agwe (first national Broadway tour of ONCE ON THIS ISLAND), Pinkerton (MADAMA BUTTERFLY), Flick (VIOLET), Enjolras (LES MISÉRABLES), Wolf/Prince Charming (INTO THE WOODS). @jahmaulb - instagram
Ka-Ling Cheung | Gloria
Ka-Ling is a NY-based actor, teacher and director. She is an Assistant Professor of Theatre and Performance and the BFA Program Director at The New School. She also teaches at Tisch Dance, Marymount Manhattan College and Fordham University. Actor: Broadway: (THE BALUSTERS). Broadway Tour: (WAR HORSE). National Tour: (THE KING AND I). London: Young Vic (WILD SWANS). NYC: MTC (GOLDEN SHIELD). Regional: American Conservatory Theater, American Repertory Theater, The Rep at St. Louis, TheatreSquared, Cincinnati Playhouse, Long Wharf, Portland Center Stage, Pittsburgh Public, Shakespeare Theatre of NJ, Weston Playhouse, and others. TV: L&O: ORGANIZED CRIME, EVIL, THE OTHER TWO, EAST NY, UNCOUPLED, HARLAN COBEN’S SHELTER, BROAD CITY, BULL, L&O: SVU, BLUE BLOODS, LIMITLESS, ELEMENTARY. Education: MFA from American Conservatory Theater. Fellowships: Juilliard Drama Division Teaching Fellow. Lloyd Richards Fellow through the National Alliance of Acting Teachers. Proud member of the Actors Center.
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dael orlandersmith | Writer
Dael’s plays include Stoop Stories, Black n’ Blue Boys/Broken Men, Horsedreams, Bones, The Blue Album, Yellowman, The Gimmick, Monster, and Forever. Ms. Orlandersmith was a Pulitzer Prize finalist and Drama Desk Award nominee for Yellowman and the winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for The Gimmick. Dael is the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts grant, The Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights, a Guggenheim, along with several other awards and honors. Her play, FOREVER, was commissioned and performed at the Mark Taper Forum/Kirk Douglas Theatre Fall of 2014, followed by performances at the Long Wharf Theatre Winter 2014/15, New York Theatre Workshop Spring 2015, and ran at Portland Center Stage Winter 2016. Her play ’Until the flood ‘ was done at St louis Repertory fall of 2016. She is currently working on two commissions for Artists Repertory theatre In Portland and Milwaukee Repertory theatre. ‘Until the Flood ‘ was done at Rattlestick theatre in 2018 and Milwaukee rep. in 2019 it was done at Portland center stage / ACT Seattle/ the Arcola theatre in London/ The Galway Arts festival at the Druid theatre/ and at the Traverse at Edinburgh Festival…the play was performed in Berlin at the Schaubuhne theatre in April of 2022 and at the Spoleto festival In Charleston SC in june 2022. Ms orlandersmith is working on a commission for Rattlestick theatre called .’watching the watcher’.. and had two plays opening at Milwaukee repertory theatre in 2022 -NEW AGE - directed by Jade king Carroll and ‘Antonio’s song/ I was dreaming of a son’ directed by Mark Clements which will open at the Goodman theatre Spring 2023/ MS orlandersmith ‘s new play SPIRITUS/VIRGIL’SDANCE commissioned by Merrimack theater in Massachusetts will be done at CATF theatre in west Virginia summer 2023 and Rattlestick and Merrimack theaters 2024.. In June - August of 2024 orlandersmith acted in Marin Ireland’s Pre Existing Condition at the directed by Maria Dizzia at the Connely theatre. Orlandersmith is currently working with writer/performer David Cale and director Robert falls on a play called ‘ you don’t know the lonely one’. In 2020 orlandersmith was the recipient of the Doris Duke grant.
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Michael Laurence | Dylan
MICHAEL LAURENCE is known for his wide-ranging credits in theater, television, and film.
Some favorite theater includes: THE HALF-GOD OF RAINFALL (NWTW), COAL COUNTRY (The Public), APPROPRIATE (Signature), OPUS (Primary Stages), THE MORINI STRAD (Primary Stages), Samuel D. Hunter’s THE FEW and Dael Orlandersmith’s HORSEDREAMS (Rattlestick).
He has appeared on Broadway in TALK RADIO, BUG, and DESIRE UNDER THE ELMS. Also: THE RAINMAKER (Arena Stage), THE CRUCIBLE (Hartford), Jean Genet’s SPLENDID'S (Theatre National de Paris/ LaColline).
He is the playwright/performer of HAMLET IN BED, which premiered at Rattlestick, and KRAPP,39 which ran six months off-Broadway and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award, with subsequent productions in London, Dublin, and Edinburgh.

TV: SHADES OF BLUE (recurring), THE BLACKLIST, FBI: MOST WANTED, CHICAGO PD, PRODIGAL SON, EVIL, THE GOOD WIFE, SVU, DAMAGES, ELEMENTARY, PERSON OF INTEREST, DEXTER: NEW BLOOD, others.
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Many indie films.
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He is a graduate of NYU’s Experimental Theater Wing.
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John Douglas Thompson | Blake
John Douglas Thompson is an NYC based actor. Most recent theater credits: OTHELLO, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE. TV/Film: THE GILDED AGE, HIGHEST TO LOWEST, THE PUNISHER. Upcoming projects: SEVEN GUITARS, and KING LEAR.