Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Presents World Premiere Of INCENDIARY By Dave Harris 

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company closes its 2022-2023 season with the world premiere of Incendiary, a play bursting with satire and influenced by the style of video games, anime, and blockbuster action movies. The play runs from May 29 to June 25 at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (641 D St NW). Tickets and further information can be found here.

Written by Dave Harris and directed by Monty Cole, Incendiary follows Tanya, a single Black mother determined to break her son, Eric, out of death row. Inspired by Harris's own relationship with his mother, the play explores the complexities of generational trauma, the pursuit of justice, and aims to confront his own fears and understand how the violence of the past affects the way people care for others in the present.

"Dave Harris is an absolute star - an accomplished poet and playwright making his Washington, DC debut with this world premiere play," Maria Manuela Goyanes, Woolly Mammoth's Artistic Director says. "Incendiary showcases a mother ready to do whatever it takes to save her son from death row. While this may sound like the makings of a tragedy, this show also embraces a sense of comedy, making her into a complete superhero with references ranging from Mortal Kombat to Kill Bill to anime. And it turns out that family dynamics are still pretty complicated even if you have all the power and strength in the world."

"Woolly Mammoth has been one of my favorite theatres for as long as I've been writing," says playwright Dave Harris. "This theatre is willing to have fun while also confronting deeply personal and scary things. We all have moms, and every time I read Incendiary, it's a reminder of where I came from. It's also a stylistic journey of my favorite references: video games like Zelda, Doom, and Quake; Kurosawa; and even Anita Baker and Sade - all the way to Richard Simmons."

Nehassaiu deGannes makes her Woolly Mammoth debut as Tanya. Markus/Gerard/Joshua is performed by Breon Arzell, who graced the Woolly stage in Ain't No Mo' earlier this season. Brandon J. Pierce makes his Woolly Mammoth debut as Manny/Marcus. Jasmine is performed by Woolly Mammoth Resident Company member Shannon Dorsey, who was most recently seen in Ain't No Mo'. Terrance Fleming makes his Woolly debut as Eric.

The Assistant Director is Nailah Harper-Malveaux, Scenic Designer is Andrew Boyce, Associate Scenic Designer is James Raymond, Costume Designer is Samantha Jones, Associate Costume Designer is Jessica Utz, Hair & Wig Stylist is Greg Bazemore, Lighting Designer is Mextly Couzin, Associate Lighting Designer is Christian Henrriquez, Sound Designer is Tosin Olufolabi, composer is navi, Associate Sound Designer is Madeline "Mo" Oslejsek, Movement Consultant is Breon Arzell, Fight/Intimacy Coordinator is Chelsea Pace, Dramaturg is Sonia Fernandez, Assistant Dramaturg is Fatima Dyfan, Stage Manager is Leigh Robinette, Assistant Stage Manager is Jazzy Davis, and Production Assistant is Briana Padgett.

Incendiary runs from May 29 - June 25. View the full performance dates at www.woollymammoth.net/event/incendiary/

  

There are Pay-What-You-Will preview performances on May 29 and 30. A Pay-What-You-Will Black Out performance (a special performance for an intentionally all-Black audience) is on June 9.

  

ACCESS PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE   

• ASL Interpreted performances on June 8 (8 pm) and June 18 (2 pm) which feature interpreters placed inside the theatre who translate what the actors are saying and expressing to the audience.
• Audio Described performances on June 10 (3 pm) and June 17 (3 pm) which feature live narration interspersed with the actors' dialogue used to provide information surrounding key visual elements.
• Open Captioned performances on June 14 (8 pm) and June 15 (8 pm) which feature permanently visible, on-screen text description that displays dialogue, identifies speakers and describes other relevant sounds
  

Assistive listening devices are available for all performances. Transmitters and accompanying headsets and ear speakers are available at the Box Office.  For more information on Access Performances please visit the play's website page, found here.  

Tickets to Incendiary start at $29, and are available at woollymammoth.net, by phone at (202) 393-3939, and via email at tickets@woollymammoth.net.

  

Preview Pay-What-You-Will performances on May 29 and 30 through Woolly Mammoth and TodayTix. There are also Pay-What-You-Will tickets available for every remaining performance by selecting the PWYW seats and adjusting the ticket price at woollymammoth.net.

 

Patrons who are 30 years old and younger may purchase tickets starting at $20 to any performance. There are also discounts available for educators, first responders, and active U.S. military personnel, spouses, and veterans. More information is available at woollymammoth.net.   

Dave Harris (playwright) is a poet and playwright from West Philly. Selected plays include TAMBO & BONES (LA Drama Critics Award "Best New Play", Playwrights Horizons, Center Theatre Group, 2022), EXCEPTION TO THE RULE (Roundabout Theatre Company, 2022), and EVERYBODY BLACK (Humana Festival 2019). His first feature film, SUMMERTIME premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was released in 2021. Selected honors include: the 2019 Ollie Award, The Lorraine Hansberry Award and Mark Twain Award from The Kennedy Center, The International Commendation for The Bruntwood Prize, the Venturous Fellowship from The Lark, and a Cave Canem poetry fellowship amongst others. Dave is currently writing the feature adaptation of THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE amongst several other feature and television projects for AMC (Interview with the Vampire), ABC Signature, Goddard Textiles, and Amazon. His first full-length collection of poetry, PATRICIDE, was published by Button Poetry. UPCOMING: INCENDIARY (Woolly Mammoth, 2023), TAMBO & BONES (Royal Stratford East, London Premiere, 2023).

 

The Tony Award-winning Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company creates badass theatre that highlights the stunning, challenging, and tremendous complexity of our world. For over 40 years, Woolly has maintained a high standard of artistic rigor while simultaneously daring to take risks, innovate, and push beyond perceived boundaries. One of the few remaining theatres in the country to maintain a company of artists, Woolly serves an essential research and development role within the American theatre. Plays premiered here have gone on to productions at hundreds of theatres all over the world and have had lasting impacts on the field. Currently co-led by Artistic Director Maria Manuela Goyanes and Managing Director Kimberly E. Douglas, Woolly is located in Washington, DC, equidistant from the Capitol and the White House. This unique location influences Woolly's investment in actively working towards an equitable, participatory, and creative democracy.  

  

Woolly Mammoth stands upon occupied, unceded territory: the ancestral homeland of the Nacotchtank whose descendants belong to the Piscataway peoples. Furthermore, the foundation of this city, and most of the original buildings in Washington, DC, were funded by the sale of enslaved people of African descent and built by their hands. 

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