Playwright Resident 2026–2027

“Angelique Motunrayo Folasade Àyìnkẹ́ C-Dina is a first-generation Afro-Indigenous theatrical storyteller and Black feminist joy enthusiast based in New England. They are a doctoral candidate at Northeastern University focusing on Black feminist narratives and performance-as-research. Her performance credits include: The Inferior Sex (Trinity Repertory Company), Soul Tapes (Brown/Trinity), An Octoroon (Gamm Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Gamm Theatre), and more. Their other accolades include: KCACTF finalist ’21, National Young Playwright semi-finalist ’21, Ronald McNair scholar ’22, Lime Arts Twenty by Twenty Fringe Playwright ’23, and Lin-Manuel Miranda fellow ’23, and Company One Volt Lab Playwright ‘24. She thanks God, her ancestors, and her Black and Brown Indigenous community for guiding her journey. Ashè, amen.”

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Project Statement

“RAYO:
My project is an extension of my dissertation, where I explore different performance modalities and gestures of collective care in free-liminal spaces that center the stories of Black women and femmes and make space for us to explore how we arrive at our joy!
This project is grounded in the wisdom of my ancestors, Black feminist artists and scholars, and real testimonies from myself and communities of Black women and femmes across New England and beyond. Utilizing Black feminist epistemology and performance-as-research pedagogy, I uplift our individual and collective memories through prescribed performance via co-performance witnessing, engaging audience members as witnesses and collaborators, not spectators.
This is not just theatre, this is ceremony.
These testimonies are the heart of the performance, and each performance is a site where Black women and femmes are cherished, and their testimonies are honored.
Ashe and Amen”