No Dream Deferred presented a The Defiance of Dandelions Pre-Show Talk livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network on this page on Friday 2 June at 5 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) / 7 p.m. CDT (New Orleans, UTC -5) / 8 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).
Featuring Michele Seymour, Philana Imade Omorotionmwan, and Lauren Turner Hines
This pre-show discussion was facilitated by Michele Seymour of Project Butterfly New Orleans, Playwright, Philana Omorotionmwan, and Producing Artistic Director of No Dream Deferred, Lauren Turner Hines. They address important themes and takeaways that were present in The Defiance of Dandelions.
Philana Imade Omorotionmwan (fih-lah-nuh ih-muh-day o-more-o-tune-wha) is writing to save her body and spirit from a world that seems hell-bent on destroying them.
Her plays include Before Evening Comes, The Defiance of Dandelions, Fireflies, and Strong Face, or Misogynoir. She appeared on the 2019 Kilroys List and was a 2018-19 Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellow. Her work has been developed and/or presented at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Br!nk New Works Festival, La MaMa Experiments Series, Geva Theatre Center, and Athena Project Festival. She has been a semifinalist for the Relentless Award, P73 Fellowship, and Many Voices Fellowship, as well as a two-time Heideman finalist, and a finalist for the Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship, the Theatre503 Award, and the Playwrights Realm's Scratchpad Series. Her short plays have been commissioned and/or produced by Ensemble Studio Theatre, Pillsbury House + Theatre, and Ohlone College. Her poems have been published in New Delta Review and African American Review; she has been the recipient of residencies at Djerassi and the Atlantic Center for the Arts.
Originally from Baton Rouge, Philana earned a BA in English from Stanford University and an MFA in Playwriting from OU. She currently resides in New Orleans.
About our facilitator:
Michele D. Seymour is an educator and youth development professional with over 13 years of experience in Community Education and Youth Development. She is the new Executive Director of Project Butterfly New Orleans after being its Associate Director for 11 years. Project Butterfly New Orleans is an African-centered rites of passage program that provides mentoring and culturally-rooted programming to prepare girls and non-binary young people of African descent to transition from adolescence to adulthood. Since its inception in 2009, Project Butterfly has served over 400 young people across the greater New Orleans region. She is a life-long resident and learner of New Orleans, earning her B.A. from Loyola University New Orleans. Michele's work in healing-centered design in youth development and education has been acknowledged nationally by organizations like Black Education for New Orleans, SXSW Education, and The Aspen Insitute. In addition to her work with Project Butterfly, she is the current Reengagement Center Director of the New Orleans Youth Alliance and a member of the AfroFuturist Krewe NOLA.
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