New Orleans, LA – No Dream Deferred NOLA has announced the plays selected for its inaugural WE WILL DREAM: New Works Festival. The festival, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will be presented in partnership with the Andre Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice and HowlRound Theatre Commons. It will run from March 19, 2023-June 19, 2023. Performances will be held in repertory at the Andre Cailloux Center for Performing Arts and Cultural Justice.

The festival will produce the following world premieres:

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

The festival will also feature a staged reading of Sons of Liberty by Cris Eli Blak in June 2023. 

“These new works fill me with joy. Each play expresses the artistic and cultural values that align with the vision and mission of the festival,” said Producing Artistic Director Lauren Turner Hines in a statement. “I am through-the-roof excited for this line-up and thrilled to support these playwrights in such a significant way.”

The WE WILL DREAM: New Works Festival will be held biennially with the goal of supporting the professional and artistic development of Black playwrights. The festival seeks to affirm the thought that in spite of challenges in the field and disparities in funding, Black theatre artists from the American South can thrive and create full artistic lives, right where they are. 

Tickets for the WE WILL DREAM: New Works Festival go on sale beginning in January 2023. For more information, visit: www.nodreamdeferrednola.com