Event Details
Thu, June 27, 2024
20:00 – 21:00
LIMONAIA
Villa La Pietra
Via Bolognese, 120
50139 Florence, Italy
A dramatic performance by NYU TISCH Continuum Company, performed by Teagle F. Bougere and Jed Diamond.
On a Thursday evening in February of 1965, The Cambridge Union at Cambridge University played host to one of the most iconic political debates of our time. The motion being debated was “Is The American Dream At The Expense Of The American Negro?”
The adversaries were renowned American writer and activist Mr. James Baldwin; and one of the countries most influential conservatives and political commentators, Mr. William F. Buckley.
At a moment when divisiveness is most pronounced and the ability to listen and engage in respectful dialogue has all but disappeared from the political landscape, The Continuum Company is pleased to bring this galvanizing and timely reimagining of the famed debate to La Pietra.
Previous reviews:
“One of the most compelling examples of political theatre I’ve seen in years.” – Broadway World
UK ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“This is Teagle F. Bougere’s show. He gives an absolutely riveting performance as Baldwin.” –
The Stage ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“It’s not theater for the faint-hearted. What it is, however, is an engaging, exciting, and endlessly thought-provoking recreation of a watershed moment for American civil rights.” – Stage Buddy
“Teagle F. Bougere is fantastic as Baldwin, softly spoken, calm and intellectual at first but becoming increasingly impassioned as his time wears on.” – The Reviews Hub ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Featured Biographies
Teagle F. Bougere
ACTOR
Mr. Bougere is delighted to be returning to La Pietra where he played Macbeth in the Continuum Theater production in 2012.
Broadway appearances include The Tempest (Caliban) with Patrick Stewart, directed by George C. Wolfe; A Raisin In The Sun (Asagai) with Phylicia Rashad and The Crucible (Judge Hawthorne), directed by Ivo van Hove.
Selected television: Law and Order S.V.U. a.d.a. Phillip Baptiste (recurring); Queen America (series regular) with Catherine Zeta-Jones; The Blacklist; Bull; The Mist; The Path; Cosby; The Big C; The Job; A Gifted Man; Conviction, What The Deaf Man Heard;” innumerable episodes for the various Law and Order franchises.
Film: A Night At The Museum; The Pelican Brief; Two Weeks Notice; The Imposters,
Selected Off-Broadway: The New Englanders, Manhattan Theater Club (Audelco Award-Outstanding Lead Actor); Beast In The Jungle, Vineyard Theater, directed by Susan Stroman; Is God Is, Soho Rep; A Last Dance For Sybil by Ossie Davis, starring Ruby Dee and Coriolanus at The New York Shakespeare Festival. Coriolanus was Mr. Bougere’s 13th appearance with the New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater. Past turns at the festival include Plato in Socrates (with Michael Stuhlbarg); Caska in Julius Caesar; Eros in Antony and Cleopatra, directed by and starring Vanessa Redgrave; and Cymbeline, directed by Daniel Sullivan. Regionally Mr. Bougere created the title role in the world premiere stage adaptation of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man at The Court Theater In Chicago. The production traveled to the Studio Theater in Washington D.C., and Boston’s Huntington Theater.
Mr. Bougere is in the process of creating a one man show centered around the legacy of James Baldwin
Jed Dimond
ACTOR AND TEACHER OF ACTING
Jed Diamond is an actor and teacher of acting and the Alexander Technique (AT). NY and regional theatre: Wheelhouse Theatre Company; The New York Shakespeare Festival; Roundabout Theatre; The Acting Company; Signature Theatre; Arena Stage; Syracuse Stage; etc. He teaches acting and AT at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville / Clarence Brown Theatre, where he led the acting programs from 2005-2023, including an international top-25 MFA program. He has appeared in more than 20 roles at the Clarence Brown. Prior to UTK, he was founding faculty of the New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare Lab and of the Actors Center. He taught at NYU Tisch School of the Arts; Stella Adler Studio; Playwright’s Horizons Theatre School; Fordham University, etc. He is an AmSAT* certified teacher of the Alexander Technique, trained in New York and London. He has taught AT as a guest artist at Chautauqua Theatre Company, Yale School of Drama, Playmaker’s Repertory Theatre, Great River Shakespeare Festival, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. He has an MFA from the NYU Graduate Acting Program. Special thanks to Jim Calder, for 38 years of learning, collaboration, friendship and fun.
*American Society of the Alexander Technique