Tour + Residency
Penn LGBT Scholar in Residence Cohort [2024]
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA
The Penn LGBT Center is thrilled to announce its three Scholars in Residence, all of whom are esteemed local entrepreneurs and activists within the city of Philadelphia. This year's selection is particularly resonant, reflecting the Center's commitment to fostering connections with queer professionals who embody the diverse fabric of our local community. This year's Scholars in Residence program aims to provide a platform for local voices and expand LGBTQ+ education beyond traditional boundaries. By incorporating these discussions into classroom settings, the program seeks to spark social change and cultivate allies across various communities, fostering greater awareness and understanding of LGBTQ+ identities and work.
Congratulations to TS Hawkins for being selected as part of UPenn's 2024 LGBT Center Scholar in Residence cohort! This residency will focus on stretching the boundaries of what the status quo or the nonprofit industrial complex believes is possible.
Rising Writers Cohort [2022-23]
Azuka Theatre, Philadelphia PA
Rising Writers offers playwrights the opportunity to work with established playwrights from Azuka’s New Page’s program as well as occasional staged readings, the possibility of limited edition print books, and even seeing their work produced in one of Azuka’s seasons. Azuka aims to aid in the professional and artistic development of a diverse group of playwrights. By providing professional feedback, a supportive yet challenging artistic community, and networking opportunities, we hope to provide the tools for underrepresented and underfunded artists to make their voices heard.
Developed by Co-Artistic Director Reva Stover, the Rising Writers Cohort includes TS Hawkins, Pratima Agrawal, Ang(ela) Bey, Boris Dansberry, Derrick Ju'Wan Ford, Mackenzie Kirkman, Noah Mannix, Imani Alyse Redman, Priyanka Shetty, and BJ Tindal!
Kaleid Theatre [2022]
CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA
Caring Package: experiments in love — a KALEID THEATRE mixxtape curated and written by Sarah Mitteldorf, Pratima Agrawal, Charlie Davis, Ro Gauger, TS Hawkins & Minou Pourshariati is a love note, soul siren song, and the ultimate "thank you" to a community of creatives near and far leaving it all on the stage (and page) for the world to experience!
Power to the Prompt [2021]
Painted Bride Arts Center, Philadelphia PA
We speak ourselves into existence. But, what happens when others of the world silence your tones to cacophony their worth? As part of the Painted Bride Art’s Center “Power to the Prompt" conversation, Community Capital: an Afrofuturism South Philly Walking Experience, curated and written by TS Hawkins & Lois Moses, illuminates an intersectional poetic expedition of sound and unearthing through the streets of South Philadelphia. Letting ancestors guide permeable possibilities, this self-guided walking tour opens multiple dimensions of storytelling that ignite the expansion of mind, body, and spirit! Journeying fixed and beyond, participants will have the opportunity to connect with intergenerational voices searching for an equitable community one neighborhood at a time!
National Black Theatre SOUL Producing Resident [2019-20]
National Black Theatre, New York NY
Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre (NBT), celebrating its 51st season, has selected four artists for the SOUL Series LAB (Liberating Artistic Bravery) Residency Programs, which is comprised of three signature programs: I AM SOUL Playwright Residency, SOUL Producing Residency, and SOUL Directing Residency. This year's residents are TS HAWKINS (SOUL Producing Resident), OYA MAE DUCHESS-DAVIS (I AM SOUL Playwright Resident), TYLIE SHIDER (I AM SOUL Playwright Resident), and DOMINIQUE RIDER (SOUL Directing Resident). Through the SOUL Series LAB, NBT strengthens the artistic relationship between historically Black theatrical institutions and cutting edge artists. It's a creative laboratory and home for Black artists and is dedicated to the acceleration and creation of innovative cultural production based on NBT's pedagogy. The goal of the program is to diversify the narratives, the points of access, and possibilities being developed and produced about Black lifestyle in American theatre.
TrailOff: Writer-in-Residence [2019]
Swim Pony Performing Arts, Philadelphia PA
TS Hawkins is a Writer-in-Residence at Swim Pony Performing Arts for TrailOff as THE RANGER! TrailOff will be a transmedial walking performance created by Swim Pony in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC), premiering June 2020 as a free-to-download mobile app. Central to the project are 10 original audio stories, inspired by paths within the region’s expansive Circuit Trail network. Each trail will feature an original drama that unfolds over a roughly 2-mile route, written by local authors who demonstrate both rigorous artistic practice and connections to communities traditionally underserved by environmental programming.
Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Residency [2019]
1812 Productions, Philadelphia PA
TS Hawkins continued work on They'll Neglect to Tell You, a piece that Hawkins first performed in 2015 as part of Painted Bride Art Center's The Souls of Black Folk Project. Hawkins worked with cultural historian and artist Lois Moses to grow They'll Neglect to Tell You into a full-length solo work with movement and multimedia elements. They'll Neglect to Tell You is a Philadelphia-rooted piece that explores and details the city's history, marginalized populations, and gentrification. Hawkins says the piece, "...artistically details the comedy and tragedy of having to learn how to thrive within the margins." Hawkins is an internationally recognized author, performance poet, activist, and playwright whose work #SuiteReality received the 2017 Surya Bonaly Award and debuted at Chicago's Goodman Theatre during the Black Lives, Black Words International Theatre Festival. Additionally, Hawkins' piece Cartons of Ultrasounds has enjoyed multiple Off-Broadway engagements.
Out of Exile [2019]
Theatre Exile, Philadelphia PA
TS Hawkins, Artist-in-Residence, for Theatre Exile’s new program initiative OUT OF EXILE! With workshops and outdoor performances, Out of Exile shares the voices and stories of South Philadelphia through the theatre experience. Workshops include theater games, automatic writing, scriptwriting, revision, and performance!
To Protect, Serve, and Understand [2016]
BAM & Irondale Ensemble, Brooklyn NY
Irondale has invited the New York Police Department to join with them in developing a community program that will use theatrical improvisation to build community and empathy between officers and the communities they are charged to protect and serve.
Souls of Black Folk pt.2 [2016]
Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia PA
A multidisciplinary group of artists working together to create new work inspired by Michelle Alexander’s award-winning book, The New Jim Crow. The book explores race-related issues specific to African-American males and mass incarceration in the United States. The resulting piece is a theatrical journey through the book using song, dance, poetry, and more. From this process, TS Hawkins wrote and performed Scorched Sanguinity.
Souls of Black Folk [2015]
Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia PA
W.E.B DuBois introduced the ideas of the color lines, the "two-ness" inherent in being a black American and the many other experiences and radical ideas of the human condition. Cara Blouin, LaNeshe Miller-White and the Painted Bride gathered a group of artists to reflect on Dubois' work through discussion, creation, and collaboration. During this process, TS Hawkins developed #rm2B and They'll Neglect to Tell You.
Puppets and Poets [2011 & 2012]
Alphabet Arts: Puppets and Poets, BAX, Brooklyn NY
Hybrid performances blending poetry and puppetry, two of the world's oldest and most diversely practiced art forms. Featuring an eclectic array of poets, puppeteers, musicians, and other artists. During this process, TS Hawkins developed Seeking Silence and Cartons of Ultrasounds.
