Draft:Afrika Brown

Afrika Brown is a writer, playwright, and director best known for writing and directing her plays The Fight and Strange Fruit Redux.

Biography
Brown was born in Newark, New Jersey and raised primarily in Hillside.

Career
Playwright, poet and screenwriter Afrika Brown began her career as a journalist writing fashion, lifestyle and entertainment features. In 2006, Brown published Sepia Sapphire, a collection of poetry. In 2007, Brown’s weekly chapter series Diary of a Break Up was featured by Universitychic.com. In 2009, she founded F.A.M.E. NYC Magazine. In 2014, The Outing, Brown’s first one act play, was featured at Open Hydrant’s Urban Waves Festival, Manhattan Repertory Summer Shorts Festival and The Strawberry Festival.

In 2015 Brown’s new socio-political play Strange Fruit Redux exploded onto the off-off Broadway landscape making its world premiere at Manhattan Repertory Theatre‘s 10th Anniversary Event. It returned to NYC in November 2015 participating in the Midtown International Theatre Festival. In 2016, Strange Fruit Redux embarked on a tour playing festivals and theaters nationwide. In May 2016, Brown debuted Slow Bullet, My Three Loves at Manhattan Repertory Theatre. Brown is proud to become a part of the MRT family as their newest Resident Playwright. In 2017, she traveled to Barcelona to take part of a residency at Can Serrat. In 2018, a reading of Brown’s one act play A Thing of Beauty was performed at NYC’s Living Room Theater, and she traveled to the west coast to fulfill her commitment as an Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights Fellow. In March 2019, Brown’s screenplay After…Suite 220 won best unproduced script at The Grove Street/Lovesick Film Festival. Brown released Flame, her second volume of poetry, in 2021.

Currently, Brown is working on bringing her latest play The Fight to the stage following several successful industry readings, namely The Apollo’s New Work’s Salon Series. Her play Strange Fruit Redux was also selected for the Newark Arts Festival, and was well received in September 2023.

Works
 Theatre   Books 
 * The Fight
 * Strange Fruit Redux
 * Slow Bullet, My Three Loves
 * The Outing
 * A Thing of Beauty
 * Flame
 * Sepia Sapphire
 * Diary of a Break Up?