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Stephawn Stephens has become a recognizable presence as a local actor, singer, and director in the Metropolitan area theater scene. He is a native of Cleveland, Ohio where he received his formal training at the Karamu House, Cleveland State University, majoring in English and Music Education, and then also Bowie State University completing his studies in Musical Theater/Acting. In his professional endeavors, Mr. Stephens has performed at several local and well-known venues such as Arena Stage, African Continuum Theater Company, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Ford’s Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Round House Theatre, Theater Alliance, Theater J, Signature Theatre and Woolly Mammoth.
He is a member of Actors Equity Association and SAG/AFTRA unions. Throughout his career, Mr. Stephens has developed his craft, and gained invaluable knowledge and experience in theater and education. He believes in cultivating an atmosphere where undiscovered talent is trained and perfected. While building partnerships within the community through volunteering and his faithfulness to his church, Mr. Stephens has been touted by his peers as a “game changer.” He strives to help build and motivate cross-functional teams that exceed worldly expectations while marrying passion to purpose.
Paul is a Development Professional with over 27+ years experience bringing a wide range of knowledge to his work. Paul has worked for a number of arts organizations including GALA Hispanic Theater, the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts as well as held previous Board Chairman positions at the Cherry Fund and the BHT Foundation. Paul has also served as a grant reviewer for organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities, Humanities DC as well as for several DC Constituency offices including the DC Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs and the DC Mayors Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs.
Aakhu TuahNera Freeman is an actor, voiceover artist, writer and educator. She has performed throughout the Washington DC area (Arena Stage, The Kennedy Center, Theater J, Everyman Theatre, Olney Theater etc.), nationwide (The Kennedy Center Imagination Celebration Tours) and abroad (South Korea, Saudi Arabia). She has written and adapted stories for theatre summer camps (Encore Stage & Studio, Sugarfoots Performing Arts Camp) and charter schools (K.I.M.A), as well as teaching theatre in those venues. Aakhu brings decades of varied theatre experience to our organization.
Trixie Yifan Zhang is a highly skilled professional in the field of Performing Arts Administration, holding a Bachelor’s Degree from the China Conservatory of Music and a Master’s Degree from New York University. With a passion for the performing arts, she has actively contributed to the world of production and performance. Trixie has taken on diverse roles: Assistant production manager for the 2018 National Center of Performing Art production of Donizetti’s La Fille du Regiment; Marketing and PR Associate for the 2019 THEATRE TREFFEN IN CHINA of Die Odyssey, Trommeln IN Der Nacht; Production Stage Manager for the 2023 Ain’t Too Bad production of The Accidental Death of an Anarchist, and marketing director for the 2023 A Stage Theatre production of AWAKE.
A seasoned Lighting Designer with a passion for enhancing theatrical productions and contributing to the success of entertainment ventures. Seeking opportunities to leverage expertise in managing theater operations, designing lighting schemes, and mentoring aspiring talents in the performing arts industry.
In 2001, Adele Robey and her late husband Bruce founded The H Street Playhouse. The H Street Playhouse opened its doors in July 2002 with a production of The Colored Museum; following that the Playhouse was rarely dark. Our belief in both the important history and the future promise of H Street, NE ensured a steady stream of producing theater companies, ready to be a part of something new and exciting, ready to help rebuild a neighborhood. Because of the wide variety of highly regarded productions at the Playhouse, thousands of visitors traveled to the H Street Corridor. This helped produce a critical mass, jump starting commercial growth with new bars and restaurants eagerly taking advantage of the new foot traffic.
When the Playhouse opened, it was hard to find a cup of coffee anywhere along the corridor. Today the length of H Street is alive with new retail, an enormous variety of dining, music venues and exciting nightlife destinations. It truly has been a testament to how the arts are a basic building block for a vibrant, diverse community.
In 2012, Robey and her daughter Julia Robey Christian co-founded the Anacostia Playhouse and in late-summer 2013 the venue opened its doors in the Anacostia Historic District. The theater at 2020 Shannon Place, SE, is located in a place of both rich history and great promise, much as H Street was when we opened there over a decade ago. As a full time facility we see ourselves as uniquely positioned to serve our local community east of the river, while we work to introduce the neighborhood to members of other communities, thereby helping spur local economic development. Our exciting programming and diverse audience base is part of the movement to restore nighttime vigor to Historic Anacostia. With ample parking and multiple transportation options, Anacostia is uniquely poised to house a thriving arts and entertainment community.
The Anacostia Playhouse is both a rental facility as well as a producing organization. Our mainstage has 100-120 seats with flexible, reconfigurable seating. We have already hosted such respected companies as Theater Alliance (our resident company), Verbal Gymnastics, Pinky Swear, Scena Theater, Restoration Stage and Southeast Trinity on our stage and look forward to housing many other producing entities. Ongoing outreach efforts have resulted in partnerships with Ballou High School, Thurgood Marshall Public Charter School and Young Playwrights Theatre, all of whom had productions in our space. Between mainstage productions we host readings of new plays, jazz concerts, fundraisers and more. With an additional multi-function space, we can host rehearsals and community meetings, and long range plans include a roster of after school and summer activities and a technical apprenticeship program.
We welcome your input. Please give us your suggestions about what you think we should consider offering, both on stage and off. And if you have a creative or technical resume, please send it along. We do contract hires for many productions as well as for after school teaching positions. You can email it to Stephawn Stephens at info@anacostiaplayhouse.com or drop it by.