The Black Landscape

Qing Qi is a notable Bay Area Rap Star and acclaimed performer. She makes grassroots anthems like “IDWIW” & “Big D” that permeate. Visual Artist, director, promoter, actor, Founder of femme rap community Putang Clan and events team #PuTangParty, Qing Qi is a Bay Area staple like beans and rice! Using her life experiences as inspiration, she speaks candidly about taboo topics with witty lyrics, catchy hooks, and authentic Hyphy ...

Jewelle Gomez (Playwright, Cabo Verdean/Ioway/Wampanoag, pronouns: she/her) is a novelist, poet, and playwright. She is the author of seven books including the double Lambda Literary Award-winning, Black lesbian vampire novel, The Gilda Stories. Waiting for Giovanni, her play about James Baldwin, and Leaving the Blues, about Alberta Hunter, were commissioned and premiered at NCTC. She has written for numerous publications including...

Meet San Francisco resident, Fred Pitts. His solo show “Aren’t You…?” recounts his hilarious journey to visit all 21 California Mission churches, where he discovers that being Black makes him an instant celebrity – the question is which one? 

Pitts has been performing in the Bay Area for over 20 years. He has worked with numerous regional theatres, including Shotgun Players, Altarena Playhouse, The Pear Theatre, Palo Alto...

OYSTERKNIFE—a name derived from Zora Neale Hurston’s essay “How It Feels To Be a Colored Me”—was formed in late 2017 out of a longtime creative friendship between Gabriele Christian and Chibueze Crouch. Nourishing a desire to subvert their collegiate theatrical training, which often ignored the complex Afro-Diasporic queer experiences, they found that interdisciplinary, somatic-based, experimental approaches made for fuller work, a...

**Trigger Warning! This interview includes topics of suicide & depression**

Toni Rochelle was born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 2005, she relocated to the Bay Area and immediately started modeling, appearing in fashion shows, magazines, and several (music) videos. Soon after, she started landing roles in independent films and stage plays.

Her biggest accomplishments were a Honda commercial and the...

Unique Derique is a longtime San Francisco Bay Area favorite whose dual careers merge the performing arts and healing with the belief that the world can be a brighter place, one breath—and one laugh—at a time. Internationally acclaimed “Clown Prince'' Unique Derique’s appearances have spanned the globe from South Africa to Scotland, Taipei, London, Paris, and Tokyo— and he has shared the stage with entertainers such as Bo...

NPR award-winning storyteller Don Reed (Writer/Performer/Director) was a 2018 nominee for the Theatre Bay Area (TBA) Outstanding Solo Production, as well as the 2016 TBA winner and the 2017 TBA nominee for the same award.

The playwright/performer/director is also a SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle nominee and NAACP triple nominee for Best Actor and Best Playwright. His past works at The Marsh include East 14th, The Kipl...

Courtney Jones (she/her) is a 3rd generation Oaklander who is passionate about diversity, inclusion, giving back, and providing resources to distressed communities. Courtney is a co-parent of two daughters and the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco’s first Associate Director of Diversity & Inclusion. Her professional career includes the previous operator of an independent consulting company and the Senior Business Strategy Consu...

Born & raised in Oakland, CA.
Actor, Model, Costume Designer, Writer.
A Meisner trained actor who has the ability to transform himself into a variety of characters with strong ideologies.
Growing up in the diverse Bay Area, he was exposed to many different shades of people at a young age. That is where he found his love for people and their stories. In high school he participated in his first plays and musicals.

Ashley Jemison is bringing a new school vibe to smooth jazz. Covering the current styles of R&B and pop music of today while adding a unique improvisational twist leaves her audiences wanting more.

With a mother and father who were musicians it was inevitable that Ashley would follow in their footsteps. Working tirelessly to be at her own personal best she excelled quickly at playing the saxophone. In pursuit of her d...

Mélia Mills is an Oakland native. She graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts and is and is a writer, comedian, actress, and rapper. Mélia co-hosted the podcast “TALK LIKE A GIRL” on Feral Audio and was selected by Anna Deavere Smith to take part in her Performing Personal Narratives, Global Identities workshop. She has opened for Dave Chappelle, the “Jerry Seinfeld of France,” Gad Elmaleh, and collaborated with...

For over a decade, David Mack has managed some of California's most innovative dance, opera and theatre companies, including: The Industry, Joe Goode Performance Group and Watts Village Theater Company. Additionally, he has consulted for a variety of performing arts organizations, including: Center Theatre Group, L.A. Dance Project and Ate9 Dance Company. Currently, Mack serves on the Boards of the Western Arts Alliance and Sa...

Ezra Myles (IG: @ezramyles) is a Multidisciplinary Artist, Arts Educator and Event Producer based in Oakland, CA.

Much like his birthplace of Newark, NJ, Ezra creates and curates art experiences that bridge the gap between the shared cultural legacies of the African Diaspora.
As the Executive Director of MylesBeyond Entertainment (@mylesbeyondmedia)  an event and media production company, and Artistic Director of the...

Pendarvis Harshaw is a writer from Oakland. He currently works at KQED where he hosts the Rightnowish podcast and radio show that covers the arts, culture, prisons & people. Penn is currently really focused on Bay Area hip-hop history.

Rightnowish
Instagram: @ogpenn
Twitter: @ogpenn

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Netta Brielle is a R&B/ soul singer from Oakland. She was born in Berkeley and started performing at the age of five. Netta graduated from San Jose State University with a major in Musical Theater.

Netta released her first album, Electrik Rebel Sounds- The EP in 2009; the following year OMW 980 was released, followed by Love, Pain & Music Mixtape, 580 in 2015 and finally 880 in 2016.

W: Nettabapparel.com
IG: @n...

Marissa McGee is an author and educator. She released her debut title, Free the Curls in 2022. Teaching for over a decade, she’s read hundreds of children’s books. After visiting several stores and finding all the products for her hair type locked in a case, she decided she had a story to tell and picked up a pen. As an anti-bias educator, Marissa remains passionate about creating stories that serve as mirrors and windows for child...

Ellen Sebastian Chang(she/her), whose creative practice spans 45 years, is a storied figure in the performing arts, as a multi-disciplinary director(theater, opera, dance, and installation) arts educator and lighting designer.
She has co-created with Deep Waters Dance Theater, 15 Episodes of House/Full of Blackwomen, that closed this past March 2023. Her credits also include acting as a Consulting Producer for “Whoopi Goldberg...

Alexis is the founder of We Are Talking, a platform providing empowerment, motivation and education on the topic of personal finance through one-on-one coaching, group workshops and fun events. She founded We Are Talking because she LOVES talking about money. She especially enjoys talking about how to set up a strong financial foundation and maximize your funds. Her mission is to turn the often avoided conversation about money into...

Clay Xavier is a music producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist from Berkeley, CA. Coming from a musical family he experimented with many instruments as a child leading to his love and passion for music. Starting with saxophone Xavier quickly expanded to many different wind instruments including flute, clarinet, harmonica, and recently trumpet. Since 2017 as the COO & Co-Founder of indie label OakTownSoul he has produced a...