'The Actor's Rap' Comes to The College of Wooster May 2

J Kyle Manzay's comedy about actors-turned-rappers to be presented in Kauke Hall

WOOSTER, Ohio - The Wooster Black Arts Festival will present a staged reading of J Kyle Manzay's new comedy, "The Actor's Rap", on Friday, May 2, at The College of Wooster. The performance, which is free and open to the public, begins at 8 p.m. in Room 308 of Kauke Hall (400 E. University St.). A reception will follow the reading. Manzay will also participate in a roundtable discussion about playwriting and acting in the pit of Lowry Center (1189 Beall Ave.) at 2 p.m. that day.

The play, which has been optioned for a commercial Broadway production, centers on a group of actors who kidnap today's hottest rapper in retaliation for the spate of rappers-turned-actors who have been stealing their roles. The reading will be directed by Sydney Chatman, a Chicago-based director, who will be on campus to work with a cast of student actors that week.

"The Actor's Rap" has received favorable reviews from critics and other actors. Wendell Pierce of HBO's "The Wire" said it was "the funniest play I've seen in years. I couldn't stop laughing." Tracie Thoms of CBS's "Cold Case" called it "deliciously smart, thought-provoking, and wickedly hysterical." Amsterdam News described it as "a very entertaining night," while Variety said proclaimed, "The comedy works."

Manzay is an accomplished stage and film actor, as well as a writer and producer. He has acted in 40 plays with starring roles in 30, including the title role in the Classical Theatre of Harlem's production of "Hamlet" and the role of vagabond Estragon in "Waiting for Godot," which was staged outdoors in the hurricane-ravaged Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. His recent film roles include the drug-dealing brother of Denzel Washington in "American Gangster" and a karate instructor opposite "Sex in the City's" Cynthia Nixon and rising child star Josh Hutcherson in the romantic comedy "Little Manhattan." He also starred in the prestigious Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's update of Franz Joseph Haydn's "The Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross."

A native of Dallas, Manzay earned a B.F.A in theater from Howard University, and an M.F.A in acting from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. His honors include the prestigious Village Voice Obie Award for Outstanding Performance in a Play for his role as Village in the Off-Broadway hit "The Blacks: A Clown Show." He has also been nominated for three AUDELCO awards, presented by The New York Audience Development Committee, Inc., a New York organization seeking to promote arts in the African-American community. In addition, he is a founding member of the Soul Rep Theatre Company and a member of the Classical Theatre of Harlem Acting Company.

Additional information about the staged reading is available by phone (330-263-2028) or e-mail (avalentine@wooster.edu).