Nambi E. Kelley

Playwriting:

Ms. Kelley’s productions span New York, Chicago, St. Louis, and Los Angeles.  Commissioned work includes projects at The Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, The Arts Club of Chicago, Health Works Theatre (Chicago), and Unibooks Publishing Company (South Korea).  Professional Writing Affiliations include: Steppenwolf Theatre Company, New Plays Lab Playwright-In-Residence, Goodman Theatre/Ellen Stone Belic Institute/ Fellowship Recipient, Goodman Theatre Lila Wallace Fellowship, La MaMa Playwrights Symposium Playwright-In-Residence, Spoleto, Italy under the tutelage of Pulitzer prize winner Lynn Nottage,  Ragdale Foundation Residency Selection Committee, Ragdale Foundation Artist in Residence, HealthWorks Theatre Colonel Stanley McNeil Playwright-In-Residence,  Chicago Dramatists Playwright-In-Residence, Danny Glover’s Robey Theatre Co. Playwriting Lab (Formerly The Blacksmyths At The Mark Taper Forum), and MPAACT Playwright-In-Residence, Chicago.  Special Writing Awards/Nominations include: Black Ensemble Theatre Playwriting Award  for the Black Playwrights Initiative 2009, 3 Arts Fellowship 2009, TCG Playwrights Residency Nomination at Goodman Theatre,  Ignition New Plays Festival by Artists of Color, Victory Gardens Theatre, Finalist;  Chesterfield Writing Project Fellowship at Paramount Pictures, Finalist; O’Neill Playwrights Conference Nomination; Act Theatre/Seattle Repertory Nomination For Women’s Playwright Festival; Williams College Stalwart Originality Playwright-In-Residence; 2 Prop Thtr New Plays Festival Awards, and Peace Maker Of The Year Award, The Peace Museum And Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream.  Publications include: The Blaq Market: Monologues and Scenes. Ed. Shepsu Aakhu. Chicago: A Sakhu Publication, 2008. The Blaq Market: Essays and Plays from Afrikan Centered Theatre. Ed. Shepsu Aakhu. Chicago: A Sakhu Publication, 2006. Alibi Transcripts: Monologues of the Dark Indicted. Ed. Shepsu Aakhu. Chicago: A Sakhu Publication, 2001. Ms. Kelley is a guest lecturer at Lake Forest College, has a BFA from The Theatre School at DePaul University, formerly known as The Goodman School of Drama, and is currently an MFA candidate at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.

Acting:

International acting credits include:  3 national tours, LATT Theatre, South Korea, and Uzikwasa, World AIDS Day Event, Tanzania, Africa.  Most recent credits include:  Harriet Jacobs, (Kansas City Repertory Theatre) The Good Negro (Goodman Theatre, Chicago) The Lost Boys of Sudan (Victory Gardens, Chicago), Ten Square (MPAACT, Chicago), The Glass Menagerie (Steppenwolf Theatre) The Ballad of Emmett Till (Goodman Theatre), Harriet Jacobs (Steppenwolf Theatre) Crumbs from the Table of Joy (Goodman Theatre/Joseph Jefferson Nomination: Principle Actress, Ruby Dee Award Nomination Best Lead Actress) Drowning Crow (Goodman Theatre) Mirror of the Invisible World (Goodman Theatre U/S) and Nikki Giovanni:  New Songs for a New Day (Steppenwolf Theatre).  Regional:  Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, (Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles), Antigone (South Coast Repertory Theatre, Los Angeles).  Television credits include: The Beast (A&E) L.A. Dragnet (ABC), City of Angels (CBS) recurring as Dr. Keisha Simmons, Early Edition (CBS), Cupid (ABC), Close to Home (WB Pilot), and Strong Medicine (Lifetime).  Nambi is the recipient of the Ruby Dee Black Theatre Alliance Award for Best Lead Actress for her work in City Lit’s Coffee Will Make Black.  Other acting award nominations include:  The 3 Arts Fellowship nomination 2009 and 2010, Special Recognition Black Excellence Award Nomination for Harriet Jacobs (Steppenwolf Theatre), and Hattie McDaniel Black Theatre Alliance Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Organic Touchstone’s Coming of the Hurricane, and The Goodman Theatre’s The Good Negro. 

To find out more about Nambi Kelly CLICK HERE to visit her website.