{"id":99898,"date":"2023-04-27T09:45:28","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T13:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/?post_type=bu-article&p=99898"},"modified":"2023-04-27T09:45:30","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T13:45:30","slug":"nathan-alan-davis-dontrell-who-kissed-the-sea-opens-at-cfas-studio-one","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/news\/articles\/2023\/nathan-alan-davis-dontrell-who-kissed-the-sea-opens-at-cfas-studio-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Nathan Alan Davis\u2019 Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea Opens at CFA\u2019s Studio ONE"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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Talia Sulla (CFA\u201923) (left) and Jaden Bridges (CFA\u201925) rehearse a scene from Nathan Alan Davis\u2019\u00a0Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea.\u00a0<\/em>Davis is head of BU\u2019s 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\u2019s Studio ONE April 27 to 30. Photo by Will Chapman (COM\u201926)<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t

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Production celebrates playwright\u2019s appointment as head of BU\u2019s MFA playwriting program<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n
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April 27, 2023<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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This article was first published in BU Today<\/a><\/em> on April 26, 2023. By Molly Callahan<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Excerpt<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Nathan Alan Davis has gotten comfortable traveling. He\u2019s had to: as head of Boston University\u2019s MFA in Playwriting Program<\/a>, he\u2019s stationed in Boston, but with one of his plays (Eternal Life Part 1<\/em>) going up at the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, Davis needs to be there, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s not all. In February, another of his plays, The High Ground<\/em>, was running at Arena Stage<\/a> in Washington, D.C. In May, rehearsals will start for his play Origin Story<\/em> at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. And, in the fall, New York City\u2019s Tony Award\u2013winning Roundabout Theatre Company\u2014which has produced a number of on- and off-Broadway shows\u2014will produce the world premiere of Davis\u2019 trilogy, The Refuge Plays<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nathan Alan Davis, head of BU\u2019s MFA in Playwriting program and CAS assistant professor of the practice of playwriting, joined the University last fall. In honor of his arrival and appointment, students in the School of Theatre are producing one of his most beloved plays,\u00a0Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea<\/em>. Photo by Jackie Ricciardi<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

So, it\u2019s no surprise that when\u00a0Davis<\/a>\u00a0calls to tell\u00a0BU Today<\/em>\u00a0about the play that BU School of Theatre<\/a> is producing, he\u2019s on a train.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really exciting,\u201d Davis says of his in-demand oeuvre, \u201cbut it\u2019s a lot! I am getting better at working on Amtrak, though.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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,\u00a0Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea<\/em>. The four-day run opens on April 27 at CFA\u2019s Studio ONE.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to have Nathan Alan Davis teach with us and create with us at BU,\u201d says Susan E. Mickey<\/a>, director of the School of Theatre and a CFA professor of costume design. \u201cHis 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\u2019s great playwrights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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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\u2019s thrilling, it\u2019s exhilarating, it\u2019s wonderful, and we try to give the writers at BU the opportunity to experience that, too.<\/div>