The 17th Annual Fire This Time Festival breaks ground this winter at The Apollo Stages at The Victoria! Don’t miss the incredible lineup of six world-premiere 10-minute plays cover a range from the humorous to moving, pointed, and political, all directed by preeminent director and creator, Ken-Matt Martin.
“To bring The Fire This Time Festival to The Apollo is to root our work in the very heart of Black artistic excellence. The Apollo has always been a beacon for voices that define culture and truth. This partnership allows us to continue nurturing the playwrights and storytellers who are illuminating our world in powerful new ways.”
Kelley Girod, Founder of The Fire This Time Festival and Apollo New Works Director.
Online tickets for the shows on January 23rd and January 24th are currently sold out. A limited number of tickets will be available to purchase in-person at our Box Office. In person tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis. The Apollo's Box Office will be open from 10am to 8pm for Friday performances and from 12pm - 8pm for Saturday matinee and evening performance. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early and experience Got To Be There: The Apollo, Its People and Its Stories in the Laura and Frank Baker Gallery.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
ABOUT THE FIRE THIS TIME FESTIVAL:
Founded in 2009 by playwright and Apollo’s Director of New Works, Kelley Nicole Girod, The Fire This Time Festival provides a platform for early career playwrights of African and African American descent. Since its founding, the Festival has produced the plays of dozens of emerging writers whose works explore a wide range of themes and perspectives. The Festival also supports actors, directors, and technical personnel to help seed the pipeline with diverse talent and amplify underrepresented voices in theater in New York and beyond. The Fire This Time playwrights have gone on to have their plays produced in cities across the United States and work as writers in film and television. The Fire This Time Festival has evolved into an annual January event and continues to grow, expanding upon its core short play presentations to offer panel discussions, staged readings, a playwright’s lab and other programs. The Festival has become a destination for diverse audiences, producers, and artists seeking new possibilities and opportunities in contemporary theater.
ABOUT THE PLAYS:
Everything But–
Written by Teniia Micazia Brown (She/her/hers)
A story about what's said, what's felt, and what’s lost when we don't fully choose.
Black To Save The Day
Written by Preston Crowder
When Sista Steel, a member of the underfunded Black Superhero League, defeats the villainous Gentrifier, she thinks the day is saved. But her fame-hungry ex, Fire Blade, shows up with an offer to join the elite and very white Great Supremacy League, forcing her to choose between community loyalty and personal gain in this humorous superhero satire.
Clumsy
Written by Mo Holmes
A young man crashes his car into a woman's kitchen. She tries to make him grits. How do you forgive an accident like that?
DNR
Written by Naomi Lorrain
After not seeing each other for nearly a decade and a half, Andrea returns home to reconnect with her cousin, Ralphie.
Goose
Written by DeLane McDuffie
A young idealist joins a fiery collective of 1960s freedom-riding activists on their way to a 2020s D.C. protest march. But whose battle are they fighting?
White Diamond
Written by Donathan Walters
As Andrea prepares her mother's funeral in a midwestern town where image and reputation is everything, her son Hakeem arrives with a request: he wants his boyfriend to be more involved in the family. In the thick of grief and tradition, a deeper tension surfaces - one that neither of them expected to face.
The 17th Annual Fire This Time Festival breaks ground this winter at The Apollo Stages at The Victoria! Don’t miss the incredible lineup of six world-premiere 10-minute plays cover a range from the humorous to moving, pointed, and political, all directed by preeminent director and creator, Ken-Matt Martin.
“To bring The Fire This Time Festival to The Apollo is to root our work in the very heart of Black artistic excellence. The Apollo has always been a beacon for voices that define culture and truth. This partnership allows us to continue nurturing the playwrights and storytellers who are illuminating our world in powerful new ways.”
Kelley Girod, Founder of The Fire This Time Festival and Apollo New Works Director.
Online tickets for the shows on January 23rd and January 24th are currently sold out. A limited number of tickets will be available to purchase in-person at our Box Office. In person tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis. The Apollo's Box Office will be open from 10am to 8pm for Friday performances and from 12pm - 8pm for Saturday matinee and evening performance. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early and experience Got To Be There: The Apollo, Its People and Its Stories in the Laura and Frank Baker Gallery.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
ABOUT THE FIRE THIS TIME FESTIVAL:
Founded in 2009 by playwright and Apollo’s Director of New Works, Kelley Nicole Girod, The Fire This Time Festival provides a platform for early career playwrights of African and African American descent. Since its founding, the Festival has produced the plays of dozens of emerging writers whose works explore a wide range of themes and perspectives. The Festival also supports actors, directors, and technical personnel to help seed the pipeline with diverse talent and amplify underrepresented voices in theater in New York and beyond. The Fire This Time playwrights have gone on to have their plays produced in cities across the United States and work as writers in film and television. The Fire This Time Festival has evolved into an annual January event and continues to grow, expanding upon its core short play presentations to offer panel discussions, staged readings, a playwright’s lab and other programs. The Festival has become a destination for diverse audiences, producers, and artists seeking new possibilities and opportunities in contemporary theater.
ABOUT THE PLAYS:
Everything But–
Written by Teniia Micazia Brown (She/her/hers)
A story about what's said, what's felt, and what’s lost when we don't fully choose.
Black To Save The Day
Written by Preston Crowder
When Sista Steel, a member of the underfunded Black Superhero League, defeats the villainous Gentrifier, she thinks the day is saved. But her fame-hungry ex, Fire Blade, shows up with an offer to join the elite and very white Great Supremacy League, forcing her to choose between community loyalty and personal gain in this humorous superhero satire.
Clumsy
Written by Mo Holmes
A young man crashes his car into a woman's kitchen. She tries to make him grits. How do you forgive an accident like that?
DNR
Written by Naomi Lorrain
After not seeing each other for nearly a decade and a half, Andrea returns home to reconnect with her cousin, Ralphie.
Goose
Written by DeLane McDuffie
A young idealist joins a fiery collective of 1960s freedom-riding activists on their way to a 2020s D.C. protest march. But whose battle are they fighting?
White Diamond
Written by Donathan Walters
As Andrea prepares her mother's funeral in a midwestern town where image and reputation is everything, her son Hakeem arrives with a request: he wants his boyfriend to be more involved in the family. In the thick of grief and tradition, a deeper tension surfaces - one that neither of them expected to face.
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After nearly two-decades, The Apollo Theater is back in the African American Day Parade and this year, we're not just marching, we're being honored. The Apollo is the inaugural recipient of the AADP Community Institution Award, recognizing our legacy of advancing Black culture, artistic excellence, and community impact in Harlem and beyond.
This year's theme, "Good Businesses Sustain Our Future," couldn't be more fitting. As the largest Black performing arts center in the country, The Apollo has always understood what it means to be an economic engine and cultural anchor for our community, and this parade, the largest in the U.S. celebrating Black culture and NYC's biggest parade by float volume, is a chance to celebrate that spirit together.
Here's where to find us all weekend:
Location: Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building Plaza
Time: Starts at 12 Noon
Apollo Teaching Artist Charlene "Chi Chi" Smith brings Education at The Apollo's dance pedagogy straight to the plaza. This hands-on, joyful, and rooted artistry shapes talent in NYC schools via Apollo School Programs.
Location: Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building Plaza
Time: Starts at 11 AM
2024 Amateur Night winner Cruz Angel takes the mic, bringing his award-winning vocals to the crowd before the parade steps off.
Location: 7th Avenue, 111th to 136th Street
Time: From 12:30 PM to 6 PM
Watch for The Apollo's float, moving to the mixes of DJ Slid3, as we march alongside 300+ performances and 37 floats celebrating Black culture, business, and community.
The Apollo has always been where Harlem shows up for itself. This September, we're showing up in the streets. Come be part of it.
Get ready, Harlem—the chauffer is pulling up with The Womack Sisters. Kicking off The Apollo’s Music Café season, the LA-based soul and R&B trio — BG, Zeimani and Kucha — are carrying on their family's legendary musical legacy. With stellar vocals, undeniable chemistry and timeless rhythm running through their veins, soul royalty has arrived.
About Apollo Music Café:
The Apollo Music Café series presents artists on the rise to a unique audience. Featuring diverse performances across a myriad of genres (R&B, hip hop, soul, jazz, pop, country, funk and rock), this series showcases a variety of artists who impact the way music is heard and experienced.
Fresh off a tour with Kehlani and Durand Bernarr, TheARTI$T comes to Harlem for an exclusive late-night takeover of Apollo Music Café – featuring songs from the albums Who I Am, The ARTchives, and DND. It’s an intimate night of raw and confessional soul from one of R&B’s most dynamic rising stars.
About Apollo Music Café:
The Apollo Music Café series presents artists on the rise to a unique audience. Featuring diverse performances across a myriad of genres (R&B, hip hop, soul, jazz, pop, country, funk and rock), this series showcases a variety of artists who impact the way music is heard and experienced.
THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT
The Apollo’s Works in Process season kicks off with a free staged reading of Obie Award winning, Emmy and Tony nominated actor, playwright, producer, and director Jordan Cooper’s new play Sitcom. Get ready to laugh as the creative mind behind the groundbreaking BET+ sitcom The Ms. Pat Show takes audiences for a ride when the dysfunctional cast of a hit 90's TV show reunite for the first time in 25 years for a dinner they will never forget.
This is a free community presentation.
Jordan E. Cooper
Tony Award-nominated Actor, Playwright, Producer, and Director Jordan E. Cooper became the youngest Black American playwright in the history of Broadway when his critically acclaimed play Ain’t No Mo’ opened in 2022. The play, also starring Cooper, received six Tony Award nominations and was declared “Broadway's most important new play” by Harper’s Bazaar. Off-Broadway, Ain’t No Mo’ earned Jordan an Obie Award win and a Drama League Award nomination. Cooper also became the youngest showrunner in television history with the groundbreaking BET+ sitcom The Ms. Pat Show which he also Co-Created and Executive Produces. The series has received multiple Emmy nominations and earned Cooper an African American Film Critics Association award. Jordan was included in Forbes’ prestigious “30 Under 30” list in 2024 and Vanity Fair’s “The Season’s Brightest (Broadway) Stars” list in 2023. He was featured in FX’s seminal series “Pose” and can currently be seen in the hit feature sequel Freakier Friday.
Kick off your Halloween weekend with your new spooky-season tradition! Harlem's own Melanin Madness returns to The Apollo Stages at The Victoria for another spook-tacular immersive screening of the timeless classic Vampire in Brooklyn. This time, with even more opportunities to join the fun!
Apollo Works in Process: In Place of Monuments centers the friendship of two Black American and Caribbean friends, examining how state-sanctioned violence threatens to tear their family and community apart. Through recalling memories across time, and incorporating movement and dance, the play aims to create a portal for audiences to envision more just and liberated futures for Black and Brown people. The play will be devised in community through a series of workshops (writing, somatic/dance, readings, story circles, wardrobe design etc.).
The staged reading of the one-act will be followed by a talkback with the creatives.
Singer/songwriter Jane Handcock brings her soulful sound to Harlem with a rare, intimate night at the Apollo Music Café. Known as the “First Lady of Death Row Records,” Handcock continues to rise as one of the most compelling voices in modern R&B.
About Apollo Music Café:
The Apollo Music Café series presents artists on the rise to a unique audience. Featuring diverse performances across a myriad of genres (R&B, hip hop, soul, jazz, pop, country, funk and rock), this series showcases a variety of artists who impact the way music is heard and experienced.
Adeva, the undisputed Queen of House, makes a late-night stop in Harlem! Renowned worldwide for her raw, powerhouse vocals and legendary stage command, Adeva delivers a high-octane set packed with timeless anthems that defined a movement. It’s a night of classic hits such as "Warning," "I Thank You," "Respect," and more. Yes, Adeva WILL House you!
About Apollo Music Café:
The Apollo Music Café series presents artists on the rise to a unique audience. Featuring diverse performances across a myriad of genres (R&B, hip hop, soul, jazz, pop, country, funk and rock), this series showcases a variety of artists who impact the way music is heard and experienced.
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With a career defined by constant reinvention, Miles Davis continuously shaped and reshaped the sound of jazz, moving from bebop to cool jazz, post-bop to fusion, and beyond. His time in New York City, a hub of jazz innovation and culture, started with Juilliard. To mark the iconic alum's 100th birthday, Juilliard Jazz and The Apollo present a series of multidisciplinary performances on the legendary Harlem stage, honoring some of Davis' landmark albums: Birth of the Cool, Bitches Brew, Filles de Kilimanjaro, and Kind of Blue.
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With a career defined by constant reinvention, Miles Davis continuously shaped and reshaped the sound of jazz, moving from bebop to cool jazz, post-bop to fusion, and beyond. His time in New York City, a hub of jazz innovation and culture, started with Juilliard. To mark the iconic alum's 100th birthday, Juilliard Jazz and The Apollo present a series of multidisciplinary performances on the legendary Harlem stage, honoring some of Davis' landmark albums: Birth of the Cool, Bitches Brew, Filles de Kilimanjaro, and Kind of Blue.
GET YOUR TICKETS:
With a career defined by constant reinvention, Miles Davis continuously shaped and reshaped the sound of jazz, moving from bebop to cool jazz, post-bop to fusion, and beyond. His time in New York City, a hub of jazz innovation and culture, started with Juilliard. To mark the iconic alum's 100th birthday, Juilliard Jazz and The Apollo present a series of multidisciplinary performances on the legendary Harlem stage, honoring some of Davis' landmark albums: Birth of the Cool, Bitches Brew, Filles de Kilimanjaro, and Kind of Blue.
GET YOUR TICKETS:
Inspired by the tradition of gathering together to experience music, Black Genius Listening Sessions are collaboratively generated musical journeys that invite audiences to dive deep into an artist's discography or curate live soundtracks around a shared theme. For this special edition at The Apollo, we will explore the concept of Black Genius — what is it, what does it sound like, who are the artists that are emblematic of it, and what are the songs on its soundtrack?
Accessibility
The Apollo is here for everyone. Artists, audiences, and all supporters should be able to experience The Apollo fully and in a way that is comfortable for them.
The Apollo has taken comprehensive steps to ensure that entrances, seating, restrooms, and more are as accessible and compliant as possible. Learn more about accessibility options and support services that might be right for you.
All persons and bags are subject to search. Bags that have passed inspection must fit comfortably under your seat. Oversized bags are prohibited.
No outside food or beverage. Accommodations are made for patrons with medical needs. Please email access@apollotheater.org or call the box office at (212) 531-5305 for assistance.
