Join us for “A Conversation with members of the cast and creative team of Toni Stone”

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This special event is in support of the West Coast Premiere of the Off-Broadway production of Toni Stone at A.C.T.’s Geary Theater:

Written by Lydia R. Diamond

‍Directed by Tony Award winner Pam MacKinnon

‍Choreographed by Camille A. Brown

MAR 5 – MAR 29

“I play with ‘the big boys.’ Only ever did play with boys, even when I was a little girl.”—Toni Stone‍

Toni Stone dreams of nothing but baseball. But to become the first woman to play professionally with men as a member of the Negro League’s Indianapolis Clowns, she must confront hostile crowds, ruthless team owners, and players who slide spikes first. As she negotiates life’s challenges and opportunities on and off the field, Toni stays true to herself and reaches for who she can be.

In this new play, playwright Lydia R. Diamond (Broadway’s Stick Fly and Showtime’s The Affair) uncovers the theatrical journey in Martha Ackmann’s book, Curveball: The Remarkable True Story of Toni Stone. The culmination of a seven-year collaboration between Diamond and director Pam MacKinnon, Toni Stone is the extraordinary, real-life story of a trail-blazing Bay Area athlete.

“One of the best players you have never heard of”—Negro Leagues Baseball Players Association

“Best New Play of 2019”—The Wall Street Journal

‍“Critic’s Pick! Astonishing, dancelike movement by Camille A. Brown”—The New York Times

‍“A provocative story of grit and determination”—Newsday

‍DAWN URSULA makes her A.C.T. debut as Toni in Toni Stone. A resident company member with Everyman Theatre for 11 years, she most recently appeared as Mame in Radio Golf. Also an 11-year resident company member with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, she most recently appeared as Madre Maria in Botticelli in the Fire. Other credits include Ruth in A Raisin in the Sun with Arena Stage, the Angel in Angels in America Parts One & Two with Round House Theatre and Olney Theatre Center, and Grace Kumalo in Lost in the Stars with Washington National Opera.

On-camera credits include Isabella in Prince Among Slaves (PBS) and Mrs. “Bunny” Colvin on HBO’s The Wire. (she/her)

dawnursula.com

‍PAM MACKINNON is celebrating her second season as A.C.T.’s artistic director. She is a Tony, Drama Desk, and Obie Award–winning director, having directed upwards of 70 productions around the country, off Broadway, and on Broadway. Her Broadway credits include Beau Willimon’s The Parisian Woman (with Uma Thurman), Amelie: A New Musical, David Mamet’s China Doll (with Al Pacino), Wendy Wasserstein’s The Heidi Chronicles, Edward Albee’s A Delicate Balance , Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle nomination), and Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park (Obie Award, Tony and Lucille Lortel award nominations).

Her most recent credits include Bruce Norris’s Downstate (Steppenwolf Theatre Company, London’s National Theatre), Lydia R. Diamond’s Toni Stone (Roundabout Theatre Company), and Testmatch and Edward Albee’s Seascape at A.C.T. She just completed a three year term as executive board president of the Stage Directors & Choreographers Society. She grew up in Toronto, Canada, and Buffalo, New York.

‍JAY STATEN started his dance training at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC. He has a BFA from Marymount Manhattan College and trained at the Rock School of Dance Education and Washington School of Ballet. Staten has danced with Donald Byrd's Spectrum Dance Theatre, was a principal with the Philadelphia Dance Company, and currently dances for Camille A. Brown and Dancers. His credits include the international tour of the musical Virtuosity, Dreamgirls at Dallas Theatre Center, and After Midnight on Broadway.

He is the assistant choreographer to Brown for the production of Toni Stone (Roundabout Theatre Company, A.C.T., and Arena Stage).