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ART THAT AWAKENS
we are...Conch Shell Productions
OUR MISSION
At Conch Shell Productions (CSP), our mission is to enlighten American audiences about the diverse emerging Caribbean diaspora and the Caribbean voices in theatre and film.To do so, we create a space for our community of artists to own their narrative by developing, producing, and presenting new plays and films.
Our productions effect social change by redefining the social landscape that the Caribbean diaspora operates on by telling magical/complex human stories that awaken diverse audience.
Our events over the years have included Conch Shell International Film Fest, , Conch Shell New Works Fest, #Bluelightseries, Hear Her Call Caribbean American Women's Theatre Festival, and Reset Series .
Conch Shell Productions, Inc. is a Queens, New York-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Magaly Colimon-Christopher President/Artistic Director
Evan Parke Secretary
Magaly Colimon-Christopher President/Artistic Director
Magaly Colimon-Christopher is the Founder of Conch Shell Productions. Magaly is first-generation Haitian-American, and she established the company to create a space for the development and showcasing of new works by Caribbean and Caribbean diaspora playwrights and screenwriters who have an expanded view of reality and a passion for innov
Magaly Colimon-Christopher is the Founder of Conch Shell Productions. Magaly is first-generation Haitian-American, and she established the company to create a space for the development and showcasing of new works by Caribbean and Caribbean diaspora playwrights and screenwriters who have an expanded view of reality and a passion for innovative storytelling that inspire social change. A native New Yorker, Magaly received a B.A. from Columbia University, an MBA in Arts Administration from Binghamton University, and an MFA in Acting from Geffen School of Drama at Yale (formerly known as Yale School of Drama). Her acting career includes numerous roles in Primetime and Daytime television series as well as in Off-Broadway and Regional Theatre productions. She has been producing theater and film projects for over 25 years.Magaly is a member of SAG/AFTRA, ART/NY, The Actor’s Studio Playwright and Directors Unit, The Actor’s Center, The Dramatist Guild, and Latinx Consortium. To learn more about her go to www.magalycolimon.com
Jeffrey A. Bartos Treasurer
Evan Parke Secretary
Magaly Colimon-Christopher President/Artistic Director
Jeff has been a labor lawyer for almost 30 years, representing international labor unions in cases across the U.S. Jeff serves by appointment on a committee of the DC Court of Appeals, and has had leadership roles in local and national labor law committees as well. Jeff received his BA from Columbia University, his JD from Yale Law Sch
Jeff has been a labor lawyer for almost 30 years, representing international labor unions in cases across the U.S. Jeff serves by appointment on a committee of the DC Court of Appeals, and has had leadership roles in local and national labor law committees as well. Jeff received his BA from Columbia University, his JD from Yale Law School, and his LLM (Advocacy) from Georgetown University Law Center. Jeff lives in Arlington, Virginia with his family; his firm website is www.geclaw.com.
Evan Parke Secretary
Evan Parke Secretary
Evan Parke Secretary
Evan is an actor, writer, producer, minister and media entrepreneur with over 24 years of experience in the entertainment industry. He has been a principal performer in over a dozen feature films including the Academy Award winning productions of The Cider House Rules(Miramax) and Django Unchained (Columbia Pictures). Some other film cred
Evan is an actor, writer, producer, minister and media entrepreneur with over 24 years of experience in the entertainment industry. He has been a principal performer in over a dozen feature films including the Academy Award winning productions of The Cider House Rules(Miramax) and Django Unchained (Columbia Pictures). Some other film credits include, King Kong (Universal), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Warner Brothers), and Set It Up (Netflix). Evan has performed in close to 200 of episodes of television, including such titles as Alias(ABC),NCIS: New Orleans(CBS), The Get Down(Netflix), The Blacklist(NBC) , Power(Starz), Star Trek: Picard (CBS All-Access), Tell Me A Story (CBS All-Access), and The First Lady (Showtime) and more. Evan is the Founder/President of Arimathea Media Capital Inc., a media content company and The Sexy Nerd, and media, EdTech and lifestyle brand. In ministry, Evan has over 20 plus years of experience of ministry leadership and currently serves with Kinetic, a faith-based church community in Brooklyn, New York. He holds a BA in Economics from Cornell University, as well as both an MFA and MDIV from Yale University.
Maëlla Kancel
Donna Rosetta Tracey Francis, OH
Donna Rosetta Tracey Francis, OH
Sharing Caribbean narratives. This has been Maëlla Kancel’s motto since the launch of the Karukerament podcast in 2019 to document the representation of the Caribbean in cinema and Television. With her Tim Tim? Bwa Fik! podcast and her #streamcaribbean podcast, she also promotes Caribbean literature and Caribbean music through interviews
Sharing Caribbean narratives. This has been Maëlla Kancel’s motto since the launch of the Karukerament podcast in 2019 to document the representation of the Caribbean in cinema and Television. With her Tim Tim? Bwa Fik! podcast and her #streamcaribbean podcast, she also promotes Caribbean literature and Caribbean music through interviews with English-speaking or French-speaking Caribbean artists. Her goals are to celebrate Caribbean culture as well as facilitate debates around cultural marketing strategies and 21st century challenges faced by the Caribbean region and diaspora. Maëlla Kancel is also a self-published author of Caribbean romance. www.karukerament.com
Donna Rosetta Tracey Francis, OH
Donna Rosetta Tracey Francis, OH
Donna Rosetta Tracey Francis, OH
Donna Francis was born in St. John’s, Antigua on 6th of May. She attended Christ the King High School, then graduated with honors, Magna Cum Laude, from Wesley College, USA in 1994, earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting. She also held many prestigious positions: • President of the International Student Assoc., JCI Antigua a
Donna Francis was born in St. John’s, Antigua on 6th of May. She attended Christ the King High School, then graduated with honors, Magna Cum Laude, from Wesley College, USA in 1994, earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting. She also held many prestigious positions: • President of the International Student Assoc., JCI Antigua and JCI West Indies • Vice President of Alpha Chi Honor Society • JCI Vice President assigned to Dutch West Indies, Haiti, Columbia, Canada & U.S.A. • Chairman of The Jaycees Caribbean Queen Show • Co-founder of the Cancer Awareness Campaign Donna is a Financial Controller by profession, employed by Kennedy’s Group of Companies Ltd. She was a Director of State Insurance Company Ltd. and currently a Director of Antigua Brewery Ltd. and DKD Enterprises. During the Covid19 Period 2020 to 2022, Donna became a Student of HB Studio New York, in pursuit of an Acting Career.
Clark Jackson
Donna Rosetta Tracey Francis, OH
Clark Jackson
Clark Jackson is an award-winning actor, writer and producer who’s appeared on Broadway and starred in numerous TV series and films, most recently in the upcoming film Eugene The Marine with Scott Glenn, Annette O’Toole and Jim Gaffigan. A graduate of Stanford University and Yale School of Drama, Clark has served thousands of NYC publi
Clark Jackson is an award-winning actor, writer and producer who’s appeared on Broadway and starred in numerous TV series and films, most recently in the upcoming film Eugene The Marine with Scott Glenn, Annette O’Toole and Jim Gaffigan. A graduate of Stanford University and Yale School of Drama, Clark has served thousands of NYC public school students as a teaching artist in the areas of theatre, movement, creative writing and improvisation. He has also taught at HB Studio, Hunter College and St. Francis College in NYC. Clark is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and a proud company member of The Actors Center in NYC. To learn more, visit www.clarkjacksononline.com.
Tanya Perez
Donna Rosetta Tracey Francis, OH
Clark Jackson
Tanya Perez is an actress, writer & activist currently living in NYC. Notable TV and film credits include Orange Is the New Black, Jessica Jones, Blue Bloods, Madam Secretary & Hal Hartley's Ned Rifle opposite Parker Posey. Her most notable stage appearances were in Seattle Rep's production of Anna in the Tropics, Sonia Flew at both CATF
Tanya Perez is an actress, writer & activist currently living in NYC. Notable TV and film credits include Orange Is the New Black, Jessica Jones, Blue Bloods, Madam Secretary & Hal Hartley's Ned Rifle opposite Parker Posey. Her most notable stage appearances were in Seattle Rep's production of Anna in the Tropics, Sonia Flew at both CATF and Laguna Playhouse, and her sold-out solo show at the Downtown Urban Theatre Festival at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Comedy content creation has brought her web series Itty P & DJ Model-T nominations for two StayTuned TV-ITVF awards for Best Comedy and Best Actress in a Comedy, her comedy short, Peep Show, was an official selection at the 2018 Women in Comedy HBO Insider Competition, her short, Veronica, won 2018 Best Actress at Story Mode Shorts Festival, Best Screenplay & Best Actress at Outlanta Con and Best Latinx short at IndieFest. She has received an Audioverse Award nomination in writing in Cocotazo’s CAT festival. Not only that, she is also incredibly talented with balloons, laughs inappropriately during movies, and loves her four-legged roommate Tia Tortilla. Proud member of NYWIF, Brown Girls Doc Mafia, SAGAFTRA & Actors Equity.
JR Roache
Gretchen Suárez-Peña
Gretchen Suárez-Peña
JR Roache is Jamaican and considers himself an Observational Storyteller. Curiosity and imagination led him to studying Engineering Sciences in Ontario, Canada and an underlying love of politics and economics steered him towards his MBA from Edinburgh, Scotland. While his first love is storytelling, writing was the furthest thing from his
JR Roache is Jamaican and considers himself an Observational Storyteller. Curiosity and imagination led him to studying Engineering Sciences in Ontario, Canada and an underlying love of politics and economics steered him towards his MBA from Edinburgh, Scotland. While his first love is storytelling, writing was the furthest thing from his mind after graduating. However, through his employment, he visited many diverse places, which inspired “human” stories that he feels he has to tell. “Sweet Rind” is JR’s first published literary work. Coming up are a book of poetry, “Ok... Now Where To?”, another short, "Silver Silhouettes", and other movies.
Gretchen Suárez-Peña
Gretchen Suárez-Peña
Gretchen Suárez-Peña
Gretchen Suárez-Peña (she/her) is a Puerto Rican playwright based in Central Florida. She is an MFA candidate in the Dramatic Writing program at Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama (Class of 2024). She is a frequent collaborator with New Generation Theatrical (FL) and is part of the 2022 Conch Shell Productions (NY) Artists Collect
Gretchen Suárez-Peña (she/her) is a Puerto Rican playwright based in Central Florida. She is an MFA candidate in the Dramatic Writing program at Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama (Class of 2024). She is a frequent collaborator with New Generation Theatrical (FL) and is part of the 2022 Conch Shell Productions (NY) Artists Collective of writers. She frequently works with Just Write! Lakeland (FL), the Latinx Playwright Circle (NY), and the Latiné Musical Theatre Lab (NY). Her musical, Melina: A Steampunk Musical Tragedy was an official selection of the 2020 Atlanta Musical Theatre Festival. Other successes include winning the writer's grant and best play at the 2019 Be Original Festival for her play, Trafficked. Also, winning best full-length play at the 2018 Tampa Bay Theatre Festival for her show Conversations in the Car, and first prize for her short play, Dry Spell, at the 30 by Ninety Theatre’s 2018 Night of One Acts Competition. Her short play, The Arithmetic of Memory, has been produced across the country and was published in the Stonecoast Review where it was nominated for a Pushcart Award in Drama (2021). A portion of her work is available to be read on the New Play Exchange and she is a proud member of the Dramatist Guild.
David Yick-Koppel
Gretchen Suárez-Peña
David Yick-Koppel
David Yick-Koppel is a Bay Area native and serves as the drama director at Washington High School in his hometown of Fremont, California. Prior to his role as the drama director, David founded Arclight Repertory Theatre and the San Jose "Shakespeare on the Square Festival" in 2006. The company was dedicated to producing multicultural th
David Yick-Koppel is a Bay Area native and serves as the drama director at Washington High School in his hometown of Fremont, California. Prior to his role as the drama director, David founded Arclight Repertory Theatre and the San Jose "Shakespeare on the Square Festival" in 2006. The company was dedicated to producing multicultural themed interpretations of Shakespeare's plays as well as multicultural original play development. David also served on the artistic boards of a variety of Bay Area nonprofit theatre organizations including: Crowded Fire Theater and the Altarena Playhouse. He was a program coordinator for HMO Kaiser Permanente's HIV/STD prevention play SECRETS, which is part of their Educational Theatre Outreach Programs that tour high schools throughout Northern California. David is a member of Actor's Equity Association and has performed, directed and stage managed with a number of Bay Area and New York based theatre companies. He received his MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama in 1998 and graduated with "distinction in the acting specialist program" in 1994 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He lives in San Jose, California with his life partner, Julie Yick-Koppel, EDD (San Francisco State University, 2021) who serves as the ethnic studies coordinator and teacher at Mountain View High School.
development associate
AnTionette Byers-Paredes
"Through the arts, we can inspire, educate, and unite people from all walks of life. We can create a more just and equitable society by amplifying the voices of underrepresented populations. I am honored to be a part of this work and to help CSP achieve its goals."
Production intern
Kadiatou Ba
A Brooklyn raised filmmaker who love to see my creativity come into physical form (TikTok @Itskadi__)
Renee Thomas
Click here to learn more about Renee.
MEET THE MEMBERS
Petron Brown is a playwright, performer, arts leader, and an intimacy director. He was born in The Bahamas and immigrated to the US to pursue educational and artistic endeavors. He has won several national collegiate theatre awards, including the KCACTF Meritorious Achievement in Directing, the KCACTF Special Achievement in Performance Award, and the KCACTF ASPIRE John Cauble Award. He is also a two-time KCACTF Irene Ryan Region IV Finalist. Petron’s work as a playwright explores international conversations on humanity. His most recent play, The Colour Woman, is a raw investigation into the psyche of an island child. @petron.brown
Chima Chikazunga FSU alumni. His audio play “An Icons Belief in Fallen Soldiers” was commissioned by The Classical Theatre of Harlem. “Echoes of a Lost Son” won the
2019 Public Access Television Award and in Resilience New Play Festival. Published work in Best Women’s and Men’s Monologues 2022, and Best American Short Plays 2018-2019.” NOT JUST YOU received a micro-grant from National Black Theatre to workshop. 1 Letter Shy of Coincidence ( SEMI-FINALIST 46th Annual BAPF) . FOLDING DANICA is featured in American Blues Theatre’s Ripped Festival. @Chima_Clarke
Diane De La Haye is a Jamaican-Canadian Screenwriter and Story Editor who studied at the Vancouver Film School.Over the last 10 years Diane has honed her skills in Script Development and collaborated with Directors from around the world on Feature screenplays, documentaries and TV series. She is currently Head Writer of the St Maarten-based project “The Wonderful Counsellor” as well as “Fab 4 and the Silent Retreat,” (on which she also serves as Co-Executive Producer and helped garner its 3 international Film Festival awards.) @Diane_canjam
AnJu Hyppolite is a Haitian-American, award-winning actor, writer, and educator who works at the intersection of theater arts, technology, and social equity. She has graced stages and sets on the East and West coasts. AnJu was a 2020-2021 Haiti Cultural Exchange artist-in-residence, and explored the Haitian-American identity through short stories and poetry. She is a freelance copy editor, former HuffPost contributor, and co-author of the best-selling series, 20 Beautiful Women: Volume 3. Written in 2020, her short play, Joumou, marks AnJu's playwriting debut.@anjuhyppolite
Andres Pina is an actor/writer/Solo performing artist. Credits include On The Shoulders of Giants written and performed by Andres at NYTW next door space: The Sun Always Shine for the Cool (Jacob Theater), Comedy of Errors (The Shakespeare Theater of NJ), La Puta Vida (La Tea), The Seagull (Circle in the Square Theater School), Tracks (Davenport Theater), and more. A graduate of the Columbia University M.F.A Acting Program Class of 2019. A proud member of the American Theatre Playwright's Group Play Lab. Member of the actors center.
Othello Pratt Jr., is a 2nd Generation Bahamian-American actor hailing from Harlem, NYC, earned his MFA in Acting from Columbia University in 2020. Notable performances in Classical Theatre of Harlem's 'Twelfth Night'. A multi-talented artist excelling in music, writing, directing, and igniting community spirit. @helloo_othello
Rivka Rivera is a Jew-Yo-Rican actor, playwright, and filmmaker creating work that explores the intersection of grief, capitalism, and human behavior. She is an alum of Carnegie Mellon University and LaGuardia HS. To learn more visit: www.RivkaRivera.com @therivkarivera
JR Roache is Jamaican and considers himself an Observational Storyteller. Curiosity and imagination led him to studying Engineering Sciences in Ontario, Canada and an underlying love of politics and economics steered him towards his MBA from Edinburgh, Scotland. While his first love is storytelling, writing was the furthest thing from his mind after graduating. “Sweet Rind” is JR’s first published literary work. Coming up are a book of poetry, “Ok... Now Where To?”, another short, "Silver Silhouettes", and other movies. @jrsterlingfilms
Thalia Sablon Haiti-born, Queens-raised Thalia Sablon, a NYC-based playwright, producer, and artistic administrator, earned her MFA in Playwriting from Rutgers University. Recognized with awards like the Kelly Kriedeman Memorial Award, she's worked with institutions like New York Theatre Workshop and Ensemble Studio Theatre. She's currently producing a queer horror film and editing her short film "Strung." Thalia aims to disrupt the status quo with her eclectic storytelling. Her recent fascination with dirt may influence her future stage projects. @thalilya
HONORARY MEMBERS:
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MEET THE DRAMATURGS
Jasmeene Francois is a Haitian-American theatre artist, storyteller, Applied Theatre Practitioner, and dramaturg from Riverside, California. She specializes in facilitating workshops centered around oral storytelling, devising, and creative writing that address home and belonging. Jasmeene is currently an instructor with The Moth Community and Education program and an adjunct lecturer at Brooklyn College. @msscholarlady
Marissa Joyce Stamps is a Black, Haitian-American Afrosurreal artist and educator. She's part of Clubbed Thumb's 2023-2024 ECWG and EST/Youngblood. Recent: BEING UP IN HERE… (2023 Princess Grace Playwriting Award, Exponential Festival 2024), BLUE FIRE… (Exponential Festival 2022), …TWISTED JUNIPER (O’Neill NPC 2022). MFA Playwriting: Brooklyn College. marissajoycestamps.com @marissajoycestamps