A one-act play loosely based on the in-custody murder of Natasha McKenna who was tased to death in a Fairfax County Jail in February, 2015.
Cat Brooks (Writer and Performer) has been confidently moving across stages and screens for 30 years. In addition to being a savvy and intelligent actor, she is funny and witty, vulnerable and strong - able to be both edgy and immediately relatable. A consummate performer and passionate speaker, Brooks has also made a name for herself as an activist and community leader, able to reach and inspire people with her powerful voice and strong, grounded presence. Cat Brooks played a central role in the struggle for justice for Oscar Grant and is the co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project whose mission is to rapidly respond to - and eradicate - police terror in communities of color. APTP has successfully developed a model for first response to police violence that is currently being replicated across the state of California, and the country. Cat trained at the Royal National Theater Studio in London. Notable roles include Lady Macbeth at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, Ruth in Raisin in the Sun and starring in the one-woman show ‘Tasha that she wrote about the in-custody murder of Natasha McKenna. Brooks was recently nominated Best Featured Actress by the Bay Area Theater Circle Critics. Brooks is also a member of ONYX, The Black Power Network, Black Lives Matter-Bay Area and is one of the Black Friday 14 - a group of Black activists who locked down the West Oakland BART station on Black Friday in 2014.
Ayodele Nzinga (Director) is an award winning director, a playwright, poet, and theater producer. She is the founding director of Oakland's premiere North American African Theater Company, The Lower Bottom Playaz, Inc.The only director anywhere to direct and produce the entire August Wilson Century Cycle in chronological order. Recognized as a leader in arts in culture, and an arts organizer she is known for work with a strong arts/justice nexus. Nzinga predicted Tasha would win the SF Fringe and remains confident of her prediction.
Margo Hall (Dramaturg) is an award winning actor, director, playwright and educator. Margo teaches Acting I and II, Emerging Works, and Film as Art at Chabot Community College. She has also taught Scene Study and Acting Workshops at the American Conservatory Theater MFA Program, and the Berkeley Repertory School of Theater. She holds a MFA in Drama from Catholic University of America. Recent acting credits include A Raisin in the Sun, A Winters Tale, American Night: the Ballad of Juan Jose and SPUNK at California Shakespeare Theater. Once in a Lifetime and Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet at the American Conservatory Theater. Fences and Seven Guitars for Marin Theater Company. Alice Childresses’ Trouble in Mind, at the Aurora Theater. Marcus Gardley’s A World in a Woman’s Hands, for Shotgun Players.
TASHA
August 12-13, 2016
Written and performed by Cat Brooks
Directed by Margo Hall
Dramaturg: Dr. Ayodele Nzinga