Queen of Cubs

2023 Workshop

The Story of Queen of Cubs

Adapted from The Lion King, this is the story of a lioness and the challenges she faces after the death of her king and the abdication of Simba, the next king. The female lions were left to fend for themselves. This scenario is a mirror of what girls and women in the Black Community face every day. Yet they overcome, heal, and rise to leadership positions. We explore the story through the eyes of the young lioness, Nala, while overlaying the social structures of animal kingdom dynamics onto human experiences of gender and power.

Performance Overview

Performed at the Marin Shakespeare Company, we gave theatrical learning opportunities for students from Marin City to shine on a new stage. Lead by a talented team of directors from the community, we fused music and costumes to tell a timeless story.

At Griot Theater, we unpack challenging social issues of our time. Queen of Cubs our core programmatic story. Stay tuned for more iterations next season.

Phaedra Boughton

WORKSHOP DIRECTOR

Phillip Logan

MUSIC DIRECTOR

Jai Bilbo

COSTUME DIRECTOR

Gavonyah Warren

DANCE DIRECTOR

Performance Gallery

Executive Director’s Message

First and foremost, we’d like to thank you for your support for our work and the success of our young people. We could not do this without you. We’d like to also thank Marin Shakespeare Company for inviting us into their new indoor space and hosting us. And we thank our wonderful volunteers for supporting us in every direction. Last, but not least, we’d like to show a great round of applause to our directors and actors who showed up and showed out during our rehearsal and performance process.

The show was a great success. We were able to work with 15 multi-generational actors and 4 guest directors. We had over 200 patrons who came to see the show. We also hosted a fundraising brunch that allowed our audience to socialize with the Griot team, and taste our my family’s famous Shrimp & Grits recipe. The most meaningful outcome was that this experience was the very first stage production for 8 of our young people from Marin City. It meant the world to them!

I’ve been working on iterations of this story for over 15 years, and I’m thrilled to announce that it will go under another rewrite for the 2023/34 season. It will give playwrighting and acting experiences to another cohort of talented Marin City youth. Please follow our journey as we dive deeper into the characters and themes and continue to grow together.

We look forward to catching you at our next season, which will be announced at the beginning of October.

LeShawn Holcomb

Founder & Executive Director

Queen of Cubs

2023 Workshop

The Story of Queen of Cubs