Nikki Brake-Sillá

Nikki Brake-Sillá, a Black playwright/filmmaker with an invisible disability merges science and art to expose people to inherent bias in the medical system. She weaves stories that give urgency to folx who birth, (AGAINST MEDICAL ADVICE), COVID frontline workers, (SILOS), and exposes the challenges of uterine transplant research trials, (REWOMBED). But what gives her the most joy is giving someone their likeness on screen and stage. ginifilms.com

Nikki Brake-Sillá's play ReWombed, a work discussing the inherent medical bias, has been selected for the Off-Broadway Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre First Festival Reading in New York City (May 16-18). As her first formal introduction to the New York theatre scene and her first Off-Broadway developmental reading, this opportunity will introduce Nikki to numerous directors, designers, and agents looking to support emerging talent – and will allow her to network and make lasting relationships that strengthen her artistic practice and broaden her community. This grant will support Nikki’s  accommodations, food, and transportation for travel. 

Nikki Brake-Sillá's project, Say It Ain't So,  is a full-length play about the relationships between two sisters: Sandra, an affluent Black mother, on the lam with her Deaf sister, Renny, after she kills her husband. "Say It Ain't So" is a play about family that asks, "What do you pass on and what should not be inherited?" In Phase One of the play, focused on character development, Nikki hopes to create a space that acknowledges the intersections of disability, race, gender, and sexuality — and makes sure that people with disabilities are the ones shaping their own narratives.

Nikki Brake-Sillá (ACG ’19; WOO ’20, ’21, ’22) has the opportunity to present her play “from” at Neighborhood House in June. "from" illustrates the complications of cultural differences that arise when one person has a strong sense of self and history, and the other has ethnic erosion due to the lasting impressions of slavery. The performance and post-wrap discussion will be filmed, edited, and uploaded online for a short period for broader accessibility. This grant will support with finishing funds for the production in the form of COVID Rapid PCR tests, actor rehearsal fees, and sound tech support.

Nikki was selected to participate in the National Black Theatre's (NBT) Soul Series: Micro Development Sessions in December. This opportunity will allow Nikki to be in NBT's virtual space to workshop, explore, and develop the first-stage of her short play, "from", which illustrates the complications of cultural differences that arise when one person has a strong sense of self and history, and the other has ethnic erosion. This grant will support with finishing funding to fairly compensate the actors and director involved in the work.

Nikki Brake-Sillá (ACG ’19) has been invited to participate in Directors Gathering Jam 2020. (DG)Jam 2020 is curated by Briyana D. Clarel (ACG ’20) and Katrina Shobe, who are interested in building a space that highlights Black directors. This space will provide Nikki with an opportunity to brainstorm, rehearse, and execute a short, theatrical Zoom piece for the community alongside directing mentors.
 
To ensure safety, the Jam will occur online in February 2021. Nikki will use the funds to ensure her cast is paid for the participation throughout the rehearsal and performance process. She will also equip the actors with necessary equipment such as ring lights, props, and microphones to comfortably perform and rehearse online.  

Nikki will perform Against Medical Advice (A.M.A.), a monologue that takes place over a one-week stay in a neonatal intensive care unit of a hospital. In a society where the mortality rate for black mothers is rising, the monologue will be used as a demonstrative tool to educate health care providers and breakdown their inherent bias.