Photography by Jeni McCaughan
“The Glass Menagerie”
Written by Tennessee Williams
2023, Workshop Theatre of South Carolina, Bakari Lebby (Director, Sound Designer, Visual Effects Artist, Original Score Composer, Audio/Video Designer and Engineer), Jeni McCaughan (Executive Producer, Properties), Patrick Faulds (Scenic Designer & Lighting Designer), Andie Nicks (Costume Designer), Christine Hellman (Intimacy Coordinator), Katie Hilliger Page (Choreographer), Tom Beard (Additional Scoring), Dean McCaughan (Properties), Liz Williamson (Content Production Assistant), Lauren Lelasher (Photography & Cyanotype Portrait Artist), Deon Turner (Publicity Photography & Headshots), Lauren Sherr (Stage Manager, Assistant Sound Designer), Ilsa Young (Front of House Coordinator)
Featuring: Lamont Gleaton, Katie Mixon, Carly Siegel, Marshall Spann
“The dialogue in plays by Williams can be challenging for actors to capture its beauty and poetry while keeping it real and down to earth. Under Lebby’s direction, all four actors have no such problem here. Any liberties that the director may have taken can be explained by the narrator’s explanation at the very start that this is a memory play, and therefore things may not actually have transpired as we see them play out.”
“Director Bakari Lebby and the design team present a very thoughtful concept of this memory play – accepting Williams’ scripted invitation to be inventive in creating the world on stage. A painted portrait of the absent father changes over the course of the play, with each following iteration becoming more and more abstract.”
“Mad Love” (music Video)
Written by Bakari Lebby | Song written by M. Washington (BMI) & W. Zimmerman (BMI)
2023, Mel Washington Music / Dynes Media, Bakari Lebby (Director, Executive Producer, Costumes, Titles & Layout, Storyboards, Locations, Properties, Choreography), Bobby Dynes McCullough (Director of Photography, Producer, Lighting Director, Gaffer), Mandy Applegate (Choreography, Producer, Costumes, MUA, Production Designer, Properties), Mel Washington (Executive Producer, Costumes, Properties), Isaiah Williams (Editor, Color Correction, Post Production for Dynes Media), Andrew McKittrick (Production Crew), Robert James Schooler (Executive Producer), Sadie (Set Hound)
Featuring: Mandy Applegate and Mel Washington
Nathaniel Johnston Photography
“Is God Is”
Written by Aleshea Harris
2022, The New School of Drama, Bakari Lebby (Director), Lex Liang (Scenic Designer), Haydee Zelideth (Costume Designer), Jimmy Lawlor (Lighting Designer), Almeda Beynon (Sound Designer), Earon Nealey (Hair and Makeup Designer), Judi Lewis Ockler (Fight/Intimacy Director), Azure Osborne-Lee (Cultural Dramaturg), Erica Blumrosen (Projection Designer), Rodrigo Hernandez (Associate Scenic Designer), Tea Alagic (Academic Advisor), Morgan Jenness, (Directing Mentor), Giancarlo Abrahan (Student Assistant Director), P. Tyler Britt (Production Stage Manager), Tanika Baptiste (Assistant Stage Manager)
Featuring: Brianna Joy, Ariel Diaz-Beato, Kimberly Gómez, Jerome Allen-Smith, Booker Vance, Myah Durham, Shonari James, Preston Crowder
Nathaniel Johnston Photography
“Worlds Melt”
Written by Preston Crowder
2021, The New School of Drama, Bakari Lebby (Director), Portia Elmer (Scenic Designer), Grier Coleman (Costume Designer), Abby Hoke-Brady (Lighting Designer), Ien DeNio (Sound Designer), Lindsay Zinbarg (Production Stage Manager), Chiara Johnson (Assistant Stage Manager)
Featuring: Jerome Allen-Smith, Brianna Joy, Haley Henson, Ky Fehlbaum
“Measure for Measure”
Written by William Shakespeare, Adapted by Bakari Lebby
2021, The New School of Drama, Bakari Lebby (Virtual Designer, Sound Designer, Director), Stephen Brown-Fried (Academic Advisor), Patrice Johnson-Chevannes (Academic Advisor), Irina Kruzhilina (Academic Advisor)
Featuring: Jerome Allen-Smith, Jacob Presson, Emma Rathe, Ana Solis, Anne-Sophie de Villeroy
“Sunset Baby”
Written by Dominique Morriseau
2018, Trustus Theatre, Bakari Lebby (Director, Sound Designer, Projection and Video Designer), Abby Bartman (Movement Choreographer), Brandon McIver (Set Designer), Samuel Hetler (Props Master), Frank Kiraly (Lighting Designer), Amy Brower Lown (Costumer Designer), Felicia Myers (Assistant Costume Designer), Matt Pound (Sound Engineer), Debi Young (Stage Manager)
Featuring: Devin Anderson, Raj Karottukunnel, Larry Davoll Jr.
“Particularly under the direction of Bakari Lebby and within the intimate side stage theatre at Trustus, “Sunset Baby” is a play that thrusts the audience into the disordered lives of its main characters.”
"Some Girl(s)"
Written by Neil LaBute
2017, Workshop Theatre of South Carolina, Bakari Lebby (Director, Sound Designer, Projection Designer), Dean McCaughan (Set Designer), Barry Sparks (Lighting Designer), Brandy Doby (Costume Designer), Jeni McCaughan (Producer), Lauren Hood (Visual Artist), Alizey Khan (Visual Artist), Brandi Hammond (Stage Manager), Mona Burns (Assistant Stage Manager)
Featuring: Patrick Michael Kelly, Christine Hellman, Kayla Cahill Machado, Ellen Rodillo-Fowler, Adrianna Wooten, Haley Claffy
“Lebby’s direction is confident and intricate, allowing each actor to bring LaBute’s gritty, meandering, ultra-natural prose to life. [...] The director has cleverly cast five women who are adept at creating disparate characters, yet who all resemble each other in some way; the guy clearly has a “type.” [...] The universality of the issues raised, and the ability of the director and cast to express them, make this production a success.”
"Stick Fly"
Written by Lydia R. Diamond
2015, Workshop Theatre of South Carolina, Bakari Lebby (Director, Sound Designer), Billy Love (Set Designer), Barry Sparks (Lighting Designer), Alexis Doktor (Costume Designer), Jeni McCaughan (Producer), Lauren Pace (Stage Manager), Erin Iannone (Assistant Stage Manager)
Featuring: Jabar Hankins, Tyrell James, Carlton Boyd, Deborah Adedokun, Katie Mixon, Deonica Thomas
“One thing is certain: director Bakari Lebby is a rising star [...], [whose] expert touch can be seen throughout this thought-provoking production [...] I cannot stress enough how adeptly the six performers embody their roles, and how masterfully director Bakari Lebby has crafted it all together.”
"the shape of things"
Written by Neil LaBute
2013, Green Room Productions, Theatre South Carolina, Bakari Lebby (Director, Sound Designer, Video and Projection Designer), Matt Burcham (Set Designer), Curtis Smoak (Lighting Designer), Samantha Elkins (Assistant Director), Lauren Pace (Stage Manager), Chris Pickering (Assistant Stage Manager)
Featuring: Kadie Austen, Dillon Ingram, Patrick Dodds, Catherine Davenport Flowers
2013, Workshop Theatre of South Carolina, Bakari Lebby (Director, Sound Designer, Video and Projection Designer), Randy Strange (Set Designer), Barry Sparks (Lighting Designer), Samantha Elkins (Assistant Director), Kasey Beard (Stage Manager)
Featuring: Giulia Marie Dalbec, Patrick Dodds, Kayla Cahill Machado, Jeremiah Redmond
“[W]hat I normally enjoy most is quirky, character-centric shows with something to say [...], and the very best of those that I have seen in years and years was The Shape of Things, directed by Bakari Lebby – at age 22!! – in two separate and equally excellent productions, first at USC and then at Workshop with a different cast.”