Finch Files: Feast of Resilience (2021)

I was blessed to co-host a Feast of Resilience in June with Crowded Fire Theater and Campo Santo. The day was a beautiful celebration of Black artists in the Bay Area in the spirit of tenderness after over a year of isolation. We gathered on a rooftop in Oakland to harness our collective Light as a creative portal into a future we already carry on our tongues and in our hearts.

The afternoon was hosted by the radiant Ryan Nicole, and featured dazzling shares from: Tongo Eisen-Martin, OYSTERKNIFE (Chibueze Crouch & Gabriel Christian), Troy Rockett, RashadxSoulNubian, and Brittani Sensabaugh; with a testimonial blessing from Ellen Sebastian Chang.

(photos: Adam Tolbert)

Our gathering was small in number due to Covid restrictions, thus it goes without saying that the genius of Black creatives/theater folks in the Bay Area far exceeds the number of people we could invite.

I am deeply grateful to Mina Morita (Crowded Fire), Sean San Jose & Joan Osato (Campo Santo) for listening to my vision around having a Black Feast and then putting all of their energy towards making it happen. The day was literally a dream come true.

Campo Santo and Crowded Fire discussed and shared Star Finch's first curated event as part of the National Playwright Residency Program from the Andrew Mellon Foundation.