Nathan Alan Davis’ Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea Opens at CFA’s Studio ONE
Talia Sulla (CFA’23) (left) and Jaden Bridges (CFA’25) rehearse a scene from Nathan Alan Davis’ Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea. Davis is head of BU’s playwriting program and College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of the practice of playwriting. The production, directed by Malika Oyetimein, College of Fine Arts School of Theatre lecturer, is running at CFA’s Studio ONE April 27 to 30. Photo by Will Chapman (COM’26)
Nathan Alan Davis’ Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea Opens at CFA’s Studio ONE
Production celebrates playwright’s appointment as head of BU’s MFA playwriting program
This article was first published in BU Today on April 26, 2023. By Molly Callahan
Excerpt
Nathan Alan Davis has gotten comfortable traveling. He’s had to: as head of Boston University’s MFA in Playwriting Program, he’s stationed in Boston, but with one of his plays (Eternal Life Part 1) going up at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, Davis needs to be there, too.
That’s not all. In February, another of his plays, The High Ground, was running at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. In May, rehearsals will start for his play Origin Story at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. And, in the fall, New York City’s Tony Award–winning Roundabout Theatre Company—which has produced a number of on- and off-Broadway shows—will produce the world premiere of Davis’ trilogy, The Refuge Plays.
So, it’s no surprise that when Davis calls to tell BU Today about the play that BU School of Theatre is producing, he’s on a train.
“It’s really exciting,” Davis says of his in-demand oeuvre, “but it’s a lot! I am getting better at working on Amtrak, though.”
Davis, who is also a College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of the practice of playwriting, joined the University last fall. In honor of his arrival and appointment, students in the College of Fine Arts School of Theatre are producing one of his most beloved plays, Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea. The four-day run opens on April 27 at CFA’s Studio ONE.
“We are thrilled to have Nathan Alan Davis teach with us and create with us at BU,” says Susan E. Mickey, director of the School of Theatre and a CFA professor of costume design. “His work challenges, moves, and inspires us to be and do better. We embraced and welcomed this play into our season as a gesture of welcome and embrace for Nathan into our community. Being a student at BU means being around world-class artists. I hope the students will take advantage of the opportunity to see the work of one of today’s great playwrights.”
One of the reasons I love playwriting so much is that feeling of seeing your work embodied by actors and seeing an audience respond to it. It’s thrilling, it’s exhilarating, it’s wonderful, and we try to give the writers at BU the opportunity to experience that, too.
For Davis, seeing his work on its feet is an experience that “never gets old,” and one that he’s excited to cultivate for his playwriting students.
“One of the reasons I love playwriting so much is that feeling of seeing your work embodied by actors and seeing an audience respond to it,” he says. “It’s thrilling, it’s exhilarating, it’s wonderful, and we try to give the writers at BU the opportunity to experience that, too. Writing is a solitary act, but theater is a very collaborative art form. So, the play that comes out is this combination of one’s own private thoughts with the artistic talent and creativity of your collaborators. It’s a really incredible thing.”