Hey! I Heard You’re Black

A new reading from rising star playwright Alicia Whavers hits the stage in the SOPAC Loft! Through a series of vignettes, Hey! I Heard You’re Black presents black couples, strangers, neighbors, and co-workers discussing the intricate realities of their everyday lives while Nella, the “Holla Hotline” specialist, is just trying to do her job. What began as a monologue titled “Busted Tailight,” accepted to the Columbus Black Theatre Festival in Ohio, has expanded into a full-length play featuring an anthology of interconnected monologues and scenes that explore the day-to-day aspect of being black in America. These are the stories that never make the headlines, but constantly affect black Americans.

A version of Hey! I Heard You’re Black appeared at the NJPAC Education Arts Center as an awardee of the North To Shore Festival grant in summer 2024, and at Studio Players in Montclair, New Jersey. 

This live event features 10 of the play’s 20 scenes. Upon entering the SOPAC Loft, audience members will receive a menu of the play, then vote on which pieces they would like to experience during the performance.

Run time: 90 minutes

Playwright

Alicia Whavers

Alicia Whavers (EMC) is an actor, singer & playwright born and raised in Newark, New Jersey. She earned her bachelor of arts in Theatre Arts and Honors English from Drew University and has performed along the East Coast from New Jersey to Massachusetts. Credit highlights include Julius Caesar, Canarsie, Murphy’s Law, Macbeth, Paterson Falls, Measure for Measure, and You Can’t Take It With You. Her written works have been produced at The Pulp Stage (Portland, Oregon), The Columbus Black Theatre Festival (Columbus, Ohio), and TSquared Productions (New Jersey). She loves reading and spends what time she can find reading books and plays, and has been known to edit them as well.

Cast

Steven Michael Martin*

Steven Michael Martin’s credit highlights include As You Like It (Quest Players), Red Velvet (Studio Playhouse), Dr. Faustus (Secret Theatre), Mourning Glory (Secret Theatre), It Happened in Jefferson Square (Up Theatre Co.), The School For Scandal (Up Theatre Co.), Hamlet (Inwood Shakespeare Festival), Henry VI part I, II, III (Gallery Players), The Trial (National Black Theatre) Julius Caesar (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (Chain Theatre), My Fair Lady (St. Jeans Players), To Kill A Mockingbird (St. Jeans Players), Hoodsical: The Tragedy at Hood 14542 (Fringe NYC Festival), Blackfootnotes (Nuyorican Poets Cafe).

Emily Miller

Emily Miller is so excited to be back working with Queen Alicia Whavers on Hey! I Heard You’re Black, having appeared in the production since its first reading at Luna Stage. Credit highlights include Appropriate (River), The Importance of…(Cecily), The Humans (Brigid) and Time Stands Still (Mandy) for which she was nominated for a Perry Award for Best Supporting Actress. She’s appeared in shows Off Broadway, at area regional theaters and everything in between. Miller helped co-create the women’s reproductive rights show From Uterus and runs her own theater company Red Mic Rep. She recently directed King Charles III.

Melissa Searcy

Melyssa Searcy is a New Jersey native born and raised in Newark. She has been singing and dancing since she was very young, primarily in church. At 14, she discovered musical theater and has been in love ever since. Some of her most notable roles are Mary Hubert (Nunsense), Penelope Pennywise (Urinetown), Leading player (Pippin), and Annie Sheps (It Shoulda Been You). Searcy is ecstatic to embark on this endeavor. She is enjoying the ride and the journey and has no plans to stop any time soon. Look out for her!

Dan Waldron

Dan Waldron is a Montclair-based actor and director who served as Artistic Director of Ashberry Productions from 2006 to 2010. Acting credit highlights include Mirror Wardrobe, Six Degrees of Separation, Monster, The Taming of the Shrew, and Clue. Directing credits include Macbeth, Lay Don’t Slay, On the Way Down, Honk! Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Stuck (Midtown Theatre Festival), and For Emma. Waldron is extremely grateful to Alicia Whavers for this opportunity, and to his incredible wife.

Angelle Whavers

Angelle Whavers is a graduate of Drew University and holds a bachelor of arts in Theater and History. She co-wrote 4320p: Immersion with the Tectonic Theater Project, and had her full-length production, Incubator, appearin the New York Theater Festival. Whavers won first place at the 2020 New Play-Reading Festival at The Growing Stage in Netcong, New Jersey, and received a production for her winning play Boogie in February 2022. In June 2023, her show Collar’d was a part of the inaugural North to Shore Festival. Whavers wrote for and performed in readings of From Uterus: From You to Us with Red Mic Rep and Unidentified Stages. Her other plays, monologues, and staged readings have been produced by T-Squared Production Company, Vivid Stage, Vulcan Theatre Company, Ghost Light Theatre Company, and the Columbus Black Theatre Festival.

SOPAC Member Benefits

Public on Sale: Wednesday, January 29

Member Discounts: Members at the Advocate Level or higher ($65+) will receive a discounted ticket price.

Accessibility & Accommodation

If you or a member of your party needs assistance, please notify SOPAC at the time your tickets are purchased. Contact the SOPAC Box Office at (973) 313-2787 or boxoffice@SOPACnow.org.