Starting June 19 attendees this year will be able to dive into all aspects of theater for when the festival takes over the District of Columbia for ten days.

The ten day festival is divided up into five categories consisting of workshops and stage performances.

Attendees will have the opportunity to see full length plays in three categories: Traditional, Urban and Gospel. This year only 100 plays were selected out of the 300 submissions and will introduce audiences to emerging playwrights and enjoy the works veterans such as August Wilson.

One of this years anticipated performances will be from Vanessa Bell Calloway in Letters from Zora in her Own Words.

Washington DC is home to one of the largest deaf and hard of hearing populations in the United States. This year for the first time the festival will partner with these unique artist and writers to give hearing audiences an in depth look into deaf culture.

Acting workshops, for stage and film,will offer actors ranging  from beginning to professional the opportunity to better their skills with workshops ranging from auditioning tips to improv classes.

Workshops in stage makeup, set design and costumes will also be offered to those who want to make magic behind the scenes.

Competition will take place at the festival in the form of the Director’s Challenge.

Aimed to highlight the creative process of directing the Director’s Challenge five directors are randomly chosen and blindly given a script for play to cast and direct within ten days. Each play is no longer than 25 minutes and will certainly put budding directors to the test.

Serving as an incubator for dramatic works the New Works Reading Series will provide emerging and established playwrights the chance to see their work on stage and collaborate with other professionals and engage in audience discussions. This is one of the free festival events, but those interested in attending must register and reserve a seat.

DC Black Theatre Festival take place from June 19 until June 28 and tickets can be purchased here.

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Broadway Black {BB}: What is your connection to Sylvester and how did you become a collaborator for Mighty Real: A Fabulous Sylvester Musical?

Sheryl Lee Ralph {SLR}: I’m so excited to be here and doing this show because as a young Dreamgirl on Broadway, I knew Sylvester back in the day. Sylvester was there in all of his fabulosity, loving the show. He was always giving one message: don’t be more fabulous than me! But it was always and only with love so, for me, it was a great thing. We lost Sylvester far too soon and way too early to AIDS. It was very sad. He left New York, he was back in California and it was just a sad, sad loss of an incredible talent.

When I met (co-directors and co-producers) Kendrell (Bowman) and Anthony (Wayne, who also stars as Sylvester), it was a cold morning in Philadelphia. They had their package together with an idea. I took the meeting with my son and at the end he said, “You know, Mom, I really think this is something you should do.” I just followed his direction, we did it and that was almost two years ago. We were just nominated for one of the Best Off Broadway Musicals by the Off Broadway Alliance, along with Hamilton. Hamilton ended up winning, but I feel very strongly that this is not the last stop on the road. We’re really headed toward getting ourselves toward Broadway.

BB: How does Mighty Real: A Fabulous Sylvester Musical coalesce with The D.I.V.A. Foundation that you founded, which focuses on generating resources and coordinating activities to create awareness of and combat against HIV/AIDS?

SLR: I believe in testing. My friends died under stigma, shame and silence in the 80s. When it came to HIV/AIDS, nobody wanted to talk about it. Sylvester spoke out. Sylvester found his voice, had his voice, used his voice. Sylvester in this reincarnation of his life {through the musical}, encourages people to go out, get tested, love themselves, embrace themselves, respect themselves enough to put themselves first. Get tested.

BB: How has Sylvester’s story withstood the test of time?

SLR: Sylvester would want everyone to know how FABULOUS he was and remains in our memory. How much his music is still listened to today. He is still very much alive because his music lives. Long before there were a lot of people that we are looking at now, he was doing those braids, he was doing those beads, he was doing that big hair. Because, you know, the bigger the hair, the closer to God. He really had his finger on the pulse of fashion, of culture. He was always pushing the envelope. Sylvester would have been close to 70 years old today.

BB: You have had a successful career whether on stage, on TV, or in film. What is the secret to your longevity?

SLR: For me it’s all about redefining myself, recreating myself, living my joy. I love being on stage, center stage. But I also really love having my finger on the pulse that keeps that wheel moving forward. I am especially proud and happy any time I can be a part of seeing a more diverse group of faces on Broadway. It is a shame that there is an industry out there in which we are just not given as many chances as we should to be able to work. Too often, when the chances come up, it is from a production that is all of us {an all-Black production} or all about us, that people don’t understand the power of diversity as much as I think they should.

BB: You found success on Broadway as the original Deena Jones in Dreamgirls, for which you were nominated in 1982 for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Tell us about the grueling demands of being on stage.

SLR: In order to be on stage, it must be a project that you absolutely cannot live without doing. You’re dedicating yourself to 6 or 8 performances a week, and that is a lot. No matter what happens, the amount of energy that you put into a show is significant. It’s something that Brandy is learning right now doing Chicago on Broadway, which I’ve got to go and see before it closes. It’s a huge lesson to commit yourself to getting your body, your vocals in order, your head in order, to do what it takes to do a show 6-8 times a week.

BB: After this one-night only show at Washington DC’s Howard Theatre, what’s next for Mighty Real: A Fabulous Sylvester Musical?

SLR: We may do one more city like “HotLanta.” These are what we consider paid, working workshops of the show. We’re using every opportunity to be on the road, to redo the show, to look at those things that really work. We will hold on to those things and then hone and fill out the other spaces where we think the show can grow. Right now we’ve got an incredible 90-minute piece, but we want a piece that can live like Hedwig and the Angry Inch. We want that kind of a show that can win the awards.

BB: What should Broadway Black stars take away from Mighty Real: A Fabulous Sylvester Musical?

SLR: We want people to support us. We want people to talk about us. We want all of those folks out there who have ever thought about or dreamed about becoming a Broadway producer; we want them to bring that money to us. That’s how everybody else does it: they find their circle, their friends, their supporters. That’s what we want to do: find our circle, our friends, our supporters. Find where the money is, so that we can do an incredible show and take it to Broadway.

I really want them to support this show. I want them to know that when they hear Mighty Real, that they are going to have a mighty good time. Everyone that saw the Abba musical, they got up, they stood, they cheered, they danced in the middle of the aisles. This is that kind of show. All to the memory of someone who deserves to be remembered. We need their help. We need people to come out and support theater.

Follow @FabSylvester on Twitter to learn if a performance will be coming to your city. In addition, on August 22, DIVA’s Simply Singing will have its 25^th Annual kick-off at the Dell Music Center in Philadelphia. On October 24 in Los Angeles will be the 25^th Anniversary of the longest running musical AIDS benefit in the country, DIVA’s Simply Singing.

The post Exclusive: Sheryl Lee Ralph Talks Mighty Real appeared first on Broadway Black.