A new theatrical production with music is coming to the Black Box Theatre this October. “Spell”, written and directed by Joseph L. Edwards, alumnus of Syracuse University’s Crouse College of Fine Arts will premiere at The Community Folk Art Center Friday and Saturday, October 24th and 25th at 7:30 p.m.. “Spell” set in ancient times, and also in the present centers around the love story of a warrior and a princess, who are reincarnated into the modern world as lawyers on opposing sides of a heated court battle. With the guidance of the ancestor spirit Imhotep the pair must unite before it’s too late. This thought provoking and dynamic staged reading invites audiences to reflect on our shared history, divisiveness, and the power of knowledge. You can purchase your ticket before the show by visiting Community Folk Art Center (Monday-Friday, 10:00 AM – 8:00 PM | Saturday 10:30 AM – 3:00 PM). Get to know the actors behind this enchanting story
Joseph L. Edwards As Wharton Tense : Syracuse native, Joseph L. Edwards is a playwright, director, and actor. His stage adaptation of the classic autobiography of Claude Brown’s Manchild In The Promised Land, originally produced at the American Place Theatre, was nominated for an AUDELCO Award for excellence in Black theater and was performed for more than twenty thousand students in New York City and internationally. Joseph won three AUDELCO awards for his critically acclaimed Off-Broadway production of FLY, also presented at the National Black Theater Festival in North Carolina and at the HBO Performance Space in Los Angeles. He has worked with Viola Davis, the late Chadwick Boseman, Chris Rock, and renowned actor and director Stephen McKinley Henderson, and has guest-starred on Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, Rescue Me, and the Netflix series Daredevil. He has also performed in the St. Louis Repertory Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol as the Undertaker, Fezziwig, Solicitor, as well as understudy for Scrooge. He is a 2022 Research and Development Grant recipient from the Arizona Commission on the Arts for his work, The Reparations Project, and wrote, directed and performed the hit one-man play Fly at the Community Folk Art Center in the Spring of 2023. He is thrilled to share the magic of “Spell” with the Syracuse Community.
Martikah Williams As Rina Mency : Martikah Williams, a graduate of the Stella Adler Center for the Arts Professional Conservatory, is a multidisciplinary artist/entrepreneur, teaching artist and arts administrator. She often shares her creativity in educational settings with youth including programs with 100 Black Men of Syracuse, Community Folk Art Center, New York Theatre Workshop and ArtsConnection. As a co-founder of Black Artist Collective CNY and sole founder of Mount Sai Productions, Martikah is most proud of her efforts in developing new works/programs that create paid opportunities for Black, Indigenous and People of Color artists which are rooted in social justice. Within these organizations she works as an artist, advocate, organizer, grant writer and producer. She advocates artists to have access to more funding opportunities and work in arts organizations that are committed to safe and equitable practices. Martikah’s hope is that through her work she will inspire action, intentionally creating more opportunities for independent artists and disenfranchised communities.
Rose Hays As Judge Nyles : Rose Hays (She/Her) is a CNY based actor, dance & fight choreographer, and stage manager. She’s incredibly excited to join the cast of Spell and return to singing on stage! Having graduated college on the tail end of the pandemic, Rose has been busy doing as much live theatre across the world as possible. Some of her favorite productions include Hamlet with Syracuse Shakespeare in the Park’s where she played Horatio and fight directed, The Book of Will with CNY Playhouse where she played Alice Heminges and fight directed, and when she toured Italy with a children’s theatre, performing four shows for different ages and playing such roles as Snow White, Megara, and Lady Marian!
Rose currently lives in Auburn with her mother, brother, two cats, and one leopard gecko. She and her friends Andie Sagatis and Jon Christiano recently founded Actors of the Round Table, a theatre company where they experiment with mixing live theatre and filmed productions. Keep an eye on their socials to hear about their film slated to release in 2026! Later this year, you’ll be able to see Rose in an Immersive Christmas Carol in Homer as Dilber, Belle, and Fred’s wife. When not doing theatre, you can probably find her procrastinating on whatever she should be doing by reading. Website: www.rosehays.com
Tony Brown As Imhotep : Tony Brown, a native of Boston, MA, has directed, choreographed, and performed with various theater companies throughout the region. He has an MFA in Acting/Directing from Syracuse University. Performance credit at Syracuse Stage includes “The Wizard of Oz” (Munchkin Mayor/General of the Winkies/Jitterbug). “A Raisin in the Sun” (BoBo), “Death and the King’s Horsemen” (Village Drummer). Syracuse Opera Co.. “Aida” (Lead Dancer), “Babes in Toyland” (Tom), the latter also with the Rochester Opera Co., Oswego Opera Theater, “Threepenny Opera” (Jake). He’s thrilled to be part of this project.
Mookey Van Orden As Narrator : Mookey is an artist, writer, educator, and activist in the Syracuse area. Most recently, her original piece was picked to be performed as a part of Red House’s Inaugural Babelfest. Locally, she has also directed Jesus Christ Superstar at Central New York Playhouse and Issues of Color at CFAC, along with assistant directing Lion King Jr at Thanasis, The Producers and Comb Your Hair (or You’ll Look Like a Slave). She has also worked on The Color Purple (BLAAC) and Fly (Joseph Edwards, CFAC) as stage manager. Mookey is passionate about storytelling, inclusion, justice and truth but -most importantly-about being a mother to her one year old.
Dr. Juhanna Rogers As Vera Brown : Dr. Juhanna Rogers is a native of Newark, New Jersey with family roots in Cross, South Carolina. Her upbringing in both places shapes her commitment to leadership in business, education and the arts. Dr. Rogers earned a bachelor’s degree in Integrative Arts from Penn State University – Altoona. In 2016, Dr. Rogers and seven of her peers made institutional history by completing their doctoral degrees at Indiana University simultaneously and are known nationally as the #Great8.
Today, Dr. Juhanna Rogers is a playwright, director, actress and business executive. Dr.Rogers uses her artwork and experience to address diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts inthe classroom, on campuses, and within organizations. Dr. Rogers’ playwriting and performance work expands the presence of BIPOC artists across mediums. Dr. Rogers also appeared in, “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf” at Auburn Public Theatre. She was invited as an artist to speak about the intersections of race and gender in theater at Syracuse Stage and appeared in for the 2021 Poetry and Play series at Syracuse Stage. In 2020 her play, A Gatherin’ Place, opened at Syracuse Stage. The play, done virtually, reviewed by critics as, “… powerful… proves you don’t need to physically be inside the Archbold theater to have an engaging theatrical experience.”
Currently, she is a scholar-artist in residence at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. From 2021 to 2023, she served as visiting artist at the Stone Quarry Hill Art Park located in Cazenovia, NY where she created the Queendom trail, wrote two plays and completed her MFA in playwriting from Goddard College. In 2018, Dr. Rogers created and produced a web series, Behind the Woman. Additionally, in 2019, Juhanna became creator, executive producer and host of Behind the Woman – a YouTube series she developed – in partnership with WCNY/PBS. The show airs across 19 counties in Central New York and is in its sixth season. She is a mother to Nile whom she loves dearly. She is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.
Dwan Hameed As Malik Johnson : Dwan is a Syracuse-based performing artist. He honed his craft at SUNY Oswego, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in theatre. He has showcased his talent in a variety of shows such as “Pippin”, “The Wizard of Oz”, “It’s A Wonderful Life”, “The Color Purple”, “Issues of Color”, and “No Exit”.Additionally, while studying at Lemoyne College, he acted in the Staged Reading“ Moving In Day”. Dwan is eager to continue expanding his creativity and making a lasting impact on the Syracuse performing arts scene.
Andrea Gregori As Charlotte Fairfax : Andréa Gregori recently made her Syracuse debut in Titanic, The Musical (Ida Straus) with CNY Playhouse. A professionally trained opera singer, she has performed regionally, nationally, and internationally, including performances at the Newport Music Festival and the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival. Most recently, she was seen in GYPSY (Rose) at the Ti-Ahwaga Performing Arts Center (TCP).
She holds an undergraduate degree in Voice Performance from Temple University and a master’s degree in Arts Administration from the University of Denver. By day, she works as a paralegal at Hinman, Howard & Kattell, LLP in Binghamton. She is also the Founder & Artistic Director of Theatre Street Productions.
James Magnarelli As Cornelius Bancroft : James has appeared in numerous productions across Central New York. Recent stage credits include Shakespeare in Love (Fennyman), A Few Good Men (Markinson), The Odd Couple (Speed), One Man, Two Guvnors (Charlie), 1776 (Hancock), Little Shop of Horrors (Mushnick), Lend Me a Tenor (Saunders), Laughter on the 23rd Floor (Val, SALT Award nomination), and Spamalot (Bedevere/ensemble) with CNY Playhouse. Additional performances include Fiddler on the Roof (Lazar Wolf) at Salt City Center for the Performing Arts and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Biggely, SALT Award nomination) with Auburn Players. In addition to his work on stage, James is a musician, an experienced vocalist, and is skilled in a variety of languages including Italian, Russian, Jewish, British, and Cockney.
Manning Harper As Twanda Thompson : Manning Harper is a Sophomore at Syracuse University with a dual major in accounting, TV, radio, and film. For fun, she enjoys film, photography, and watching movies.