Jovelyn Richards wears many multi-colored scarves as a writer, director, comedian, and international improvisational performance artist living in Honolulu, HI. Jovelyn’s work has premiered in the selected venues of NOLA Fringe, The Marsh (SF), Afro Solo (SF), SF Fringe, La Peña Cultural Center (Berkeley, CA), Los Angeles Women’s Theater Festival, the National Black Theatre Festival (North Carolina), Oakland Comedy, and Central Eastern University (Budapest, HU).
Upon returning from her 2011 Berlin tour, Jovelyn was selected as the Artist in Residence for La Pena Cultural Center from2011- 2019. She created her solo show, “Mz. Pat House,” during the residency, where she also facilitated community residency writing and performance workshops funded by the Zellerbach Foundation, Theater Bay Area, and Women Arts.
Combining her unique activism and artistry backgrounds, Jovelyn began leading intensive workshops with white-led community members such as SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) to address systemic racism, out of which came “9-1-1 What’s Your Emergency? The Verdict,” a play that authentically addresses calls made on black and brown communities. Only through the research from SURJ members was Jovelyn able to include valuable insight to reveal glimpses of the historical pathologies of white ideology:
“If the play brought to light these urgent socio-political issues, the Q&A with Richards and the actors that followed was even more revealing in terms of the collective and individual work undertaken by the performers. Richards explained that, in rehearsals, she aimed to create a safe space to address such complex issues as director – a space, in her own words, ‘to know each other and trust each other, and to discuss the impact of the work itself on us.’ Several actors highlighted the abundance of care and warmth Richards put into successfully allowing such a transformative dialogue to occur. This was crucial in addressing topics that can shake one’s own sense of identity. ‘There were several times,’ Richards continued, ‘in which just rehearsing the lines brought up challenges for some of the actors. We thus had an opportunity before each rehearsal to talk to one another and spend time with one another. We always ate together – that was an important part of indigenous practices. I tried to be the facilitator and create a home for everybody.’” – Marina Romany, Theater Critic
Some of Jovelyn’s most notable accomplishments include presenting the series “FRED TALK: Magic & Imagination, Women Taking Center Stage”at the United States Department of Cultural Affairs Cultural Shift Conference in New Mexico in 2018 and holding published works in multiple anthologies, especially her essay “Honing Your Muse,” that was featured in Playwrights Publication 202, and her excerpt “Blue Black and Brown Tulips for Evening” that was published in Mission at Tenth.
Also of impact is Jovelyn’sindependent film,“Every Known Piece of Me Had To Be Broken,” which premiered at the 2016 Himalayan Film Festival, was entered into the Sundance CAAMFest (Center for Asian American Film Festival), and then chosen for audience viewing at the New Parkway Theater in Oakland, CA, in 2017.
Ms. Richards holds two interdisciplinary degrees: an MA in Women’s Studies and an MFA in both Creative Inquiry and Humanities. Presently, she is the community advisor for the MFA program at the California Institute of Integral Studies and Alumni of Playwrights Center of Minnesota.
