New Orleans, LA – The first year of the We Will Dream: New Works Festival has been a success! To close out this amazing experience, join us at our closing fundraising event, the Juneteenth LIBERATION BALL. On Monday, June 19th from 6 pm - 9 pm, join us for a night of delicious food, an open bar, live entertainment, and a silent auction.

We will also honor Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Karen-Kaia Livers, Chakula Cha Jua, Lance and Zardis Nichols – all outstanding individuals who have made significant contributions to the arts and uplifting Black voices.

We also welcome special guest speaker, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright James Ijames. Don’t miss this amazing night of celebration!

For year one, the WE WILL DREAM: New Works Festival licensed the following plays for world premiere productions:

• Drapetomania: A Negro Carol by M.D. Schaffer | March 25th -April 30, 2023

• Where the Suga Still Sweet by Brian Egland | April 8- May 21, 2023

• The Defiance of Dandelions by Philana Imade Omorotionmwan | April 28- June 17, 2023

The festival will also feature a staged reading of Sons of Liberty by Cris Eli Blak |  June 10- 17, 2023.

The WE WILL DREAM: New Works Festival will be a biennial event that locates the Bayou Road corridor of New Orleans as the “national meeting place” for Black playwrights originating/working in the American South to engage with compelling, artistic, intellectual, and cultural dialogue and community exploration. The festival’s goal is to serve as a bulwark of support for the professional and artistic development of Black playwrights.