We Speak Events

True Colors Theatre Company Presents 1st Ovation Circle Brunch

Published

7 years ago

June 4, 2018

https://youtu.be/zt6TN9mBtog

For 15 seasons, Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company has created masterful works of theatre art that honor the African American experience, lift up diverse voices, and create cultural understanding. In honor of those that have championed True Colors Theatre Company’s mission of celebrating the tradition of Black storytelling while giving voice to bold new artists of all cultures, they announce the first annual True Colors Applauds: Ovation Circle Awards Brunch – which will take place on Saturday, June 2, 2018 at 11:00 AM at the Solis Hotel.

The last 15 years would not have been possible without the support of companies, foundations and individuals that have supported True Colors, establishing the theatre as a staple in the arts community. The Ovation Circle Giving Society was established to usher the theatre forward into the next fifteen years. The True Colors Applauds: Ovation Circle Awards Brunch was created to celebrate those that have brought the theatre to this point.

Emceed by Monica Pearson, the True Colors Applauds: Ovation Circle Awards Brunch program will include the presentation of five awards to individuals and organizations that have positively impacted the arts community. Four of the awards are grounded in True Colors’ core values of Abundance, Laughter, Respect, and Boldness, and a fifth award – the Jane Bishop National Theatre Award – is named after our late Co-Founder, who illuminated the path that led to the creation of True Colors.

Tad Hutcheson, Vice President of Community Affairs at Delta Air Lines, will accept the Abundance Award on behalf of Delta Air Lines, applauding the company’s outstanding support of the arts community.

Elisabeth and Afemo Omilami, Executive Director and Programs Operations Manager, respectively, of Hosea Helps, will receive the Laughter Award, applauding their artistry and their work in the social justice field.

Lisa Cremin, Director of Community Advancement at The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, will receive the Respect Award, applauding her exceptional work as an influencer in the arts community.

Lain Shakespeare, Corporate Citizenship Director at MailChimp, will accept the Boldness Award on behalf of MailChimp, applauding the company’s outstanding work in supporting the cause of social justice in our community.

Harry Lennix, Actor and Director, will receive the Jane Bishop National Theatre Award, applauding his commitment to supporting arts and culture causes that uplift future generations.

Host Committee members include our Co-Founder Kenny Leon and his wife, Jennifer Thompson; True Colors Board Chair Holly Firfer, Founding Board Member and Advisory Council Member Monica Pearson; True Colors Managing Director Chandra Stephens-Albright and her husband, Warren Albright, True Colors Board Members Dexter Conner, Johnita Due, Beverly Ferguson, Jennifer Jones, Vikki Locke, Cheryl Lomax, Teddy Parrish, Gerald Render, Eric Schroeder, David Vigilante, Charmaine Ward-Millner and Kandis Wood-Jackson, as well as other corporate and community leaders who are passionate about True Colors Theatre Company.

To learn more about True Colors Applauds: Ovation Circle Awards Brunch, visit the True Colors Theatre Company’s website at www.truecolorstheatre.org.

Thank you Shana Bagley for providing UMEEKTV with the press release.

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We Speak Comedy

Caitlin Cook’s Musical Bathroom Odyssey Hits the UK

Published

13 hours ago

May 9, 2025

Joni Jones

What do cowboy dicks, milk pistols, and public toilet walls have in common? They all find a strange kind of poetry in The Writing on the Stall, the wildly inventive musical comedy from US performer Caitlin Cook, landing in the UK this summer. After sold-out runs Off-Broadway, at Edinburgh Fringe, and in London, the New York Times Critic’s Pick returns for a short UK tour—playing Brighton’s Komedia (31 May & 1 June) and Soho Theatre, London (4–7 June).

Set entirely in a public bathroom, The Writing on the Stall is anything but private. In this whip-smart and wickedly funny one-woman musical, Cook dives into the scrawled messages and mysterious wisdom etched on cubicle walls and turns them into something bold, bizarre, and unexpectedly moving. The songs are catchy, the jokes are razor-sharp, and the show isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty—literally.

Armed with a guitar and a knack for digging gold out of the obscene, Cook crafts a genre-defying hour that’s part stand-up, part cabaret, and all catharsis. This is confessional comedy with clever hooks, pitch-perfect melodies, and enough surprises to keep your eyebrows permanently raised. Expect satire, sincerity, and some surreal props—rumour has it a pair of slingshotted knickers makes a cameo.

Caitlin Cook isn’t your average musical comic. She’s Oxford-educated, New York-hardened, and streaming in the tens of millions. She’s also collaborated with some of comedy’s finest, directed offbeat hits, and performs as one-half of the musical duo 2/3rds of a Threesome. With this new UK run, she’s not just touring a show—she’s building a movement that blurs the lines between comedy, theatre, and performance art.

If you missed her during her Edinburgh frenzy, this is your chance to catch the musical everyone’s been whispering about in pub toilets and shouting about in five-star reviews. You might come for the laughs, but you’ll stay for the songs that (fair warning) may live rent-free in your head for months.