Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Dada.
Shannon Dada is a teacher, playwright and producer. She first fell in love with dramatic literature as a young child and through a study in performing arts was trained under the directive guidance of Melisa Carey of the American Conservatory Theatre. She left her home in the San Francisco Bay Area to accept a Montessori position in Atlanta. Discovering through “No Name” the wide of array of black actresses in Atlanta and their unmet needs in the performing arts Shannon left her role as a Montessori Teacher to pursue her higher purpose of producing powerful works of theatre for black women full-time. Shannon is the founder & director of Evoladad Productions, a theatre production company for black women in Los Angeles and the writer of “No Name.”
Has it been a smooth road?
Oh no, not at all. All I had in the beginning were my hopes for women and telling their stories on stage but no training, experience or mentorship to even know what a producer does. How does a producer choose projects? How do they secure the money for their productions? These were all things I learned over a course of time by mistakes. I made some of my best mistakes early: overpaying, running out of money, neglecting or holding off parts of the business that I didn’t like, deferring too much to members of our production team. I’ve learned so much in the three years from being a teacher to a producer. I’m still mission driven but now I am more grounded & mature in executing the business strategies that make the mission sustainable.
Please tell us about Evoladad Productions.
Evoladad Productions is a theatre production company for Black women. Our mission is to honor actors and audiences with Brave narratives making acting a socially provocative and healing craft. I’m proud of our diversity. Inclusion is a real part of everything we do. Many Black actresses find the roles for them are limiting and sometimes outright degrading. We set ourselves apart with meaningful roles that enable them to show that acting is a serious craft.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I hope that “No Name” sets a standard for inclusion in our industry. There are not enough roles for women with disabilities. Artistically they are an invisible demographic, a precious albeit untapped resource. I’m hoping that the coming years change that.
Contact Info:
- Website: nonametheplay.com
- Phone: 6503157824
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Evoladadproductions
- Facebook: Evoladad Productions
- Twitter: EvoladadP
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