No one would accuse Clyde of having a soft heart. Sure, she hires former convicts for the greasy kitchen of her truck-stop sandwich joint, but she knows what they owe her and holds that power tight. Her line cooks might be stuck, but their hopes haven’t flickered out yet, fed by tentative connections and a fierce competition to create the perfect sandwich. Pulitzer-Prize winner Lynn Nottage’s sweet and savory comedy trades in wonder, Wonder Bread, and the healing powers of food.
Runtime: 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission
Read the program.
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 Clyde’s uses herbal cigarettes and atmospheric scents, which include natural and synthetic fragrance oils released through diffusers as well as live food preparation on the premises.
Please note: all performances of Clyde’s will be “Masks Recommended” events rather than “Masks Required.”
Clyde's is generously underwritten by Dr. Mark Epstein and Amoretta Hoeber.
Lynn Nottage is a playwright and a screenwriter. She is the first, and remains the only, woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice. On Broadway, Lynn’s plays include MJ the Musical (Tony nomination), Clyde’s (Tony nomination), an opera adaptation of her play Intimate Apparel (commissioned by and performed at the Met/Lincoln Center Theater), and Sweat (Pulitzer Prize; Obie Award). Her other work includes the musical adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's novel The Secret Life of Bees at Atlantic Theater Company; Mlima’s Tale at The Public Theater; By The Way, Meet Vera Stark (Drama Desk Nomination) at Second Stage and Signature Theatre Company; Ruined (Pulitzer Prize, Obie Award, Lucille Lortel Award) at Manhattan Theatre Club and the Goodman Theatre; Intimate Apparel (New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Play) at Baltimore Center Stage and Roundabout Theatre Company; and Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine (Obie Award) at Playwrights Horizons and Signature Theatre Company, as well as Crumbs from the Table of Joy; Las Meninas; Mud, River, Stone; Por’knockers; and POOF! She was a writer and producer on the Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It (directed by Spike Lee) and a consulting producer on the third season of Dickinson (Apple TV+). Her many awards include a MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship, a Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, a William Inge Theater Festival Distinguished Achievement in the American Theater Award, and she was an honoree at the inaugural Black Women on Broadway award ceremony. She is a graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Drama, and an Associate Professor of Theatre at Columbia University School of the Arts.
(As of June 2022)
Candis C. Jones is a New York-based theater director and former Washingtonian. Her selected credits include Cullud Wattah and Shadow/Land at The Public Theater, School Girls; or, The African Mean Girls Play at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Detroit ’67 at Signature Theatre, Celebrating the Black Radical Imagination: Nine Solo Plays at Williamstown Theatre Festival, 53% Of at the Alliance Theatre, Bitch at Page 73 Productions, Everybody at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, The House of the Negro Insane at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Pipeline at Detroit Public Theatre, The Wolves at American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Brother Rabbit at the New Black Fest, Name Calling at The Kennedy Center Page to Stage, morning in America at Primary Stages, and TEMBO! at the Zanzibar International Film Festival. She recently served as the Associate Director of Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway. Candis’s fellowships and awards include Women’s Project Theater Lab, Drama League Director's Fellowship, and the 2016 Lilly Award. She is an alumna of Duke Ellington School of the Arts and New York University. candiscjones.com.
(As of October 2022)
Dee Dee Batteast’s (she/her) recent regional credits include A Christmas Carol and Ohio State Murders at the Goodman Theatre; and Detroit ‘67 at the Clarence Brown Theatre, Virginia Stage Company, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Farmers Alley Theatre, and Indiana Repertory Theatre. Television credits include Chicago Fire, Shining Girls, and Chicago Med. She is currently adjunct acting faculty for Ball State University’s BFA program, where she teaches courses in beginning acting, auditioning, and one-person shows. She is also a proud alumni of Ball State (2007). In addition to acting, Dee Dee is a writer: her self-produced one-woman show No AIDS, No Maids enjoyed a successful run at the Capital Fringe Festival, where it received the Capital Fringe Honors for Favorite Show of Fringe and Favorite Solo Performance. Dee Dee received her MFA in acting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she spent three years as a company member of PlayMakers Repertory Company.
(As of February 2023)
Kashayna Johnson (she/her) is an actress, writer, and artist educator who is making her Studio Theatre debut. Her theater credits include School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play at Round House Theatre; Junk at Arena Stage; She A Gem at The Kennedy Center; for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf at Theater Alliance; and Romeo and Juliet at Prince George’s Shakespeare in the Parks. She can also be seen in season two of the Epix series Godfather of Harlem. Kashayna is a two-time Helen Hayes nominee who has trained with The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts (DC), British American Dramatic Academy (England), and most recently with Lena Waithe’s production company Hillman Grad (LA), as a Class of 2022 Acting Mentee through their Mentorship Lab. On social media @ShayLa_vie (Instagram).
(As of February 2023)
Quinn M. Johnson is a DC-based actor and artist. His theatre credits include Much Ado About Nothing, Our Town, and The Merchant of Venice at the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC); Red at Theatre Artists Studio; The Glass Menagerie at Fountain Hills Theater; Mother Courage and Her Children, The Changeling, and The Bacchae at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), and Hedda Gabbler at The Academy at STC. Quinn is an alum of RADA and The Academy at STC. On social media @q.m.johnson (Instagram) quinnMjohnson.com.
(As of February 2023)
Brandon Ocasio is an actor and creator based out of Queens, New York, who is making his theatrical debut in Clyde’s at Studio. He graduated from LaGuardia Arts High School and received his BFA in Acting from the Purchase College Conservatory. Brandon is an alumni of the National YoungArts Foundation and also of the Michael Feinstein Great American Songbook Initiative. Brandon can be seen on television in episodes of Blue Bloods, New Amsterdam, and Lioness. Brandon can also be seen in a national television commercial for Navy Federal Credit Union. On social media @brandonocasio (Instagram and Facebook).
(As of February 2023)
Lamont Thompson is making his Studio Theatre debut. Lamont currently resides in San Francisco but began his acting career in Atlanta with Jomandi Production Inc. He has worked in theatres all around the country including Cal Shakes, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Penumbra Theatre, Mixed Blood Theatre, First Stage (Milwaukee), and The Robey Theatre Company. His most recent work was playing Memphis in Two Trains Running at The Marin Theatre Company. Lamont has also spent two decades working in television. Television credits include The Resident, The Upshaws, The Lincoln Lawyer, Miracle Workers, 68 Whiskey, Snowfall, and NCIS: Los Angeles. He is an alumnus of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. His performance is dedicated to all those who aren’t “scared to make the hard choices” and to Miss Nadia, who inspires him every day to put happiness at the center of his choices.
(As of February 2023)
Lady Davonne (Andrea Gerald) is an actress, singer, teacher and songwriter. She has performed with numerous productions throughout the DC Metropolitan Area including Little Shop of Horrors (ArtsCentric), The Very Last Days of the First Colored Circus and Veils (Restoration Stage), and Use All Available Doors (Pinky Swear). She was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical by the Washington Area Theater Community Honors (WATCH) for her role as Celie in The Color Purple (Tantallon Community Players). Lady Davonne recently released her single, "So Good", available on all digital media outlets. She is a native of the DC Metropolitan Area and a graduate of Duke Ellington School of the Arts (Theater) and Howard University (Musical Theater, BFA). On social media at @ladydavonne.
Gaelyn D. Smith is an actor, writer, and producer born and raised in Washington, DC. She is making her Studio Theatre debut! Her theatre credits include How Old is a Hero? at the Smithsonian’s Discovery Theater, The Women of the Plums at the Howard Theatre, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When The Rainbow Is Enuf, Good Kids, and The Women at Syracuse University. She can also be seen in Chasing Viral, a short film she wrote and produced. When she is not on stage, she co-hosts the No Sleep Till Hollywood podcast (available wherever you get your podcasts). She received her BFA in Acting and her MA in Television, Radio, and Film from Syracuse University. On social media: @gsmittyyyy and @nosleepxprod (Instagram) @g_smittyyyy (TikTok). gaelyndsmith.com
Nicholas Gerwitz is an artist and educator. His theatre credits include The Tempest at Round House Theatre; The Winter's Tale, Julius Caesar, and The Cherry Orchard at The Academy at STC (Shakespeare Theatre Company); the world premiere of Lýkos Ánthrōpos by Bob Bartlett in a wooded clearing in central Maryland; and Secret Things at 1st Stage. He is a graduate of STC's The Academy.
Marlowe Vilchez (he/him) is an actor and HR professional in Washington, DC. He previously understudied at Studio for Curve of Departure; other area credits include, Historias at Source Theatre Company, Bad Jews at Greenbelt Arts Center, and Rage at Ambassador Theater. Marlowe received his BA in Theatre and Psychology from Hampen-Sydney College. On social media at @marlowejv15 (Instagram and Twitter).
Junghyun Georgia Lee is a Korean-born New York-based scenic and costume designer. Previous theatre credits include Kristina Wong, Sweatshop Overlord for New York Theatre Workshop (Drama Desk Nomination); and The Chinese Lady at The Public Theater. She has designed for Ma-Yi Theater Company, National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO), Soho Rep, the Play Company, The Alley Theatre, Guthrie Theater, Hartford Stage, Huntington Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, PlayMakers Repertory Company, and the Acting Company. She earned her MFA at the Yale School of Drama.
Danielle Preston is a costume designer based in Washington DC. She previously worked at Studio on P.Y.G. or the Mis-Edumcation of Dorian Belle. Off Broadway credits include Where Words Once Were at the Lincoln Center. Recent regional credits include Locomotion at Children’s Theater Company; School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play and The REALNESS at the Hangar Theatre; Quamino’s Map at Chicago Opera Theater; B.R.O.K.E.N. code B.I.R.D. switching at Berkshire Theatre Group; The Till Trilogy, Private, and Dear Mapel at Mosaic Theater Company; and The Joy That Carries You at Olney Theatre Center. Danielle received the 2022 OPERA America Tobin Director-Designer Prize for her costume design of Sweeney Todd. She holds an MFA in Costume Design from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829. daniellepreston.com On social media at @danielleprestondesign (Instagram).
Colin K. Bills (he/him) returns to Studio where he designed both the film and stage productions of Cock as well as An Iliad, Lungs, Circle Mirror Transformation, The Year of Magical Thinking, Stoop Stories, Radio Golf, Contractions, POP!, That Face, Autobahn, The Death of Meyerhold, The Who’s Tommy, Four, and Bat Boy: The Musical. He is a Company Member and Board Member at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company where he has designed over 50 productions including the recent production of Ain’t No Mo’. He was a founding member of the devised theater troupe dog & pony dc, serving as a director, writer, actor, and designer for a dozen new works including A Killing Game and Beertown. Colin is the recipient of a Princess Grace Award and three Helen Hayes Awards. He has taught design at Howard University and is a graduate of Dartmouth College.
Matthew M. Nielson returns to Studio, where his design and composition credits include The Remains, Hand to God, MotherStruck, The Real Thing, and Venus in Fur. DMV-area credits include Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, the Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Theater Alliance, Contemporary American Theater Festival, and The Smithsonian. Off Broadway credits include The Public Theater, Lincoln Center Theater, and 59E59 Theaters. Regional credits include Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Cincinnati Playhouse, Milwaukee Rep, Portland Center Stage, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Barrington Stage Company. Film and TV credits include Those Who Wait, The Hero Effect, Elbow Grease, From Hell to Here, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and Delivery.com. Matthew has received several Helen Hayes, regional theatre, and film festival awards for his sound design and composition work. curiousmusic.com
Deb Thomas was the Props Director at Studio Theatre from 2009 to 2019. Studio credits include set design for Terminus, assistant set design for Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, and props design for Heroes of the Fourth Turning, John Proctor is the Villain, and Pass Over, among others. Additional credits include Bars and Measures, The Till Trilogy, Marys Seacole, Birds of North America, Eureka Day, and Milk Like Sugar at Mosaic Theater Company; and The Tale of The Allergist’s Wife and Freud’s Last Session at Theater J. She was a sculptor and sculpture consultant for TLC’s DC Cupcakes, a set designer for the Washington Bureau of TV Tokyo, and did the original set design for Discovery Channel’s Puppy Bowl. In addition to working for all national networks, her work includes production design for Dolley Madison and art direction for Alexander Hamilton (both PBS American Experience), and set design for Discovery Channel’s Moments in History, “Jamestown: Against All Odds.”
Daphne Epps is a member of IATSE Local 798, wig designer, hairstylist, and natural hair and braid consultant. Her theatre credits include People, Places & Things at Studio; Nine Night, The Great Leap, and Quixote Nuevo at Round House Theatre; Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Toby’s Dinner Theatre; Into the Woods and The Wiz at Ford’s Theatre; The Color Purple, Rent, and Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity at Signature Theatre; Beauty and the Beast, The Music Man, Matilda The Musical, A.D. 16, and Sweeney Todd at Olney Theatre Center. Her film credits include Without Remorse, The Comey Rule, and Rustin (Netflix), The White House Plumbers (HBO), and Fellow Travelers (Showtime). Education includes Aveda Institute and The Wigs and Makeup Studio.
Raja Benz (she/her) is a transgender, Filipina-American theatre educator, intimacy professional, and cultural consultant. As an Intimacy Professional, she has worked on Swagger (Apple TV+), and with numerous theatres including Studio Theatre, Signature Theatre, Tectonic Theater Project, and Virginia Repertory Theatre. Raja is an assistant faculty member with Theatrical Intimacy Education, where she designed the courses "Working with Trans and Non-Binary Artists" and "Staging Intimacy Beyond the Binary". Raja currently works full-time as the Community Engagement and Outreach Manager for the Richmond Triangle Players and holds a MFA in Performance Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she now teaches coursework in movement, devising, and queer theatre.
Miriam Songster is enthusiastic about smelling things and about the role that scent can play in creating meaning. As an artist, she frequently uses scent in her installations and performances, such as GhostFood, At Home with Fox and Beaver, the Animal in general, and Stop and Smell the ____. While her most memorable shared scent experience was sleuthing with her dad to locate mold in a carpet, she promises not to use this odor in any of her art. Miriam’s work has been shown in the US and internationally. Learn more about her practice at songster.net.
Kate McLean is a designer, artist and mapper of human-experienced smellscapes. Her cartography (with accompanying smells) artworks include Smells of Auld Reekie, Scentscape Singapore, and Spring Scents & Smells of the City of Amsterdam. Her artwork has been exhibited internationally including the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; National Library of Scotland, and la Musée de la Main Lausanne. On social media @flakybrit (Instagram) and @katemclean (Twitter). sensorymaps.com.
Adrien-Alice Hansel (she/her) is the Literary Director at Studio, where she has dramaturged the world premieres of John Proctor is the Villain, I Hate it Here, Queen of Basel, No Sisters, I Wanna Fucking Tear You Apart, Red Speedo, Dirt, Lungs, and The History of Kisses, among others, as well as productions of English; People, Places & Things; Heroes of the Fourth Turning; The Hot Wing King; White Noise; Tender Age; Flow; Until the Flood; 2.5 Minute Ride; Cry It Out; Translations; Curve of Departure; Wig Out!; Straight White Men; Hedda Gabler; Jumpers for Goalposts; Bad Jews (twice); The Apple Family Cycle; and Invisible Man; among others. Prior to joining Studio, she spent eight seasons at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, where she headed the literary department and coordinated project scouting, selection, and development for the Humana Festival of New American Plays. She is the co-editor of eight anthologies of plays from Actors Theatre and editor of 11 editions of plays through Studio. Adrien-Alice holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.
Becky Reed is returning to Studio Theatre for her fourth production. Previous credits at Studio are P.Y.G. or The Mis-Edumacation of Dorian Belle, The Effect, and No Sisters. Select DC area credits include Sanctuary City at Arena Stage; P.Nokio: A Hip-Hop Musical at Imagination Stage; The Cerulean Time Capsule and the national tours of Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are In A Play!” and Me…Jane: The Dreams & Adventures of Young Jane Goodall with the Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences; Marjorie Prime and I And You at Olney Theatre Center; Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Signature Theatre; and Becoming Dr. Ruth, Everything Is Illuminated, and Copenhagen at Theater J. Select regional credits include The Crucible, Murder on the Orient Express, and August: Osage County at the Resident Ensemble Players; American Buffalo and A Skull in Connemara at Baltimore Center Stage; and Grey Gardens, Dividing the Estate, and The 39 Steps at Playhouse on the Square. Becky is a graduate of Auburn University.
Calleri Jensen Davis (James Calleri, Erica Jensen, Paul Davis) is a creative casting partnership of over 20 years. Current & Recent Broadway credits include Topdog/Underdog, The Piano Lesson, For Colored Girls…., Thoughts of a Colored Man, Burn This, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Recent television credits include Love Life, Queens, Dickinson, and The Path. Recent regional casting includes Yale Rep, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Theatre Under the Stars, McCarter Theatre Center & Bard at the Gate, and La Jolla Playhouse. They have received 16 Artios Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Casting. callerijensendavis.com
