Our mission matters... to ignite the artistic freedom of performing artists of the Global Majority (85% of the global population) who dare to create new artistic works, new ideas, and a new world in which ALL people can flourish.
Due to persistent and longstanding inequitable systems and structures, artists and institutions of the Global Majority remain the underinvested communities of the 21st century and yet...
Harlem Stage is forged in a crucible of a creative fire whose flames and embers may waver, still — undeterred by overwhelming odds — we will continue to be a conduit for freedom, a lens to focus the issues of our time, and a light to illuminate any darkness.
Dr. Indira Etwaroo | CEO & Artistic Director | Harlem Stage
May 30, 2025
In an era when injustice continues to cast its long shadow, Truth Be Told: Harlem Stage Story Lab offers a sanctuary for high school students to write themselves into existence— transforming their lived experiences into profound expressions of power, resistance, and truth. This writing residency is more than a creative exercise; it is a call to action, an invitation to shape narratives that have too often been silenced or erased. Truth Be Told is a writing residency that creates space for students to explore the delicate interplay of identity, history, and personal story, to confront the complexities of belonging through the written word.
Over three weeks, students have crafted original stories and poems inspired by their real experiences in America and aspirations for a future where all people can flourish. With guidance from renowned teaching artists, participants have gained skills in storytelling, stage presence, and collaboration.
Thank you for joining us as the students bring their final performance to Harlem Stage to share with their peers, educators, families, and communities.
CANDACE JONES, DJ
Candace Jones is a project designer and producer by day, and DJ by night. A cultural arts steward, CJ has worked with organizations such as the Urbanworld Festival + Innovation Summit, BLACK GIRLS ROCK!, and The Recording Academy where remains a proud member of The GRAMMY Family. CJ serves on the board of art and music youth non-profit The Nettwork Inc and joined Howard University alumni comrades to create the HU Entertainment Collective, a resource platform for HU’s vast and prominent community in creative fields.
LISA ARRINDELL, Teaching Artist
Lisa Arrindell is an actor, writer, educator, and director from Brooklyn, New York. She is a graduate of LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts and The Juilliard School. Her most recent credits include Albany Road, starring Lynn Whitfield, now available on Amazon Prime, Watson on CBS, and Favorite Son Christmas on BET. She is best known for her role as Vanessa in Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Reunion and for her performance in the Law & Order episode titled “Disabled.” Lisa serves as the resident acting coach on the hit Starz television series P-Valley.
Beyond her acting career, Lisa is passionate about health and wholeness, inspiring and educating aspiring performing artists. She teaches theater students who are deeply curious about pursuing a career in the performing arts and is on staff at The Freeman Studio and The Billie Holiday Theatre’s Youth Arts Academy in New York City. Most importantly, she is the joyful mother of two stunning, loving, highly creative, and intelligent human beings.
MICHAEL CHENEVERT, Teaching Artist
Michael Chenevert is a seasoned actor, playwright, and educator whose work spans film, television, and theater. A member of SAGAFTRA, AEA, and the Dramatists Guild, Michael has performed in acclaimed series like Terror Lake Drive, Godfather of Harlem, Law & Order: SVU, Boardwalk Empire, The Equalizer, and New Amsterdam. His film credits include lead roles in Mourning Meal, Soul Mates, and The Tombs.
On stage, Michael has captivated audiences in A Raisin in the Sun, Flying West, The Rembrandt, Clyde’s, Satchel Paige and The Kansas City Swing, and his original one-man show An Adam Experiment, based on the life of Adam Clayton Powell Jr. He has performed at top regional theaters including Arkansas Repertory Theatre, TheaterWorks Hartford, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and the Billie Holiday Theatre.
Michael holds a BFA from the University of Detroit Mercy and trained at The Lir Academy at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, as well as Susan Batson Studio and the Barrow Group in New York.
In addition to acting, Michael teaches high school students and performing artists how to write and perform their own stories, helping emerging voices discover their power through performance.
Truth Be Told Cast
AISHA AGUILAR
Grade 12
Wadleigh Secondary School For The Performing & Visual Arts
ALBERYS ANTIGUA
Grade 9
Wadleigh Secondary School For The Performing & Visual Arts
ABDEL BAMOGO
Grade 10
A. Philip Randolph Campus High School
MELANIE CASTROVIEJO
Grade 10
A. Philip Randolph Campus High School
ADELINA GARCIA
Grade 9
Wadleigh Secondary School For The Performing & Visual Art
AVRIL “ASH” GARCIA
Grade 9
Wadleigh Secondary School For The Performing & Visual Arts
GENESIS GUILON
Grade 11
A. Philip Randolph Campus High School
TRISTAN HAMILTON
Grade 10
A. Philip Randolph Campus High School
JUVANIQUE HENRIQUEZ
Grade 9
Wadleigh Secondary School For The Performing & Visual Arts
DANAYSIA MCCAIN
Grade 9
Wadleigh Secondary School For The Performing & Visual Arts
Truth Be Told Cast
EMMANUEL OPOKU
Grade 10
A. Philip Randolph Campus High School
KYLENE PHILLIP
Grade 10
A. Philip Randolph Campus High School
MOHAMED RAHIMEE
Grade 11
A. Philip Randolph Campus High School
IZZY RODRIGUES
Grade 12
Wadleigh Secondary School For The Performing & Visual Arts
LISA RODRIGUEZ
Grade 9
Wadleigh Secondary School For The Performing & Visual Arts
OMANI SIMON
Grade 9
Wadleigh Secondary School For The Performing & Visual Arts
HALIMA TRACY
Grade 9
Wadleigh Secondary School For The Performing & Visual Arts
BRIELLE YOUMAN
Grade 9
Wadleigh Secondary School For The Performing & Visual Arts
In the fall of 2025, Harlem Stage will launch Freedom Riders: A Journey With No End in Sight. Activating our North Star — Harlem is our home. The world is our Stage. — this national tour will retrace the historic path of the Great Migration, honor the Freedom Riders of the Civil Rights Movement who risked their lives to challenge the status quo, and carry forward the voices of justice sparked by the Black Lives Matter Movement of 2020.
COMING FALL 2025
Land Acknowledgement
The Harlem Stage Gatehouse sits on land that was stewarded by the Lenape Tribes and was violently overtaken, leading to the death and displacement of countless original inhabitants and stewards of this land. The colonial initiative of the United States of America not only invaded the land stewarded by Indigenous tribes, it also enslaved and exploited millions of Africans stolen from their land to build a free labor force under barbaric conditions that included the separation of families, brutal beatings, rape, and lynching. Harlem Stage seeks to partner with all communities, artists, and institutions of the Global Majority in the struggle for true equity and freedom.
Harlem Stage encourages all people to see this acknowledgment as a call to action to join our efforts and our mission to ignite the artistic freedom of performing artists of the Global Majority who are poised to build new artistic works, new ideas, and a new world in which ALL people can flourish.
Our Commitment to the Planet
Harlem Stage’s values are rooted in ensuring a sustainable planet. Because we see climate change as one of the most pressing issues of our time—an issue that disproportionately impacts Black and Brown communities across the globe—we will continue to honor environmental initiatives both in our operations and programming. Our efforts in using less paper, transitioning to LEDs in our tech and operational spaces, and leaning into digital communications, we have reduced our carbon footprint by 2.5 tons this 2024 – 2025 season alone. Finally, we are proud to work with artists, such as Bebe Miller, who will explore the dynamic and thriving ecology of forests, as necessary to a sustainable planet, as part of our Spring 2025 E-Moves Festival.
HARLEM STAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ronald K. Alexander
JoAnn K. Chase
Hugh Dancy and Claire Danes
Dr. Indira Etwaroo
Angela Glover Blackwell
Alisha Johnson Wilder and Todd Wilder
LaChanze
Courtney F. Lee Mitchell – President
Channing Martin
Larry McRae
Jamila Ponton Bragg
Rebecca Robertson
Mark Thomas – Vice President
Tamara Tunie
Heather Wagoner
Blair Washington
Michael Young – Secretary
HARLEM STAGE TEAM
Dr. Indira Etwaroo, CEO & Artistic Director
CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE
COMMUNICATIONS TEAM
Deirdre May, Chief Marketing Officer
Theodora Kuslan, Senior Director of Marketing
Katie Burk, Graphic Designer
Deniz Kofteci, Digital Media Manager
Hollis King, Photography
Nina Flowers, Public Relations
Squire Media & Management, Public Relations
Walker International Communications Group
PROGRAMMING & PRODUCTION TEAM
Miriam Sierra, Director of Programming & Production
Saúl Ulerio, Technical Director
Bethany Cintron, Community, Education, & Social Initiatives Manager
Karlvy Smith, Director of Institutional Development
Julianna Friedman, Associate Director of Institutional Development
Danielle Reydon, Development Associate
Margaret Hunt, Development Consultant
Dwight Johnson Design, Gala Consultant
OPERATIONS & FINANCE TEAM
Jelani Buckner, Innovations Business Management Director
Martha Samuel, Director of Finance
Acey Anderson, Facilities & Maintenance Manager
Lamont Askins, Operations Manager
Jordan Morales, Facilities & Maintenance Associate
Das, IT
Lutz & Carr/Chris Bellando, Accountants
Aon/Albert G. Ruben Company (NY)/Claudia Kaufman, Insurance
G&A Partners, Human Resources
Madison Consulting Group, Matt Lawrence
Ncheng, LLP
HARLEM STAGE FAMILY OF SUPPORTERS
Endowment
Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation
Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Public
National Endowment for the Arts—Chair, Maria Rosario Jackson,PhD
New York State Council on the Arts—Chair, Katherine Nicholls
The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs—
Mayor Eric Adams and Commissioner Laurie Cumbo
The New York City Council—Councilmember Shaun Abreu and Councilmember Yusef Salaam
Manhattan Borough President– Mark Levine
Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone
Foundations
Altman Foundation
Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation, Inc.
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Columbia Community Service
Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts
The Leonard and Sophie Davis Fund
The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation
Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust
Ford Foundation
Harkness Foundation for Dance
The Hearst Foundations
Howard Gilman Foundation
The Jerome Foundation
Jewish Communal Fund
The Diana King Memorial Fund Presented by the Charles and Lucille King Family Foundation
Lambent Foundation/Tides Foundation
Lucille Lortel Foundation
MacMillan Family Foundation
(Foundations
continued)
Mellon Foundation
Mertz Gilmore Foundation
Metzger-Price Fund
Miranda Family Fund
The Pierre and Tana Matisse Charitable Foundation
Pilot House
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Ruth Foundation for the Arts
The Scherman Foundation, Inc.
SHS Foundation
The Shubert Foundation
The Thompson Family Foundation
The Leonard and Robert Weintraub Family Foundation
Corporations
BET Networks
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids
JoAnn Chase Company
Consolidated Edison Company
The Interpublic Group of Companies
Manhattan Beer Distributors
SESAC
West Harlem Development Corporation
INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT
Randy Adams
Lisa Arrindell
Bernard Aronson
L. Kelly Atkinson Jr.
Roland Augustine
Neal Baer
Catherine Baker-Pitts
Stephany and Simon Bergson
Robert D. Bielecki Foundation
Angela Glover Blackwell*
Patricia Blanchet
Richard Buery
Mary Schmidt Campbell
Gayle Capozzalo
Geoffrey Canada
William and Patrice Cannon
Jamie Cannon*
JoAnn Chase*
Barry Cohen
Paul and Caroline Cronson
Hugh Dancy* and Claire Danes*
Indira Etwaroo, PhD*
Joni Evans and Susan Bird
Laura Flanders and Elizabeth Streb
Alex Gansa
Stuart and Karen Gelwarg
Laura Greer
Sharon Hall
Ruth and Stephen Hendel
Leon Henderson
Kinshasha Holman Conwill
William Holtzman
Winnie Holzman
Debra James
John Josephson and Carolina Zapf
Simon Kahn
Jenette Kahn
Michael Kantrow
Michael Kenny
James King
Steven Kirkpatrick
Daniel Klaus
Brad Learmonth and Jon Gilman
Courtney F. Lee-Mitchell*
Kenny Leon
Paul Levitz and Jeanette Cusimano
Jim Lewis
Loida Lewis
Jeanine Liburd
Karen Lipkind
Carey Lovelace
Richard Massey
Gay McDougall
Sherman and Chris Meloni
John Metzner
Kelly Myers
Lynn Nottage
Estelle Parsons
Richard D. Parsons
Marguerite Pitts
Will Pitts
Stan Ponte
Maxine and John Potts
Adam Richman
Dee Dee Ricks
Golda Rosheuvel
Terri Prettyman Bowles
Rebecca Robertson*
Gretchen and Jamie Rubin
Judy Rubin
Ted Snowdon and Duffy Violante
Beth and Jason Spector
Mark Thomas*
Teri & Lloyd Trotter
Tamara Tunie
Reginald Van Lee
Blair Washington*
Carrie Mae Weems
Fran and Barry Weissler
Greg Williamson
Carol Wood Moore
Michael Young*
*Board Members
The above list reflects gifts received between July 1, 2024 and January 23, 2025. Donations under $1,000 are greatly appreciated but not acknowledged publicly. If your name has been omitted or misprinted, please accept our apologies and contact Associate Director of Individual and Foundational Giving, Julianna Friedman at jfriedman@harlemstage.org
MAJOR GIFTS
Altman Foundation
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Ford Foundation
The Hearst Foundations
Howard Gilman Foundation
Jewish Communal Fund
The Diana King Memorial Fund Presented by the Charles and Lucille King
Family Foundation
Lambent Foundation/Tides Foundation
Mellon Foundation
Pilot House
The Thompson Family Foundation
The Leonard and Robert Weintraub Family Foundation
The above list reflects gifts of $100,000 and above. Donations under $99,999 are greatly appreciated but not classified as a Major Gift at Harlem Stage. If your name has been omitted or misprinted, please accept our apologies and contact, Associate Director of Individual and Foundational Giving, Julianna Friedman at jfriedman@harlemstage.org
