re-turning, re-shaping, re-...
2025
STAGE PLAY, SET DESIGNER
Obsidian Theatre presents Returning, Reshaping, Re… (A collection of star songs and soil) by the Young, Gifted, and Black Ensemble.
This showcase is rooted in decolonial approaches to design and direction, guided by Black performance aesthetics and multidisciplinary storytelling to explore the expansiveness of Blackness. The work draws from African and Afrofuturist storytelling traditions—where time, space, and meaning unfold in non-linear, cyclical, and intuitive ways. It flows between a range of characters and worlds, forming a narrative structure that is relational, symbolic, and centered in African ways of knowing and becoming.
Themes such as ancestral ties and roots, transformation, Black love, Black fragility, Black femininity, and Black joy are interwoven through a process grounded in exploration and improvisation. The work exists within a decolonial, African-centered perspective, inviting audiences into a world shaped by rhythm, ritual, and memory.
cast and crew
‣ d’bi.young, program director
‣ jd leslie, performer
‣ rais clarke-mendes, performer
‣ germaine konji, director
‣ sharine taylor, set and props designer
‣ arianna lilith moodie, costume designer
‣ riel reddick-stevens, sound designer
‣ lilian adom, lighting designer
‣ rosie harbans, movement director
‣ delaney small, stage manager
‣ aaheli mukhergee, production weaver
about young, gifted and black
Young, Gifted, and Black is Obsidian Theatre’s arts training program dedicated to supporting Black theatre practitioners in non-performance disciplines. This six-month intensive explores Black diaspora theatre and performance aesthetics through a decolonial and intersectional lens. Participants will benefit from ongoing mentorship, masterclasses, and apprenticeships, culminating in an ensemble creation devised, directed, and designed by the YGB cohort.
As this year’s Program Director and Lead Mentor, d’bi.young will utilize the Anitafrika Method to develop the program curricula, provide comprehensive mentorship to each practitioner, and guide the ensemble creative process.