3rd & Palou
Dec 13th 7pm, Dec 14th 2pm
@ Bayview Opera House, 4705 3rd st. San Francisco(wheelchair accessible)
3rd and Palou is about a young woman and her friends coming of age in Hunters Point in the 1960’s amidst patriarchal constraints and political turmoil. Revolutionary stories permeated my San Francisco childhood. My Godmother is Ida McCray. Her story as a scholar, prison industrial complex survivor, educator and overall revolutionary, has long been an obsession of mine. Some of my favorite stories are set during the 3rd Street riots in Hunter’s Point. Receiving the Black on Both Sides grant from the Bayview Opera House, a central landmark during the 1966 riots, was a kismet beginning to writing Ida McCray’s story for the stage. KQED Article
-Biko
Courtney Williams
Ida
Courtney Gabrielle Williams is an actress, voice artist, and arts educator from Oakland, CA. A graduate of Fordham University with a B.A. in Theater, Courtney further honed her craft as an alumna of the Steppenwolf Conservatory Program and also trained at the London Dramatic Academy. Courtney is best known for her role as Young Cookie on Empire (FOX) and has appeared in a variety of TV and film projects including Blindspotting (STARZ), Soundtrack (Netflix), Chicago Med (NBC), and the acclaimed short film Civic noted in the New York Times as one of the best films of 2023 and can be watched on Criterion. Her extensive theater credits include work with prominent companies such as SF Playhouse, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, Shotgun Players, Aurora Theatre, PS 122, Clubbed Thumb, The Flea, Dixon Place, The Kitchen, and The Lark. Courtney's upcoming projects include FLEX, a new production set for 2026 at SF Playhouse. Instagram: @letcourtneytellit.
Donte Clark
Martin
Donté Clark is a poet, author, and playwright from Richmond Ca, who uses spoken word and performance as a healing space to shift culture and bridge community. Donte has written 3 stage productions, Te’s Harmony which is also featured in award winning documentary Romeo Is Bleeding, executively produced by Russell Simmons, followed up by Po’Boys Kitchen, and This is Home. He has released 3 collections of poetry. KNOWFREEDOM 2018, CLOSE CASKETS 2021, with his most recent collection,
PSALMS 2023.
Gyzelle Garcia
Lucille
Gyzelle Garcia is a global, multi-hyphenate artist and storyteller from Maryland. In addition to her passions for writing, music, and poetry, she has shared her talents on screen in both feature and short length films, commercials and campaigns. She is excited to experience and extend her talents to the stage in a new way and new place; the Bay Area is where she will make her theatrical debut with roles in Pac & Biggie Are Dead and 3rd & Palou.
Kenzell Love
Wardell
Bio coming
Cat Brooks
Betty
Cat Brooks is an actress, director, playwright, screenwriter and community organizer. She hosts KPFA’s Law & Disorder and is a resident artist with Tha Lower Bottom Playaz in Oakland. She trained at the Royal National Theater Studio in London. Notable roles include Lady Macbeth at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland and starring in her one-woman show ‘Tasha, about the in-custody murder of Natasha McKenna. Brooks has been nominated Best Featured Actress by the Bay Area Theater Circle Critics and ‘Tasha won Best of The SF Fringe in 2017. Her film Bottled Spirits about the violent consequences of gentrification in Black communities has been nominated for/won multiple awards including Best Narrative Short. She’s the co-founder and executive director of the Anti Police-Terror Project, whose mission is to eradicate police terror in communities of color. As an organizer, she played a central role in the struggle for justice for Oscar Grant, and has spent the last 17 years working with impacted communities and families to rapidly respond to police violence and radically transform the ways we define and implement public safety strategies. Cat was the runner-up in Oakland’s 2018 mayoral election, facing incumbent Libby Schaaf
Khary Moye
Peanut
Khary L. Moye is an actor originally from Brooklyn N.Y. His previous credits Include Fat Ham with S.F Playhouse, Two Trains Running with Marin Theatre Company, Toni Stone with A.C.T, Six Degrees of Separation with Custom Made Theatre and A Streetcar Named Desire with African American Shakespeare Company. He is Appreciative and Honored to being a part of telling this story. He is thankful to his family/friends and girlfriend for always being so supportive of his dreams. A special mention goes to his father Adrian Clements who always said, "In order to catch a dream, you have to chase one" Thank you Dad. You are missed.
Najee Joyner
Robinson
Najee Joyner is an actor and a writer hailing from Saint Stephen, South Carolina. He
currently resides in San Francisco, California where he has recently received his MFA in
lm acting at Academy of Art University. He previously received his Bachelor of Arts at the
University of South Carolina-Upstate with a major concentration in theatre performance
and a minor in lm studies. Najee has a deep desire for acting and believe that theatre and
lm is for everyone, it only requires a curious imagination. He last appeared on stage for the
African American Shakespeare Company as Vincentio in Taming of the Shrew
Ashley Raggs
Narrator
Ashley Raggs graduated from San Francisco Ruth Asawa School of the Arts. There she studied movement and ethnic dance, playwriting, Voice and Speech, Shakespeare, Directing, Periods and Styles, Script Analysis, Theatrical Literature, Commedia dell'arte, and Noh Theatre. She won 2nd place in the SF Ruth Asawa School of The Arts Shakespeare competition in 2007 and 2008. Some of her theatre credits include; Murder in The First on TNT, Chance on Hulu, Helen’s Last Love, and she performed in an indie film called “X” on Amazon Prime.