The Ring Cyle is a nine play cycle of classical adaptations. I aim to adapt classic works and put them in conversation with the injustices Black, brown, and Queer people face today in society. These adaptations not only place black, brown, and queer characters at the story's center, but give justice to those characters who have been used, abused and ultimately killed by white playwrights. These adaptations are my attempt at putting my story and my people’s stories into a literary canon that seldomly recognizes our existence.  The Ring Cycle takes place in one of my favorite literary pieces,  Dante’s Inferno by Dante Alighieri. Each play centers itself in one of the nine circles of hell. By exploring Alighieri’s Inferno, I am placing the journey of Dante through the bowels of hell into today and watching Black people maneuver that hell on earth. Inspired by Frantz Fanon’s decolonization theory, the intent of these adaptations are to incite action and bring about new thoughts through any means necessary. 

The Plays

10,000 Moor is an all-woman adaptation of Titus Andronicus where Aaron the Moor takes center stage, engaging with the injustices Black and brown people, more specifically Black women face today. 10,000 Moor explores the narrative of what it means to do all you can to protect your children and examines a new reason for the violence these characters perpetrate - love. 

10,000 Moor: An Adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. . . Or Something Like That

The Seventh Ring: Violence 

Call Me By Any Other Name...Just As Sweet  a queer deconstruction of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet​

​The Second Ring: Lust and Those Who Died For LOve 

Fight/Violence Reel- Fight Direction by Nigel Semaj

Transposed to the NYC Ballroom scene and centering queer bodies to stake a claim for queer love, Call Me By Any Other Name...Just As Sweet is an explorative new adaptation that steps outside of how we have typically viewed and experienced the story of Romeo and Juliet. Using inspirations from Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, Call Me By Any Other Name… examines the role of fate and who gets to love. Centered in the second ring of hell, Lust, the ensemble in this adaptation is forced to relive the tale of woe. By expanding the role of the lovers to consist of Mercutio, Tybalt, Paris, Romeo, Juliet, and even Peter, this adaptation examines the story not just from the eyes of Romeo and Juliet but also those consumed by their love. 

ABout The Ring Cyle​