The Light is Up Next on the Horizon Stage!

March 14th, 2022

“A deeply intimate play…I watched tears flow, Kleenexes emerge from pockets, couples move closer together and further apart.”Chicago Tribune

ATLANTA (MARCH 2022) – Recipient of the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Play, Loy Webb’s debut work, The Light, hits the Horizon stage from March 19th-April 17th (Press Opening March 25th). Horizon’s regional premiere of The Light is an intimate, funny, and powerful look at love today in all its complexity, featuring two of Atlanta’s most dynamic actors, Enoch King and Cynthia D. Barker.

A surprise marriage proposal takes an unexpected turn that upends the world of Genesis and Rashad, forcing them to confront secrets from the past. The Light is a roller coaster journey of laughter, romance and reckoning that unfolds in real time, peeling away layers of truth, doubt, pain and ultimately, the power of love.

Horizon Theatre Company’s performances start March 19, 2022 (Press Opening March 25, 2022) and run until April 17, 2022, at Horizon in Little Five Points/Inman Park (1083 Austin Avenue N.E., Atlanta, GA 30307, at the corner of Euclid and Austin Avenues). Performances are Wed through Fri at 8 pm, Saturdays at 3 and 8 pm, Sundays at 5 pm. Tickets and information are available at www.horizontheatre.com or 404-584-7450.

The Light is a present-day love story complicated by the many things that go unsaid,” explains co-director Marguerite Hannah, Horizon’s Associate Artistic Producer. “The characters explore many questions about love universally and the Black community in specific. They unearth the questions we have been taught not to ask: Is surviving our past enough? Is a Black woman’s accomplishments and personal strengths a strong enough salve for emotional wounds? Is gender bias a tangible issue for a community historically defined by racial discrimination?”   

“Genesis and Rashad are each doing their best in a relationship based on love and mutual respect, but together they will find that actively making an effort to love and understand each other, including their pasts, with the cultural spotlight of the “Me Too” Movement will lead to a deeper level of honesty and commitment that will change them both forever.”

In addition to her sixteen-year tenure on Horizon’s staff, Ms. Hannah is producer/director of Horizon’s groundbreaking play development project: New Georgia Woman Project: Black Women Speak, and a veteran actor with credits nationwide. At Horizon, audiences have seen her in Night Blooms, Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery (Suzi Award for Outstanding Production of a Play), The Waffle Palace, and Freed Spirits. Marguerite is sharing directing duties for The Light with co-director Lydia Fort, currently an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Emory University. Fort holds an MFA in directing from the University of Washington and has directed professionally at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Gable Stage (FL), Actor’s Express (GA), Perseverance Theatre (AK), Urban Stages (NY), Classical Theatre of Harlem and more. 

Inspired by the sexual assault allegations surrounding Nate Parker during “Birth of a Nation,” The Light sparks a necessary conversation not only between the couple in the play but among its audience members about sexual violence and the treatment of women in male-dominated spaces. It is a play about the intricacies of truth, and how to take a leap of faith when you don’t know who or what to believe. When asked about her writing, Loy Webb responded, “I write to point toward hope. I want my work to be a neon sign in the darkness: This way out. This way to hope.”

Loy Webb is a Chicago-born playwright, attorney, and theatre journalist, now also working as a television writer on the series NOS4A2 (2020) and The Ms. Pat Show (2021). The Light premiered in 2018 at the New Colony in Chicago and had its Off-Broadway Premiere in January 2019 at MCC Theater in NYC. It was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play and received a Chicago Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Play.

Horizon and Atlanta favorites Enoch King and Cynthia D. Barker star as loving partners Rashad, a firefighter and single dad, and Genesis, an elementary school principal.  Suzi Bass award nominee Cynthia D. Barker has been seen at Horizon in Citizens Market, How to Use A Knife, Uprising, Elemeno Pea, Third Country, and Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery. Other recent regional credits include Angry, Raucous & Shamelessly Gorgeous (Alliance Theatre and Hartford Stage-CT), Paradise Blue (True Colors Theatre), The Royale (Theatrical Outfit), A Christmas Carol (Alliance Theatre), and The Mountaintop (Aurora Theatre). Atlanta native and film star Enoch King has been part of Horizon for nearly two decades, with credits including Sweet Water Taste, Constellations, The Waffle Palace, and many years of The Santaland Diaries. He has also been seen recently in Toni Stone (Alliance Theatre), The Bluest Eye (Synchronicity Theatre), Skeleton Crew (True Colors Theatre, American Stage-FL), The Christians (Actor’s Express), The Canterbury Tales (Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse) and on screen in Drumline, House of Payne, and BET’s Let’s Stay Together.

The Light’s design team includes Horizon resident set and lighting designers Moriah and Isabel Curley-Clay and Mary Parker. The Curley-Clay sisters have won multiple Suzi Awards for their work and have designed all of Horizon’s productions for the past 10+ years.  Mary Parker is also a Suzi Award winner for Avenue Q at Horizon and was recently recognized for excellence for her lighting work in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Once at Horizon. They are joined by sound designer Chris Lane (Horizon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Once) and costume designer L. Nyrobi Moss (Sweet Water Taste, Blackberry Daze, and many more at Horizon).

THE LIGHT will run at Horizon Theatre Company March 19 through April 17, 2022 (Press Opening: March 25, 2022). Performances are Wednesday through Sunday (Wednesday-Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sunday at 5 p.m). Our intimate theatre is in the heart of Inman Park and Little Five Points at the corner of Euclid and Austin Avenues (1083 Austin Avenue N.E., Atlanta, GA 30307), and includes FREE parking. 

Tickets start at $30 for weekdays and $35 for weekends. ($20 for full-time students under 25 with a valid student ID and $3 off full-price tickets for Seniors). Prices are subject to change and will rise as performances fill up. Patrons are encouraged to purchase tickets early for the best prices. There is a reserved seating section for subscribers and major donors, general admission for others.Group discounts are available for parties of 10 or more. 

Horizon is committed to being COVID safe. The theatre will follow its COVID policy and procedures, which currently include proof of vaccination or a negative COVID Test within 48 hours for all audience members, artists, and staff. Masks are required for all patrons and staff. Enhanced cleaning and sanitation throughout the theatre will be conducted after each performance. Horizon’s full COVID policy and procedures are here: https://www.horizontheatre.com/covid-19-policies-procedures/ 

For tickets and information, visit horizontheatre.com or call 404.584.7450.

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ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Loy A. Webb (Writer) is a Chicago born playwright, screenwriter attorney, and theatre journalist. Her plays include The Light (MCC Theater 2018/2019, Outer Critics Circle nomination for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play; The New Colony, 2017/2018, Joseph Jefferson Award), and His Shadow (16th Street Theater 2019/2020). She was an inaugural Tutterow Fellow at Chicago Dramatists. Her work has been featured at Black Ensemble Theatre as a part of their Black Playwrights Initiative Program, American Theater Company (Big Shoulders Festival 2014), 20 Percent Theatre Company Chicago (Snapshots Festival 2014 and 2015), University of North Dakota, GI60 International One Minute Play Festival (2015), Modern-Day Griot Theatre Company New York and the Black Lives, Black Words International Project. Her short play, I AM a Woman is featured in the hip-hop anthology Wish to Live: The Hip-hop Feminism Pedagogy Reader.

She is a member of the Association of Women of Journalist-Chicago and a contributing theater critic for Newcity. Loy holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a J.D. from The John Marshall Law School. She is a writer for television, most recently the AMC television series NOS4A2 and The Ms. Pat Show.

CAST AND DIRECTOR 

Cynthia D. Barker (Genesis) has been seen at Horizon Theatre in Citizens Market, How to Use A Knife, Uprising, Elemeno Pea, Third Country, and Shakin’ the Mess Outta Misery.  Sheis a five-time Suzi Bass award nominee including Best Leading Actress and Best Ensemble in a Play.   She has collaborated with some of Atlanta’s most distinguished theatrical institutions including Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company, Horizon Theatre Company, Theatrical Outfit and the Tony Award winning Alliance Theatre.  Her recent regional credits include Angry, Raucous & Shamelessly Gorgeous (Alliance Theatre, Hartford Stage in Connecticut), Citizens Market and How to Use A Knife (Horizon), Paradise Blue (True Colors Theatre), The Royale (Theatrical Outfit), A Christmas Carol (Alliance Theatre), and The Mountaintop (Aurora Theatre).  She holds an MFA in Acting from Wayne State University and is Adjunct Theatre Faculty in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at Clayton State University.

Enoch King (Rashad) has been part of Horizon for nearly two decades, with credits including Sweet Water Taste, Constellations, Uprising, The Waffle Palace, and many years of The Santaland Diaries.  He is a Georgia native and began his career path at Tri-Cities High School Visual and Performing Arts and the critically acclaimed Freddie Hendricks Youth Ensemble of Atlanta.  Enoch has been blessed with the opportunity to work with Horizon Theatre, Georgia Shakespeare Festival, Aurora Theatre, Theatrical Outfit, True Colors Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Jewish Theater of the South, and Dad’s Garage. He has been seen recently in Toni Stone (Alliance Theatre/Milwaukee Rep), The Bluest Eye (Synchronicity Theatre), Skeleton Crew (True Colors Theatre, American Stage-FL), The Christians (Actor’s Express), The Canterbury Tales (Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse) and on screen in Drumline, House of Payne, and BET’s Let’s Stay Together.

Marguerite Hannah (Co-Director) started her theatre and arts adventures 30+ years ago as an actor, now also a producer and director. As an actor, Marguerite walked the boards of regional theatre across the country. In 2006, Marguerite joined Horizon Theatre’s administrative staff as Business Manager. Prior to this position, she worked on the production team of the National Black Arts Festival and Art Station Multi-Discipline Art Center. The opportunity to become Horizon’s Apprentice Company Artistic Director came in 2012, and she remained in that position for the next eight years. Marguerite is a multi-hyphenate arts professional, evidenced in her continued growth in producing and administrative responsibilities at Horizon. Currently Marguerite is producing a new initiative for Horizon Theatre she created, The New Georgia Woman Project: Black Women Speak. Black Women Speak combines an essential community engagement component utilizing an ongoing series of informal “Coffee Chats” with Black women in the Atlanta greater metro area and an artist cohort of nine Black female playwrights with a strong connection to the south. The Playwrights are commissioned to write stories centering on Black women and the spirit of the women participating in the BWS Community Coffee Chats who will follow the full development process from chats to readings to production as their stories are told. A proud member of Actors’ Equity Association, Marguerite is secretary of the board of the National New Play Network where she is co-chair of the Membership Committee and board member and Festival Committee Co-chair of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. She is also a proud alumnus of Howard University.

Lydia Fort (Co-Director) has directed at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Gable Stage, Bay Street Theater, Actor’s Express, Cygnet Theatre, Diversionary Theatre, Perseverance Theatre, Women’s Project Theatre, Women Center Stage, Urban Stages, McCarter Theatre YouthInk! Festival, New Federal Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem, freeFall Theatre, Hangar Theatre, Planet Connections Festivity (where she was honored with the 2103 Best Director and Greener Planet Awards) as well as other festivals including the New Black Fest, 48 Hours in Harlem, Fire This Time Festival, and SheWrites.  She was a Time Warner Foundation Fellow of the 2012-2014 Lab at Women’s Project Theater, a TCG New Generations Future Leaders Grantee, New York Theatre Workshop Directing Fellow, and Drama League Directing Fellow. Lydia received a BA from New York University and an MFA in Directing from the University of Washington. She is an Assistant Professor at Emory University where she teaches directing, acting, African American theatre, and eco-theatre.