A series Nicole Sumlin (SumMedia Productions) along with Ensemble Executive Artistic Director Celeste Cosentino started virtually during the pandemic, this series focuses on short plays that take on big themes, sharing the black experience with Cleveland audiences. This year will be our 5th episode of this series!

:: April 16th- 19th, 2026 ::

The Darl Center for the Arts :: 5437 Broadway Ave, Cleveland, OH 44127
Thurs.-Sat. @7:30 :: Sun. @2:00. Performing each night in repertory with a post show talkback!

One Weekend Only! :: This Years Episode Includes

Meet the Playwrights, Cast & Crew!

:: Meet our Playwrights ::

Amira Danan (Plawright, MILK) an Oregonian turned Chicagoan and an avid learner, considers herself to be a storyteller across all mediums. Her full-length one-woman show The Inside, written in collaboration with Lydia R. Diamond and Tasia A. Jones, received a workshop with Rivendell Theatre Company in Chicago. Her full-length play Afrocensored received a reading at Northwestern University's MLK Festival, and a subsequent reading with 20% Theatre Company. Her ten-minute play milk was published in Oberon's Black Lives Black Words anthology and has since been included in LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art) curriculum. When she isn't dreaming up other worlds, she's acting them out on stage at institutions such as the Goodman Theatre, Cincinnati Playhouse, and Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, or on-screen in shows like Chicago Fire, 4400, and 61st St. She's currently performing in Mrs. Christie at Milwaukee Rep through May 10th, and you can follow her artistry @amiradanan on Instagram.

Avery LaMar Pope (Playwright, RECIPES ON USED NAPKINS) is a multi-hyphenate storyteller and arts educator from Cleveland, OH.  Avery tells stories through theater, literature, and music. Acting credits: Cleveland Play House, Playhouse Square, Great Lakes Theater, Karamu House, Dobama Theatre, Cleveland Public Theatre, Cain Park, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, and Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. Playwriting credits: Horizon Theatre Company, Dobama Theatre, Ensemble Theatre, and First Look Buffalo Theatre Company. Directing credits: Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, Cleveland Public Theatre (asst.). A respected poet, selected commissions include MetroHealth’s Physician Suicide Awareness Week and Patient Experience Week, NAREB’s 75th Annual Convention, the Ohio Crisis TextLine Campaign, WKYC’s 2024 Breaking Barriers Program, and All Our Babies. He is a founding member of The Sparrow’s Fortune Spoken Word Collective and in 2023, self-published his first chapbook, A Dozen Roses (and other flowers too). An avid educator in poetry, music, and theatre, he has crafted curricula for and taught at countless regional theaters, schools, and arts organizations across Cleveland and beyond. Awards/Recognitions: Cleveland Arts Prize Verge Fellow (2026), Karamu House Room in the House Performing Arts Fellow (2024), Nord Family Foundation Playwright Fellowship Finalist (2022), and New South Young Playwrights’ Festival Selection (2021). Avery graduated Cum Laude with a BFA in Performance from Ohio University. God is good. Jesus is Lord. @averylamarpope.

:: Meet our Directors ::

Nicole Sumlin (Co-Producer/Director, RECIPES ON USED NAPKINS) is an actor, singer, director, writer, producer and arts educator. As co-founder of Orchard Arts Project and SumMedia Productions with her husband Eugene Sumlin, Nicole has conceived and directed many live concerts, cabarets, musicals, and plays since 2005, in addition other performances broadcast virtually. She and Eugene created Beauty for Ashes, a project celebrating multiple generations of their families that has been featured twice at Cleveland Public Theatre. Nicole’s cabaret show, Sing It All, debuted at The Bop Stop in 2018. She has directed and music directed several high school, college, and professional productions and with SVR Creations, she co-produced and served as chief writer for the Project Amplify virtual series created to connect Black artists from across the country and raise support for organizations making positive change for Black youth and families in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. She also served as writer, producer, and director for SumMagic #theatrefamilylife, a webseries featuring her artistic family. She is an active performer and has been seen on stages in Cleveland and New York City (local credits include performances at Beck Center for the Performing Arts, Bop Stop, Cain Park, Cleveland Play House, Cleveland Public Theatre, Dobama Theatre, Ensemble Theatre, French Creek Theatre, Karamu House, Lakeland Civic Theatre, Ohio Shakepeare Festival, and Playhouse Square and Seat of the Pants Productions, Severance Music Center, and Stocker Arts Center). She was awarded Best Actress in a Musical by the Cleveland Critics Circle for her performance as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grille at Beck Center for the Performing Arts. Nicole supports other vocalists through her private voice studio, is trained in anti-racist practices and intimacy direction, and served as adjunct theatre and musical theatre faculty at Baldwin Wallace and Director of Education at Cleveland Public Theatre. Nicole is a graduate of Wheaton College (IL) and received her vocal training at Wheaton College Conservatory of Music. She is a member of the Actor’s Equity Association.

:: Meet Our Casts! ::

Ashley Aquilla (Mama, MILK) (she/her) was born in St. Louis, MO, and raised in Cleveland, OH, discovered her passion for the performing arts in 2009. She has graced the stage in powerful productions such as Objectively/Reasonably: A Community Response to the Shooting of Tamir Rice 11/22/14 with Playwrights Local, Incendiaries with Ohio City Theatre Project, Our Lady of Common Sorrows and Barbecue at Cleveland Public Theatre, and Cornell Calhoun’s Court Square, Talladega Alabama at Cleveland City Hall. Ashley’s directorial credits include School Girls at Firestone Theatre, Purses at Karamu House, My Body is Blue at Convergence Continuum, and At Last at Ensemble Theatre. In addition to her theater work, she has collaborated with the Cleveland Play House and Dobama Theatre, and BorderLight Festival, demonstrating her commitment to storytelling and the performing arts. In 2023, Ashley directed the short film Socks, which earned several festival accolades, including Best Original Short and Best Experimental Film. Beyond her artistic endeavors, Ashley is a dedicated wife, mother, and nurse, as well as the co-owner of SignGypsiesCleveland, a yard greeting business. She is a firm believer in the transformative power of entertainment as a tool for social awareness and change. Favorite Quote: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." – Maya Angelou

Tamara French (Ayanna, MILK) (she/her) makes her Ensemble Theatre debut after last appearing at Western Reserve Playhouse as Aaron the Moor in a bold production of Titus Andronicus. This time, she’s stepping into the world of Ayanna—a young girl searching for her place in a society that doesn’t quite see her. “I’m grateful that my last two shows (Titus Andronicus and Song for My Sisters) have allowed me to play in such new spaces. I’m excited to discover Ayanna and reconnect with the little girl who still lives inside me. I hope you enjoy meeting her.” Regional: Song for My Sisters, Cleveland Public Theater (Soft Launch); Titus Andronicus, Western Reserve Playhouse; POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, Dobama Theatre; A Christmas Carol, Great Lakes Theater; Doubt, Beck Center for the Arts; Other titles: for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, Ragtime, and Titus Andronicus. TV: 12 Desperate Hours, Lifetime; American Rust, Amazon Prime.

Gabriel Cummings (Brother, RECIPES ON USED NAPKINS) (Any) is currently pursuing a BFA in Acting. For him, acting is more than just a craft, it is a form of empathetic research and a way to explore the complexities of human experience. Through performance, Gabriel seeks to connect with stories that challenge, inspire, and invite audiences to reflect on the world around them. He believes that every character offers an opportunity to better understand people, emotions, and perspectives beyond his own. Gabriel has had the opportunity to perform in a variety of productions, including Skeleton Crew, Is He Dead, and Hairspray. Each project has allowed him to explore different styles of storytelling while strengthening his commitment to truthful and vulnerable performance. He is currently appearing as the Brother in Recipes on Used Napkins. Because the play explores grief, memory, and healing in layered and complicated ways, Gabriel approaches the role with openness and emotional honesty, viewing vulnerability not as a weakness but as a powerful tool for connection. As an artist, Gabriel is deeply interested in storytelling that examines identity, relationships, and the emotional landscapes that shape who we are. He strives to bring curiosity, compassion, and authenticity to every rehearsal and performance. Every role he takes on challenges him to grow, not only as an actor, but as a person, and encourages him to deepen his understanding of the craft. Gabriel is grateful to be part of this production and hopes the story resonates with audiences long after the final curtain.

Jasmine Nichelle (Sister, RECIPES ON USED NAPKINS)(she/her) is a recent graduate of Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting, and she is so excited to join the amazing team at the Ensemble Theater! Jasmine's recent credits include The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe as Lucy and White Witch at the Talespinner Children's Theater, The Pass as Agent Lee at the Kitchen Theater and Stupid F##king Bird as Emma at Ithaca’s Hangar Theater. She also originated roles at the Finger Lakes New Work Festival in New York and she is loving working at the Great Lakes Theater as an Actor Teacher! A twin, a lover of cheesy romance novels, and frequent thrift store explorer, Jasmine is eager to share and grow with this incredible team.