Staff, Crew, Actors, Directors, & Playwrights
Ashley Lyle
Actor "and god made man" OTF'23
Ashley is excited to be back at OTF for its 3rd year. Ashley performed in the inaugural year in "Mother's Boyfriend is an Ass." She's thrilled to work on this new & captivating art piece. Ashley is a brand & web designer & anti-racism activist in the community. With her dear friend & director, Dan Jonhson, they created the "Toward an Anti-Racism Michigan Theatre" workshop to combat the racism that STILL thrives in the Michigan theatre community. Thank you to the OTF staff & crew for your hardwork. Thank you to my family for your support. And thank you for supporting Black theatre!
Assata J. Haki
Actor — Papa Jennings is Gone “Lillie”
For Assata J. Haki, acting is the root of the tree and some of her the limbs are performing, storytelling, empowerment speaking, teaching artist, and writer. She is very excited to be working with The Obsidian Theatre Festival. You can follow her on instagram
@goddess_johari72
Ben Will
Host/Musician "Back to Black: An Obsidian Cabaret" OTF'23
Ben Will is a Black singer/songwriter, poet, spoken word artist, community organizer, and actor native to Detroit, MI. As an ambassador with the US Department of State, (or the coolest dude in the room at any diplomatic function), Ben recently partnered with the US Embassy Belgium for a musical mental health tour as lead singer of The Ben Will Band. As a poet, Ben was lauded as the 2022 Motown Mic Spoken Word Artist of the Year, a 2022 Poetry Foundation Equity in Verse recipient, and opened for New York Times bestselling author Rupi Kaur. Ben serves as executive director of Motor City Sings, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization using music to remove stigma from suicide prevention for Black Detroiters. Ben's recently performed as Mr. Franklin, Christope, and Mr. Venus in the 2023 production of Passing Strange at The Detroit Public Theatre. Outside of his art and activism, Ben is also the single father of a disgruntled domestic shorthair cat: Sir Brixton Black Lives Matter Alexander Cattington Williams Theee First.
Brandy Victoria
Playwright
Brandy Victoria is an artist and playwright whose work has been seen at the Southern Repertory Theatre of Louisiana, Little Theatre of Alexandria and Abingdon Theatre Company in New York. Brandy is a graduate of Temple University earning degrees in Film and African-American Studies.
Bryana Hall
Actor — Dear Lil’
“Big”
Bryana Hall is thrilled to be returning for OTF’s second season! Favorite regional credits: Dear Lil’ (Big), Smokey Joe’s Cafe (Brenda, Associate Choreographer), Ragtime (Sarah), Brigadoon (Jean MacLaren), Agnes of God (Agnes). Thank you to the entire OTF staff for bringing Black stories to the forefront.
Cam Blackwell
Detroit Native and recent Wayne State University graduate (Class of 2020), Cam Blackwell is the Administrative Assistant and Theatre Management Apprentice for the Obsidian Theatre Festival. Along with his role, he enjoys playwriting, dancing, and teaching theatre movement virtually to young people during this time.
Asia Hicks
Director — Miss Education
Asia (they/them) is a Detroit based director, actor, comedian, producer, and karaoke fanatic. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Acting/Directing from Western Michigan University, Asia frequently works in film, commercial, and with theaters such as Detroit Public Theatre, The Ringwald, Black and Brown Theatre, Mosaic Youth Theatre, Theatre Nova, Matrix Theatre Company, and Planet Ant. They are also a proud producer of Honorary Mentions Comedy, hosting monthly standup shows at Firebird Tavern in Greektown Detroit!
Badriyyah Wazeerud-Din
Stage Manager "The Underground Color Wheel" OTF'23
Badriyyah Wazeerud-Din // Stage Manager (she/her)
Badriyyah is delighted to join the OTF family! She has worked on Detroit Public Theatre productions in their 8th season. She is a captivating singer-songwriter who enjoys telling stories through music. Family and friends bring her the greatest blessings and joy. IG: @badriyyahthesinger
Bihanna Martin
Actor — “Melissa Woods”
Bihanna Martin an Ann Arbor native, is excited to be back on the stage doing what she loves, connecting with and preforming in front of an audience. Singing in weddings and corporate gigs in her spare time, she is delighted to continue her passion on the stage for the first time with Obsidian Theater Festival.
Brian Demar
Director
Brian Demar Jones is an actor, singer, director and acting coach based in New York City. He has appeared in dozens of productions both off-Broadway and across the country and
has served as director or
co-director of many plays, including “Twelfth Night” with Rude Grooms theatre group in New York City; “Shakesbeer” with the New York ShakespeareExchange; “Happy Days: The Musical” with the Oregon Conservatory for the Performing Arts; and
“Ten-Minute Play Festival”
at the University of Idaho.
Bréon LaDawn
Director of Guest Services
Bréon LaDawn is overjoyed to be joining Obsidian Theatre Festival as a Stage Manager. Bréon is a multi-hypenated artist and podcast host. She is often found in the Detroit Theatre scene as an actor. She has been seen with The Ibis, Open Book Theatre Company, Planet Ant and Shakespeare in Detroit.
Cameron Prevatte
Actor/Musician (title pending) OTF '23
Cameron Prevatte is a teaching artist, performer, and puppeteer from Greensboro, North Carolina. His specialty is working with cardboard, tape, mache, and other found objects to make puppets and masks come to life. Physical theatre, clowning, and object manipulation are the core of his training, as he continues to investigate how to spark imagination in his audiences. As an educator, Cameron uses hands-on lessons, facilitating collaborative spaces for the child artist to create. Cameron has worked with North Carolina based group Paperhand Puppet Intervention for a decade, animating giant masks, pageant puppets, and other multi person puppets.
He has been a teaching artist for multiple organizations, including summer circus artist at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, lead visual art and dramatics teacher at The Piedmont School, and touring school performer with the North Carolina Theatre for Young People. He has taught with Spinning Dot Theatre in Ann Arbor for the past year as director and deviser of new work with their Youth company. He currently resides in Detroit, getting his MFA in Applied Drama and Theatre for the Young from Eastern Michigan University. Cameron has a BFA in Acting from the University of North Carolina Greensboro.
Carman Cooper
Actor — Metaphor In 3 Acts
“Agitator”
Carman Cooper has performed as a singer and actress since age 11. She received theatre and performance training as a teen in the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit, where she participated as one of the Mosaic Singers, performing in many of their original productions. She has also performed in many local theatre productions such as Dreamgirls, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and Sister Act playing lead role of Deloris Van Cartier.
Asia Mark
Director (title pending) OTF '23
Asia Mark (AEA) is an interdisciplinary artist from Detroit. BFA: Acting (WMU) Asia seeks to tell stories through directing, photography, writing, music and theatre. Asia is a member of Universes Theatre Ensemble and is excited about bringing new work and experiences into the American Theatre. Instagram: @Asiamaybay
Brittney Marie
Stage Manager
Brittney Marie is a native of Michigan and holds a BS in Chemistry, an MBA, and a Doctorate in Pharmacy. She has recently finished her postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Translational Pharmaceutical Sciences specializing in Reproductive Health and Patient Outcomes from the University of Michigan, but her passion is THEATRE! Brittney has taken various dance classes (tap, modern, lyrical, jazz, and hip hop) while growing up and into adulthood, and completed theatrical training in Atlanta, GA and Ann Arbor, MI.
Cam Blackwell
Admin
Detroit Native and recent Wayne State University graduate (Class of 2020), Cam Blackwell is the Administrative Assistant and Theatre Management Apprentice for the Obsidian Theatre Festival. Along with his role, he enjoys playwriting, dancing, and teaching theatre movement virtually to young people during this time.
