Episode 263 - Ngozi Anyanwu and Daniel J. Watts

NGOZI ANYANWU is a playwright, storyteller, and most recently a 2020 Steinberg Playwright Award winner. Previous productions include Good Grief (Vineyard Theatre in NYC / Center Theatre Group in LA) and The Homecoming Queen (sold-out world premiere run at Atlantic Theater Company). Good Grief was on the Kilroys List 2016 and a semifinalist for the Princess Grace Award, and won the Humanitas Award. The Homecoming Queen was on the Kilroys List 2017 and was a Leah Ryan Finalist. Her play Nike… (Kilroys List 2017) was workshopped at The New Black Fest in conjunction with The Lark and The Strand Festival in conjunction with A.C.T and Space on Ryder Farm. Ngozi also has commissions with NYU, The Old Globe, Two Rivers Theatre, Atlantic Theater, and Steppenwolf. Anyanwu has also received residencies from LCT3, Space on Ryder Farm, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, The New Harmony Project, New York Stage and Film, and Page 73. She attended Point Park University (BA) and received her MFA in Acting from University of California, San Diego. DANIEL J. WATTS is an NYC-based multidisciplinary artist. For acting, Watts is a 2020 Tony Award nominee and Outer Critics Circle Award winner for his portrayal of Ike Turner in the hit Broadway musical TINA. He has appeared in nine Broadway shows including Hamilton, Memphis, and After Midnight. He received the Barrymore Award (People’s Light) and the LA Ovation Award (Geffen Playhouse) for Best Featured Actor for his portrayal of Sammy Davis, Jr. in Lights Out: Nat King Cole opposite Dulé Hill. TV credits include Season 3 of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Seasons 1 & 2 of “The Last OG,” “Blindspot,” and “Vinyl.” Off-Broadway he has starred as the title character in Suzan-Lori Parks' Death of the Last Black Man in the Entire World AKA The Negro Book of the Dead (Signature Theatre) and Whorl Inside a Loop (Second Stage Theater). A play-on-words, Daniel J. Watts’ The Jam pays homage to Watts’ great-grandmother who, after making jam from scratch, would share with others what she was unable to consume herself. The Jam is Watts’ continuation of that legacy, blending elements of stand-up comedy and compelling storytelling with his original spoken word, often set to music and/or dance. The Jam: Only Child was a wide success at the 2020 Public Theater Under the Radar Festival and has also streamed as part of the Signature Theater (DC) 2020-2021 season. Inaugural (2020) ANTONYO Award Winner for Best Quarantine Content. His original work and musical collaborations are featured on Raphael Saadiq’s newest album “Jimmy Lee,” Tituss Burgess’ “Saint Tituss,” Divinity Roxx’s “ImPossible,” Nick Blaemire’s “Ampersand;” as a contributing artist for Armstrong Now in conjunction with The Louis Armstrong House Museum; and featured in the young adult anthology "How I Resist" edited by The New York Times Best Seller Maureen Johnson for Wednesday Books/Macmillan. His TED talk “To Accomplish Great Things, You Need to Let Paint Dry” appears at go.Ted.com/danieljwatts. Watts is an artist in residence at ASU Gammage and also serves as an adjunct professor of NYU's Tisch New Studio. BFA, Elon University Music Theatre Program. 2021 Commencement SpDaniel J. Watts has appeared in eight Broadway shows including Tina : The Tina Turner Musical, Hamilton, In The Heights and Memphis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices