YOUR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2023
7:30PM at The Shiva Theater at the Public
by travis tate (they/them)
Directed by Dominique Rider
Dramaturg: Dezi Tibbs (they/she)
Stage Manager: Rachel April (they/them)
featuring Ashton Muñiz (they/he), b (they/them/b), Lío Mehiel (they/them), Omari K. Chancellor, and Reed Northrup (he/him)
with Stage Directions read by Vann Dukes (they/them)
A gaggle of gay men are all out on their own journeys to enlightenment. In many different ways. Which leads them to lifestyle meetings led by the illustrious, social media queen, Uriel. Max wants happiness. Shail and Darren want a baby. Lucas wants a boyfriend. Well, maybe? The line between the internet and reality begins to blur as the group find their ways, by any means necessary, to their most desired wishes. YOUR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL is a play about what happens when the ambitious pursuit of desires becomes the only way to survive.
travis tate (they/them)
Writer
travis tate (they/them) is a queer playwright, poet, and performer living in Brooklyn. Their poems have been published in Southern Humanities Review, Vassar Review, The Boiler, among other publications. Their first collection of poetry, Maiden, was published in June 2020 by VA Press. Their first collection of short stories will be published by Stanchion Book Press in early 2024. They were a fellow in the Liberation Theatre Company's Playwriting Residency and currently are in Theatre East's Writers Group. Their plays have been produced by Dorset Theatre Festival, Victory Gardens, Theatre East and Breaking The Binary Festival. They earned their MFA in playwriting and poetry from Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin. Find out more information at travisltate.com
Dominique Rider
Director
Dominique Rider is a Brooklyn-based director whose work seeks to answer the question: “What is a world unmade by slavery?” while attempting to analyze the layers of anti-blackness that maintain the world we live in. Deploying theatre and performance as tools of Afropessimism, Dominique has developed and staged work with Audible, The New Group, NYTW, Roundabout, The Atlantic, Princeton, Rattlestick, BRIC Arts, Two River, Portland Center Stage, and more. Past fellowships/residencies include TheaterWorks Hartford, NYSAF, BRIC Arts, Roundabout, and NAMT. Currently, Dominique is a resident director at The National Black Theatre and a producer with CLASSIX.
Dezi Tibbs (they/she)
Dramaturg
Dezi Tibbs (they/she) is thrilled to participate in the BTB Festival for the first time. As a dramaturg, Dezi focuses on the ways in which people perform themselves—using psychology and imagination to add further como,Edith and nuance to our stories. They’re inspired by comic books and cartoons and aims to similarly tackle important issues through whimsy.
Rachel April (they/them)
Stage Manager
RACHEL DENISE APRIL (They/Them) is a Guyanese-American Stage Manager, who has studied Theatrical Design and Stage Management at the City College of New York. Select Credits include: Bernarda’s Daughters (The New Group), soft (MCC) Chicken and Biscuits (Queens Theatre), The Baby Monitor (Different Translation), The Big Green Theater Festival (SuperHero Playhouse) The Hole (Zhailon Levingston), Neptune (Timothy DuWhite), The Genesis Plays (The In[heir]itance Project), Anaïs Nin Goes to Hell (MTWorks), and The Fire This Time Festival 2015 (The Kraine Theater). They have worked on projects throughout the United States and internationally.
b
SAHIL
b (they/them/b) acts. This is their second BTB Theatre Festival. NY credits: AMERICAN (TELE)VISIONS (NYTW), TOROS (Second Stage), UNPRINCESS NON-BRIDE (MTC), SEVEN DEADLY SINS (Tectonic Theater Project), ADDRESSLESS (Rattlestick Theater), and two seasons at Clubbed Thumb Summerworks. TV: WECRASHED (Apple TV+), LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (Showtime), and WITCH MOUNTAIN (Disney+ Pilot). b can be heard playing Azera in the hit podcast BIRDS OF EMPIRE (QCode), Vanessa Garcia in ZERO TOLERANCE (Audible Originals), and as Janessa in LOVE IN GRAVITY (Harley & Co). Training: Juilliard.
Lío Mehiel (they/them)
DARREN
LÍO MEHIEL (they/them) made Sundance Film Festival history this year as the first ever trans actor to receive the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting for their performance in the critically acclaimed feature film Mutt, which made its world premiere at the festival. Lío’s leading role in Mutt also marked their big screen debut which has been critically acclaimed, earning them a feature in The Hollywood Reporter’s 2023 Pride Issue. Next up, Mehiel will star opposite Residente and Sasha Calle in the independent feature film In The Summers. An NYC Native, Mehiel is a Puerto Rican and Greek non-binary, trans masculine actor, writer, director, and artist, who began their career as competitive salsa dancer and child actor on Broadway. Recently, they have appeared in Netflix’s reboot of Tales of the City and WeCrashed for Apple+ opposite Anne Hathaway and Jared Leto.
Omari K. Chancellor
MAX
Omari K. Chancellor can be seen in Peter Farrelly’s film The Greatest Beer Run Ever on Apple+ after a world premiere at TIFF. Omari was seen in the world premieres of Soft by Donja R. Love and I Am a Walrus by MJ Kaufman at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. He has also appeared in amani for the National Black Theatre Off-Broadway as well as with UCB Los Angeles and Flappers Comedy Club. Chancellor is a 2021 graduate of the NYU Grad acting program.
Reed Northrup (he/him)
LUCAS
Reed Northrup (he/him) is an actor and writer based in Brooklyn. He is a graduate of Yale Drama's MFA Acting Program class of '22. Reed recently performed at The Guthrie Theater in the title role of THE LITTLE PRINCE and has worked at theaters such as Ars Nova, The Flea, Rattlestick, Ensemble Studio Theatre and more. FILM/TV: Javi in Adult Swim's TEENAGE EUTHANASIA, HBO's HIGH MAINTENANCE, and upcoming features RELAY starring Riz Ahmed and Lily James as well as a lead role in Kevin Smith's THE 4:30 MOVIE.
Vann Dukes (they/them)
Stage Directions Reader
Vann Dukes (they/them) is a New York based actor, dancer, writer, originally from the St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Currently, they are a resident actor in the Mercury Store Acting Pool, where they have workshopped new theatre and performance art pieces since November 2021. Some of their recent credits include A Long Time Since Yesterday (New Federal Theatre) and A Raisin in the Sun (The Public Theater). vanndukes.com