The Education of Ebony Stone written by Crystal P. Garland and directed by Bianca LaVerne Jones.
A single mother, desperate for cash, is recruited to aid an underground radical network in 1980s South Carolina.
Featuring Brittany Bellizeare, sola bamis, Nathan James, Alex Morris, Rob Nagle, Susan Louise O’Connor, Elayn J. Taylor, Alexander Crow, Michael Flood, Abie Irabor, Natasha LaGrone, and Yemie Sonuga.
Crystal Garland is a writer from South Carolina. Born on a military base, but raised in public housing, she discovered her love of writing in New York City’s independent film theaters. Crystal began her TV career writing for Netflix’s OUTER BANKS. She’s written for the 2016 CBS Diversity Showcase, was selected for the 2019 Athena Film Festival TV Lab and the 2020 WeForShe WriterHer List, and was a 2020 Final Draft Big Break semifinalist. Prior to entertainment, she worked for the United Nations’ sexual and reproductive health agency, before transitioning to a career in criminal justice policy. She has surveyed inmates and prison staff, and developed policy briefs to support community-based treatment for people with substance abuse and mental health issues. Crystal is an alumnus of Stanford University.
Bianca Laverne Jones’s credits and training includes the following:
REGIONAL: GLORIOUS WORLD OF CROWNS, KINKS AND CURLS (Baltimore Center Stage); THE GIFT OF THE MAD GUYS (Pittsburgh Public Theater); OTHELLO (Opera): 5 Aspects for Bass and Chamber Orchestra (Newark Veterans Park). OFF BROADWAY: FEAST: A Yoruba Tale (HERE Arts, Dream Center Harlem), ARMED (Amoralist Theater Company Teatro LATEA), London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts showcase (Playwrights Horizon). NEW MEDIA: FOR WHICH IT STANDS (NYTW); PROCLAMATION (FLUGELMAN/Australia); DARE TO DREAM (FLUGELMAN); COVERED (NYCSEEING2020); OH, THIS IS RICH (Miles Square Theater); SPUNK (Hedgepig and Classical Theater of Harlem); CHOICES (BOLD/NYC), SERMON I WISH I’D HEARD (BOLD), OLDEST TOWN IN TEXAS (BOLD); TAKE YO SHIT (WHILE WE BREATHE); DO YOU REALLY WANNA KNOW (WHILE WE BREATHE); UHURU (AYE DEFY); DON’T CALL ME BROTHER (Hill Productions).
ASSOCIATE/ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: THOUGHTS OF A COLORED MAN (Syracuse Stages; Baltimore Center Stage); A SMALL OAK TREE RUNS RED (Billie Holiday Theater); BLKS (MCC/NYC); THE FIRST NOEL (Classical Theater of Harlem, Apollo Theater). FILM: THE GAZE (a film quilt) Episodes 108 & 109 (Tell Me a Story Productions); MOTHER’S MILK (Tell Me a Story Productions); UNDERCOVER SIDECHICK (Afro Goddess Productions), STORKERS (Script Supervisor) LONDON: PARTNERS (Carne Theater), LAMDA showcase (Ambassador Theater/West End).
TRAINING: NCSA (diploma), SUNY Purchase (BFA-Acting), Yale, London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (MA-Directing). Awards: DC Black Theater Festival for Best One Act Play 2013, 2019 Best Actress Broadway World, AUDELCO for Best Ensemble 2018. Unions: SDC, AEA, SAG-AFTRA.
