Yvette Heyliger: Lessons to Learn

I am encouraging my students to be students of the world: to look around them, to see what’s happening, see how their lives are affected by world events and the changes of our society because that’s fodder for future plays that they may write or that they may participate in as artists.

YVETTE HEYLIGER Playwright/Director/Producing Artist/Author is a lifelong theatre artist, as well as an educator, and the author of What a Piece of Work is Man! Full-Length Plays for Leading Women. Yvette is a long-time activist for women in the American theatre and was recently named a finalist for the Advance Gender Equity in the Arts 2022 AGE Legacy Playwright Grant. 

The Children of the People: Writings by and about CUNY students on race and social justice, offers the perspective of past and present CUNY students–some, now faculty–on the success of this experiment.

Join us in the James Gallery at the CUNY Graduate Center to celebrate the launch of the book with an evening of readings by the book’s contributors Connie Gemson, Yvette HeyligerJose LopezKate McCaffreyLee Painter-KimJavier RiverosCynthia Tobar, and Alison Wong who will be joined by the editors Rose M. KimGrace M. Cho, and Robin McGinty, followed by a discussion lead by scholar, editor, and activist Conor Tomás Reed on the writing of the book as well as the current state of CUNY and public higher education. 

Date and time

Thursday, September 15, 2022

5:30 PM – 7:00 PM EDT

Location

The James Gallery

365 5th Avenue

New York, NY 10016

YVETTE HEYLIGER is a playwright, producing artist, educator, activist, and author of What a Piece of Work is Man! Full-Length Plays for Leading Women. Yvette has contributed to many anthologies including On Holy Ground: The National Black Theatre Festival Anthology, ARTemis Arts Wisdom Anthology, She Persisted: 30 Ten-Minute Plays by Women Over 40, She Persisted: Monologues from Plays by Women Over 40, Performer’s Stuff, The Monologue Project, Later Chapters: The Best Scenes and Monologues for Actors over Fifty, Short Plays on Reproductive Freedom, 24 Gun Control Plays, The Best Women’s Stage Monologues 2003, and The Best Stage Scenes 2003. Yvette has also penned theatre industry-related articles for magazines, blogs, a scholarly journal, and textbooks including The Children of the People: Writings By and About CUNY Students on Race and Social Justice and Performing #MeToo: How Not to Look Away. Realizing that in order to grow as a playwright she needed to see her work living and breathing on the stage, Yvette hung up her shingle and became a producing artist. Yvette’s plays, including her one-woman show, have been presented in theatre festivals in NY and LA, as well as at the prestigious National Black Theatre Festival. Yvette is a long-time activist for women in the American theatre and currently serves as a member or in a leadership capacity with Honor Roll! (an advocacy group for women+ playwrights over 40), Dramatists Guild’s Diversity Equity Inclusion Access committee, the League of Professional Theatre Women, and 50/50 in 2020. Awards: Finalist – Advance Gender Equity in the Arts 2022 AGE Legacy Playwright Grant finalist, AUDELCO Recognition Award for Excellence in Black Theatre’s August Wilson Playwright Award, National Black Theatre Festival Emerging Producer Award, and Best Playwright nomination NAACP’s Annual Theatre Awards, among others. Memberships: Dramatist Guild, AEA, SDC, and AFTRA-SAG. Yvette Heyliger | New Play Exchange

Social Media: 

Facebook: Yvette Heyliger | Facebook

Twitter: Yvette Heyliger (@Twinbizness) / Twitter

Instagram: Yvette Heyliger (@twinbizness)

LinkedIn: Yvette Heyliger | LinkedIn  

Moise Morancy: Returning the Favor

Artists have a responsibility to reflect the times . . . my experience as a young Black male looks through the experiences of an African-American male, but I’m a Haitian-American, so then there’s all those different dynamics that I’m taking from my Haitian culture, and I’m bringing these things in, and I’m taking from my American culture. Let me pick their brain. Let’s talk about what’s going on. Let’s put it on a camera. Let’s be authentic and be good people while doing it and tell the story.

Moise Morancy is an American actor, writer, director, producer, poet and activist from Brooklyn, New York. 

Moise always had a passion for telling stories. His career as a writer began as a young boy, capturing personal aspects of life’s challenges through written expressions such as poetry, songwriting and eventually screenwriting. His literary works are transparent and serve as a safe haven for his life experiences. He has always had the mindset of turning one’s pain into power. He believes that is what gave birth to his writing career. 

His theatrical background has spanned for 20 years. He has performed at notable theaters such as the August Wilson Theater on Broadway, The Public Theater and has starred alongside Chloë Sevigny in Downtown Race Riot at the New Group which had a successful run at the Signature Theater. 

Since the age of ten, Moise has pursued a career in film and television. He has appeared on a number of television shows such as Law & Order: SVU as a Trayvon Martin inspired character. He was invited back years later as a guest-star as Antonio, acting with Hip-Hop legend, Ice-T. He has also appeared on Showtime’s The Affair,  Happy!, Quantico, Blue Bloods, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Hunters, and more. 

Morancy’s diligence and willingness to learn has brought him under the guidance of television producer and show-runner, Patrick McManus as well as Littleton Road’s President, Kelly Funke. They were vital in assisting in the development of a television pilot based on his award-winning short film “When a Tree Falls,” a quasi-true story of his life, which was written, produced and directed by Moise himself. 

I wrote, directed, produced, and starred as Cleon in The Warriors prequel. A proof of concept. What would happen if Cleon, a Black man in the 70’s – formed a gang with people from different walks of life? Shout out to our amazing cast and crew! I would like to take this time to heap praise on everyone involved in the original film. We stand on your shoulders. You all paved the way for us to be better at our craft. Thank you for the audacity to make that film and make us feel like we can bop our way through any adversity. You guys weren’t good. You were “the best.” Growing up, I studied the video game and the movie. I’d always tell myself …. If there’s ever a Warriors remake and there’s an audition for the role of Cleon. You best believe…. ”it’s on. And we’re going.” The Warriors (2022) out now! 🙏🏿

Over the years Morancy garnered hundred of millions of views as his videos sparked conversations regarding sexual assault, race, AIDS awareness, politics, sexuality and more. 

Independently, Moise has been featured on platforms like: BET, Huffington Post, BBC News, Vibe Magazine, Essence, Deadline, Variety, NY Daily News, XXL Magazine, Shade45, AJ+ and more. He was even hailed as American Black Film Fesitval’s “Emerging Director.”

His viral poems and rap songs captured the attention of the likes of music legends such as T.I, Erykah Badu, Nas  and more. Hot97’s Ebro played his music on his radio show “Ebro in The Morning.”


It’s safe to say that Moise is a man of many talents, you don’t know what you’ll get next…

#The Warriors #BET #WhenATree Falls #AmericanBlackFilmFestival #TVpilotColumbia #Patrick McManus

Social media handles:

www.facebook.com/moisemorancy

www.instagram.com/moisemorancy

www.twitter.com/moisemorancy