Project Description:
Potter's Exhibition, a new play, imagines the true story of virtuosic magician Richard Potter,
America's first Black celebrity. Adapted from the few accounts of his life and fused with the
myth and mystery Potter himself helped create, this magical afromythobiography tells the story of Potter's beginnings, ascent to fame, hardships, and legacy in a time when there were almost no Black performers. "Though we have no photos of Potter and little facts about his life, he, and all of the characters in this play, are real and complex, just like you."
Bios:
Kayodè writes impossible pieces that use language, pop-culture, and world history to investigate charged topics. His play, I AM NOT YOUR TEACHER, was produced at Shaking the Tree, Yale Cabaret, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and New World Theatre. His most recent play, Potter’s Exhibition, was originally developed with mentorship from playwright Josh Wilder, and is being further developed with Greenhouse Lab, The Playwrights Workshop, and Yale Cabaret.