January 7, 2019
On Friday, February 22, 2019, the Shaker Arts Council (SHAC) will present Conversations in Courage: A Theatrical Performance of The Meeting, a fictional conversation between Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The reading will star Peter Lawson Jones as Malcolm X and Greg White as Martin Luther King, Jr. and will be directed by Monica Lee Boone. The performance will be held at Heights Christian Church, 17300 Van Aken Blvd., Shaker Heights, OH 44120. The evening begins at 7:30 pm, and tickets are $15 for students and $25 for adults. SHAC members receive a $5 discount. For reservations and more information call 216.916.9360. Tickets also can be purchased at www.shakerartscouncil.org.
Mr. Jones, a member of SAG-AFTRA and Actor’s Equity, has appeared in nearly 20 films as well as on network television. His drama, The Family Line, has been successfully produced at Karamu Performing Arts Theatre. His most recent play, The Bloodless Jungle, has enjoyed two full productions at Ensemble Theatre in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and has received staged readings in Washington, D.C. (John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2016 Page to Stage New Play Festival), at the Dallas Convention Center (Black Academy for Arts and Letters Playwright's Spotlight Series), at the 2017 National Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and in Harlem. In his capacity as a business consultant, he works in the areas of government relations, community engagement, event planning, fundraising and fatherhood programming. From February 2002, through December 2010, Mr. Jones served as a member of the Board of Cuyahoga County Commissioners and for three of those years as its president. He previously served two and one-half terms in the Ohio House of Representatives and was the Vice-Mayor and a Councilman for the City of Shaker Heights, Ohio. Mr. Jones has received over 50 awards and honors for his governmental, civic and political work.
Greg White Jr. is a Cleveland actor and director who has been performing in the Cleveland area for a decade. Among his credits, he has performed the title character of Jelly Belly at Ensemble Theatre, two characters in Lisa Langford’s The Art of Longing at the Cleveland Public Theatre and has played the role of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman both at True North Theater and Ensemble Theatre. In 2015, Mr. White was recognized as Best Actor in Scene Magazine for his performance of Thurgood Marshall in Thurgood and for Superior Achievement by the Cleveland Critics Circle for his performance of Chris Christopherson in Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie. Mr. White directed Slow Dance on the Killing Ground at Ensemble Theatre.
Monica Lee Boone has theatrical acting, directing, technical and management experience, having previously worked with Play House Square, Tri-C Jazz Fest, Accord Associates, The Cleveland Play House and Karamu Theatre. Monica was the Educational Coordinator for the opera Blake, the teen domestic violence play him, and an anti-drug play Holiday Heart; all projects used theatre as a way to educate area school students. Ms. Boone is a Shaker Arts Council Board member, founder of IMAGINE Institute against Teen Domestic Violence, and a member of Rising Phoenix, the Moreland Neighborhood's theater group in Shaker Heights. She is a longtime advocate for the importance of community theatre in its ability to promote unity and creativity within an accepting environment.
Shaker Arts Council's Conversations in Courage is made possible in part by state tax dollars allocated by the Ohio Legislature to the Ohio Arts Council (OAC). The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically.