Six Black students at the city’s worst high school wait out Friday detention, but no one can figure out how “College Bound Erika” ended up stuck here too. The rules are simple: a teacher has to sign their form before anyone can leave the room. But no adults have made it yet, so the teens fill their time by flirting, fighting, and forming plans for the long weekend ahead—until a more sinister probability comes into view. This gut-punch of a comedy interrogates how a racialized public school system fails its students by design, who gets the chance to escape it, and what they must leave behind to do so.
Runtime: 80 minutes with no intermission.
Read the program.
Please note late seating will be determined at the discretion of House Management.
In the interest of welcoming people with a wide range of needs and life experiences, Studio offers a bit of information on what you will encounter in the play. Use this information as it is helpful to you.
Environment Warnings: This production of Exception to the Rule includes the use of herbal tobacco, loud noises, flashing lights, and sudden darkness.
Exception to the Rule is generously underwritten by Amy Weinberg and Norbert Hornstein.
Dave Harris is a poet, playwright, and screenwriter from West Philly. Selected plays include Tambo & Bones (LA Drama Critics Award "Best New Play", TimeOut London "Best Plays of 2023,"), Exception to the Rule, and Everybody Black. His first feature film, Summertime, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was released in 2021. Selected honors include: the 2023 Horton Foote Prize, the Ollie Award, The Lorraine Hansberry Award and Mark Twain Award from The Kennedy Center, The International Commendation for The Bruntwood Prize, the Venturous Fellowship, and a Cave Canem poetry fellowship, amongst others. Dave has written feature and television projects for AMC (Interview With A Vampire), Netflix, Amazon (The Fortress of Solitude), and FX, amongst others. His first full-length collection of poetry, Patricide, was published by Button Poetry.
Miranda Haymon (they/she) is a Princess Grace Award-winning director and writer. Their recent directing credits include Mondo Tragic at National Black Theatre, In the Penal Colony at Next Door at New York Theatre Workshop, Really Really Gorgeous at The Tank, The Watering Hole at Signature Theatre (New York), and Exception to the Rule at Roundabout Theatre. Their film Sis (2023) screened internationally, winning The Emerging Black LGBTQ+ Filmmaker Award at NewFest; it was a part of the film program at the Whitney Biennial 2024. As a writer, Miranda most recently wrote Dylan Mulvaney’s Day 365 of Girlhood Live! at the Rainbow Room. Miranda’s commercial directing includes projects with e.l.f. Cosmetics, Progressive, Gucci, GARAGE Magazine, Dunkin’, and Spectrum. Miranda is a Resident Director at Roundabout Theatre Company.
Khalia Muhammad is an actor, writer, voiceover artist, and content creator originally from Memphis, TN. Exception to the Rule is Khalia’s Studio Theatre debut. Other theater credits include The Sensational Sea Mink-ettes at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and The Bluest Eye at Theater Alliance. She can also be seen in the feature film For What It’s Worth on BET+. On social media @khaliaimannn (Instagram). actorkhaliamuhammad.com.
Steven Taylor Jr. is a New Yorker with a mission to spread love, activism, and compassion through his art. His recent theatre credits include As You Like It and Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 at Carnegie Mellon University; Godspell at Pittsburgh CLO; Rent at The Connelly Theater; and Hood at a New 42 Studios workshop. He is a recent graduate of the Musical Theater BFA program at Carnegie Mellon University. On social media @steventaylor.jr (Instagram).
Jacques Jean-Mary is an actor, storyteller, dancer, and creative, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. His theatre credits include Death and The King’s Horsemen at the Shakespeare Theatre Company and 10 Seconds at Imagination Stage. Jacques can also be seen in a commercial for Snipes USA. Jacques is a 2023 graduate of Howard University with a BFA in Acting, including study at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford. During his time at Howard, Jacques performed in the Howard Players’ A Raisin in The Sun. For his senior showcase in DC, Jacques performed scenes from plays Passover and Follow Me to Nellie’s at Studio Theatre. On social media @jacques_22 (Instagram).
Shana Hill (Dasani) hails from New Orleans, Louisiana, and holds a BFA in Theater from Dillard University (2022) and an MFA in Performing Arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) (2024). Her theater credits include The Colored Museum, Gem of the Ocean, and her directorial debut with Pipeline at SCAD. Additional credits include Memphis and Dreamgirls with Rhodes and Rhodes Productions, and Romeo and Juliet and The Skin of Our Teeth at Dillard University Shana is making her professional debut with this production of Exception to the Rule. Shana has a deep passion for theater and brings her excitement and enthusiasm to the stage. She extends heartfelt thanks to Studio Theatre for this incredible opportunity.
Khouri St.Surin is an actor, CorePower Yoga sculpt teacher, college student, and Harlemite making his professional debut. Alongside his love for theatre, Khouri has also been seen in multiple TV shows including The Equalizer on CBS and Law & Order: SVU on NBC, as well as A Life List (Netflix), slated to come out later this year. He is currently in his junior year at NYU, pursuing a BFA in drama. On social media @khourist.surin (Instagram).
Sabrina Lynne Sawyer is making her Studio Theatre debut. Select DC-area theatre credits include The Sensational Sea Mink-ettes at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, The Winter’s Tale and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Folger Theatre, and a reading of Central Time at Mosaic Theatre. Other recent favorites include Henry IV Pt II at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, the Boston premiere of Chicken & Biscuits at the Front Porch Arts Collective (Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Play), and a national tour with the Olney Theatre Center-based National Players in A Raisin in the Sun and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She received her B.A. in Theatre (Acting) from the University of Southern California. sabrinalynnesawyer.com.
Craig Wallace returns to Studio having previously appeared in F**king A and Three Sisters. Other credits include Radio Golf, Ink, Master Harold and the Boys at Round House Theatre; Othello, Twelfth Night, and District Merchants at Folger Theatre; Our Town and King Lear at Shakespeare Theatre Company; Fences, Death of a Salesman, The Laramie Project, and A Christmas Carol at Ford’s Theatre; All the Way, The Great Society, and K2 at Arena Stage; Our Lady of 121st Street and Botticelli in the Fire at Woolly Mammoth Theatre; and Primary Trust and Angels in America at Signature Theatre. He also has appeared at Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville and Shakespeare Santa Cruz. He graduated from Howard University with a BFA and Pennsylvania State University with an MFA, and trained at Royal National Theatre, London.
Aysia Glenn is a recent graduate of Howard Universities Chadwick A.Boseman College of Fine Arts where she received her BFA in Theatre Arts with a concentration in Acting. Her credits at Howard include The House that will not Stand, The Vagina Monologues and Smoke & Mirrors (Howard Players One Act Play Festival), and has worked on tv/film projects including Netflix’s She's Gotta Have It (Seasons 1 & 2), BlacKKKlansman, & Be Truly Free (A Spike Lee joint with VEON). She was also a part of Arena Stage’s A Wrinkle In Time (Workshop). She is a member of the Howard Players as well as The National Society of Leadership & Success. Connect with her on Instagram @_aysia_monet_
Darien Weems is an actor, dancer, and software engineer with a passion for bridging the worlds of art and science. His theatre credits include Legally Blonde at City of Fairfax Theatre Company; Stop, Kiss at Theatre Southwest; Catch Me If You Can, Mamma Mia, and The Idiot Box at Carnegie Mellon University. Darien is immensely grateful to Studio Theatre for this opportunity and thrilled to be making his professional debut with Exception to the Rule.
Abdoul Lamine is an American actor with a captivating screen presence. Born in Senegal to parents of Mauritanian descent, he was introduced to the arts at a young age. He trained in American theater, dance, and jazz at performing arts school. With both French and American education, Abdoul is carving out his own space in the world.
Edmée–Marie Faal (she/her) is an artist and theatre maker in the Washington D.C. area. She is a graduate of American University’s Theatre Performance Program and the British American Drama Academy. As the 2019 Allen Lee Hughes Community Engagement and Outreach intern she was trained to co instruct Voices of Now, Arena Stage’s devised theater for social change program. Her local credits include Folger Theatre: Metamorphoses, Constellation Theatre Company: Orlando, and Imagination Stage: Corduroy, P.Nokio, Aquarium. She is very excited to be making her Studio Theatre debut! edmeemariefaal.com (ig edmee.marie)
Tony Cisek has most recently designed The Mountaintop at Alliance Theatre, Where the Mountain Meets the Sea at Signature Theatre, Blue at New Orleans Opera, Ink at Round House Theatre, The Color Purple at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) and Signature Theatre, Thurgood at People’s Light, Choir Boy at DCPA and ACT Contemporary Theatre, Toni Stone at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre and Alliance Theatre, and the premieres of Rubicon at DCPA and Tempestuous Elements at Arena Stage. His work has also been seen at Roundabout Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Indiana Repertory, Cincinnati Playhouse, Portland Center Stage, and the Kennedy Center, among others. Tony has received four Helen Hayes Awards and numerous other citations for outstanding scenic design, is a member of United Scenic Artists, and holds an MFA in Design from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. www.tonycisek.com
Brandee Mathies has been Studio’s Costume Shop Manager since 1994. He is a Helen Hayes-nominated costume designer for Nollywood Dreams and The Mountaintop at Round House Theatre. He has also costume designed Passover, Mother Struck, This Is Our Youth, The Year of Magical Thinking, Stoop Stories, The Rimers of Eldritch, A Number, The Syringa Tree, and Comic Briefs: Outstanding Contemporary Comic Writing for Studio Theatre, and Moth, Contractions, A Beautiful View, Crestfall, and Polaroid Stories for Studio 2nd Stage. Other DC-area credits include one in two; Birds of North America; Satchmo at the Waldorf; Hooded, Or Being Black for Dummies; Blood Knot; Eureka Day; Shame 2.0; Vicuna & the American Epilogue; and Inherit the Windbag at Mosaic Theater; and Pankr’ac 45 at Atlas Theatre. He also designed costumes for the film The AD-X2 Controversy.
Kathy Ruvuna is a New York-based sound designer and composer who designed John Proctor is the Villain at Studio. Other recent credits include Mary Gets Hers at The Playwrights Realm; Bernarda’s Daughters at The New Group; Amani at National Black Theatre; Dark Disabled Stories and Self Portraits (Deluxe) at The Bushwick Starr; Trouble in Mind and The Hot Wing King at Hartford Stage; What-A-Christmas! and Sweat at Alley Theatre; The Lion in Winter, Pipeline, and Radio Golf at Everyman Theatre; The Great Leap, I and You, and Read to Me at Portland Stage; Circle Jerk at Fake Friends; and In the Southern Breeze and Ni Mi Madre at Rattlestick Theater. She holds a BFA from The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
Sierra Young is a violence and intimacy director working in the DC/Baltimore area. Sierra is the Resident Violence and Intimacy Director for Mosaic Theater Company. She is an active member of the Society of American Fight Directors, Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. Recent Studio credits include The Colored Museum. Recent DC credits include JaJa’s African Hair Braiding and POTUS: or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive at Arena Stage; Little Shop of Horrors and Shout Sister Shout! at Ford’s Theatre; Merrily We Roll Along and Sweat at The Keegan Theatre; Confederates, one in two, and The Till Trilogy at Mosaic Theater Company; and King Lear at Shakespeare Theatre Company. On social media at @syoungfights (Instagram). sierrayoung.org.
Adrien-Alice Hansel (she/her) is the Literary Director at Studio, where she has dramaturged the world premieres of Problems Between Sisters, Good Bones, John Proctor is the Villain, I Hate it Here, Queen of Basel, Red Speedo, and Lungs, among others, as well as productions of The Colored Museum, Fat Ham, Fun Home, English, Curve of Departure, Wig Out!, and New Electric Ballroom, among many others. Prior to joining Studio, she spent eight seasons as a member of and then running the Literary Department at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and its Humana Festival of New American Plays. She is the co-editor of eight anthologies of plays from Actors Theatre and editor of 12 editions of plays through Studio. Adrien-Alice holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
John Keith Hall has stage managed many productions at Studio including The Colored Museum, At the Wedding, Espejos: Clean, Fun Home, English, Bad Jews, Choir Boy, Cock, Water by the Spoonful, Tribes, The Habit of Art, Torch Song Trilogy, 4000 Miles, In the Red and Brown Water, The History Boys, and The Road to Mecca. Other DC area credits include Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Olney Theatre Center, Signature Theatre, and The Kennedy Center. His regional credits include over 40 productions as Resident Stage Manager at the Barter Theatre as well as Shadowlands Stage, Virginia Musical Theatre, and Contemporary American Theatre Festival.
Jillian Cimini, CSA is a casting director for Roundabout Theatre Company and C12 Casting in NY. Select Broadway credits include & Juliet; Swept Away; Yellow Face; The Great Gatsby; I Need That; Almost Famous; Jagged Little Pill (tour); Caroline, or Change; The Ferryman; Groundhog Day; Fun Home; Matilda; Cabaret; and American Idiot. Select off-Broadway credits at Roundabout include Jonah, The Wanderers, Exception to the Rule, and ...what the end will be.
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