Every Saturday at 5pm EST from 3^rd October till 31^st October, the new thought-provoking series Red Pilling America, hosted by TV and Broadway Star Ciara Renée, will be putting the spotlight on democracy, American politics and the current socio-economic climate through the lens of Tonya Pinkins’ new socio-political horror film, Red Pill. New guest stars will be featured each weekend while participants will be able to chime in on the live discussion, asking any and all questions.

RED PILL MOVIE 2020 LLC

Written, produced and directed by Pinkins herself, Red Pill is a progressive dystopian nightmare shot by cinematographer John Hudak Jr. and is set to be released this fall. The movie is a visually stunning metaphor for all our fears and a reminder that there are worse things than death. Cassandra (Pinkins), a Black American woman fearful for the fate of her country in the next election, reluctantly accompanies her best friend Rocky, a land preserver activist (Ruben Blades) and his wife Emelia (Luba Mason), her roommate Lily (Kathyrn Erbe), close friend Nick (Jake O’Flaherty), and her partner Bobby (Adesola Osakalumi) to canvas in newly blue Virginia. As the friends arrive at their “Super-Host” housing, they encounter signs that point to possible trouble and before the weekend is over, the fight for their country becomes a fight for their lives.

Pinkins: Red Pilling Of America will take place through Marissa Lynn Daniel Studios on Zoom. Proceeds will go towards the funding of Red Pill and to supporting actors during COVID-19.  For more information and to enrol, visit, www.marissalynnstudios.com.

TONYA PINKINS

Tonya Pinkins is a three-time Tony nominee for Caroline Or Change, Play On! and Tony winner for Jelly’s Last Jam. Author of Get Over Yourself: How To Drop The Drama And Claim The Life You Deserve, she is also the host of You Can’t Say That at www.bpn.fm/ycst and writer/director of Red Pill.

CIARA RENÉE

Ciara Renée‘s career includes Broadway’s Frozen, Big Fish, Pippin, and the world premiere of Disney’s The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. On television, she has starred in Facebook’s Strangers, Netflix’s Master Of None, CBS’s Big Bang Theory, CW’s Legends Of Tomorrow, Arrow, and Flash. She also played Peggy/Maria in the final lab of Hamilton and co-directed (with Michael Dallatorre) the short documentary, Beating The Odds: Children’s Defense Fund Of California. On top of that she is also a writer, EP, and co-director of the short film Reddy Records.

Guest Stars:

RASHAD ROBINSON

Rashad Robinson is an American civil rights leader and the president of Color Of Change. He has served as a board member of RaceForward, Demos, State Voices and currently sits on the board of the Hazen Foundation. Robinson has appeared in NPR, MSNBC, CNN, NPR, PBS, and BET and has a monthly column in the US edition of The Guardian. His editorials have been featured in New York Times, Huffington Post, The Washington Post, and USA Today.

JAY ARMSTRONG JOHNSON

Jay Armstrong Johnson, known as one of Broadway’s most versatile triple threats has appeared in FIVE Broadway shows including the Tony-Award winning revival of Hair, Catch Me If You Can, Hands On A Hardbody, On The Town, for which he won a Drama Desk Award and Phantom Of The Opera. Johnson also starred on TV in ABC Studios’ Quanitco.

NIK WALKER

Nik Walker led the Broadway cast of Ain’t Too Proud and starred in Hamilton, Motown The Musical, Peter And The Starcatcher and TV’s Law And Order Svu. Walker is also the playwright behind The Bloody Boston Trilogy and cohost of The Chaos Twins.

MICHAEL JAMES SCOTT

Michael James Scott starred in Disney’s Aladdin as the Genie, as well as Something Rotten, The Book Of Mormon, Mamma Mia, Tarzan, All Shook Up, The Pirate Queen, Elf and Hair.

TELLY LEUNG

Telly Leung, star of Broadway’s Aladdin, has been recognized for his notable work in Rent, Flower Drum Song, Pacific Overtures, Godspell, Allegiance and TV’s Glee.

JON RUA

Jon Rua originated roles in Hamilton, The Spongebob Musical and In The Heights and starred on screen in Blacklist, Blue Bloods and Law And Order. Rua is also a celebrated choreographer and founder of The Grit.

PAUL OAKLEY STOVALL

Hamilton star Paul Oakley Stovall, best known for Columbus (2020) Shortbus (2006) and Buffalo (2019), is an actor, activist, and president of KernoFortoProductions. Stovall was also a staff writer on season four of the critically acclaimed STARZ series, Survivor’s Remorse.

JOANNA CARPENTER

Joanna Carpenter is a New York City-based actor, singer and director who is best known for her work on The Lonely Cure (2014), Half a Dozen (2015) and Nevertheless, She Auditioned (2018)

YAEL SILVER, MARISSA LYNN DANIEL, WILL VAN MOSS

Marissa Lynn Daniel, along with Tony-Award winning producer Yael Silver and Will Van Moss will produce this event. Jordan Leigh Auriemma and Adriana Shaw will associate produce.

Every Thursday at 3pm from 10 September – 31 October, Tony award-winning actress Tonya Pinkins and TV & Broadway star Ciara Renée will come together for exclusive, one-on-one conversations with new guest stars as Pinkins puts a horror-fying lens on the upcoming US election with her socio-political horror film Red Pill. Red Pilling of America will feature conversations with Chuck Cooper, Lilli Cooper, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Nik Walker, Jon Rua, Telly Leung, Michael James Scott, and more.

RED PILL MOVIE 2020 LLC

Written, produced and directed by Pinkins herself, Red Pill is a progressive dystopian nightmare shot by cinematographer John Hudak Jr. and is set to be released this fall. The movie is a visually stunning metaphor for all our fears and a reminder that there are worse things than death. Cassandra (Pinkins), a Black American woman fearful for the fate of her country in the next election, reluctantly accompanies her best friend Rocky, a land preserver activist (Ruben Blades) and his wife Emelia (Luba Mason), her roommate Lily (Kathyrn Erbe), close friend Nick (Jake O’Flaherty), and her partner Bobby (Adesola Osakalumi) to canvas in newly blue Virginia. As the friends arrive at their “Super-Host” housing, they encounter signs that point to possible trouble and before the weekend is over, the fight for their country becomes a fight for their lives.

Pinkins: Red Pilling Of America will take place through Marissa Lynn Daniel Studios on Zoom. Proceeds will go towards the funding of Red Pill and to supporting actors during COVID-19.  For more information and to enrol, visit, www.marissalynnstudios.com.

TONYA PINKINS

Tonya Pinkins is a three-time Tony nominee for Caroline Or Change, Play On! and Tony winner for Jelly’s Last Jam. Author of Get Over Yourself: How To Drop The Drama And Claim The Life You Deserve, she is also the host of You Can’t Say That at www.bpn.fm/ycst and writer/director of Red Pill.

CIARA RENÉE

Ciara Renée‘s career includes Broadway’s Frozen, Big Fish, Pippin, and the world premiere of Disney’s The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. On television, she has starred in Facebook’s Strangers, Netflix’s Master Of None, CBS’s Big Bang Theory, CW’s Legends Of Tomorrow, Arrow, and Flash. She also played Peggy/Maria in the final lab of Hamilton and co-directed (with Michael Dallatorre) the short documentary, Beating The Odds: Children’s Defense Fund Of California. On top of that she is also a writer, EP, and co-director of the short film Reddy Records.

Guest Stars:

CHUCK COOPER

Chuck Cooper is a Tony Award winner for THE LIFE and is best known for Amen Corner, Passion, Getting Away With Murder, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, Chicago, Caroline, Or Change, Finian’s Rainbow and Amazing Grace.

LILLI COOPER

Lilli Cooper starred in Broadway’s Tootsie, for which she received a Tony Nomination, Spongebob Squarepants, Wicked, and Spring Awakening. On television, she has starred in Dynasty (The Cw), Bull, Instinct, Elementary, The Code and The Good Fight (CBS).

JAY ARMSTRONG JOHNSON

Jay Armstrong Johnson, known as one of Broadway’s most versatile triple threats has appeared in FIVE Broadway shows including the Tony-Award winning revival of Hair, Catch Me If You Can, Hands On A Hardbody, On The Town, for which he won a Drama Desk Award and Phantom Of The Opera. Johnson also starred on TV in ABC Studios’ Quanitco.

NIK WALKER

Nik Walker led the Broadway cast of Ain’t Too Proud and starred in Hamilton, Motown The Musical, Peter And The Starcatcher and TV’s Law And Order Svu. Walker is also the playwright behind The Bloody Boston Trilogy and cohost of The Chaos Twins.

MICHAEL JAMES SCOTT

Michael James Scott starred in Disney’s Aladdin as the Genie, as well as Something Rotten, The Book Of Mormon, Mamma Mia, Tarzan, All Shook Up, The Pirate Queen, Elf and Hair.

TELLY LEUNG

Telly Leung, star of Broadway’s Aladdin, has been recognized for his notable work in Rent, Flower Drum Song, Pacific Overtures, Godspell, Allegiance and TV’s Glee.

JON RUA

Jon Rua originated roles in Hamilton, The Spongebob Musical and In The Heights and starred on screen in Blacklist, Blue Bloods and Law And Order. Rua is also a celebrated choreographer and founder of The Grit.

PAUL OAKLEY STOVALL

Hamilton star Paul Oakley Stovall, best known for Columbus (2020) Shortbus (2006) and Buffalo (2019), is an actor, activist, and president of KernoFortoProductions. Stovall was also a staff writer on season four of the critically acclaimed STARZ series, Survivor’s Remorse.

YAEL SILVER, MARISSA LYNN DANIEL, WILL VAN MOSS

Marissa Lynn Daniel, along with Tony-Award winning producer Yael Silver and Will Van Moss will produce this event. Jordan Leigh Auriemma and Adriana Shaw will associate produce.

Tony award-winning actress and author Tonya Pinkins has written, directed and produced her first feature film, Red Pill. A political thriller, the film was designed as a scary wake-up call that shines a bright light on American politics.

The television, film and Broadway star decided to step behind the camera and use her voice as an artist and storyteller to paint a vivid picture of the grave repercussions that the current political climate in America has on the country’s people.

‘RED PILL’ POSTER. © DAVID REINFELDER

The film features the work of a talented cast and crew, including eight-time Grammy award-winning Latin music star Rubén Blades (Fear the Walking Dead), Catherine Curtain (Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, Homeland), Kathryn Erbe (Law & Order: Criminal Intent), Tonya Pinkins (Fear The Walking Dead, Madame Secretary), Colby Minifie (The Boys, Fear the Walking Dead), Luba Mason (Person of Interest, NYPD Blue), Jake O’Flaherty (Criminal Minds, Shameless) and Adesola Osakalumi (Sex & The City 2, Ice).

Red Pill is currently in post-production and is set for release this autumn.

For more information, visit: http://redpillmovie2020.com/

What is Red Pill about?

As a plot, it’s about a group of progressives – that would be our blue in America – going to canvas the weekend of the 2020 election and confronting the red opposition that is determined to stop them in their mission.

I made this story because I’ve been watching my country become a dictatorship for a very long time. And I think when you live in New York City, where they just think they run the world, there’s a kind of delusion that people have and so the movie for me is about the disconnect between liberals, the blue, and their believes about themselves as opposed to the people who are the conservatives, the red, who are very committed, very organized, very structured, who know what they want and take action.

Even in the way I wrote it, the red pill women don’t ever speak until the final scene. Whereas the blue people, they’re just always talking, they’ve got theories and they’ve got ideas and then when the violence begins, they don’t know what to do! [laughs] Which is how I see my country right now. Essentially, civil war began in Portland. Our president had US military attack US citizens. It’s already happened and nothing has been done.

At the time that I wrote it, some people thought, ‘Oh, gosh, you’re so far out, Tonya!’ And now we’re kind of there. And so, in a way, there’s this part of me that feels like, ‘I’m making a movie, but we’re living it.’ When I wrote it, I felt that it was coming and I thought, ‘Well, this can be the wakeup call, but it’s too late for a wakeup call.’

© RED PILL MOVIE 2020 LLC

Was the film inspired by the recent developments in American politics or has this story been at the back of your mind for a while now? 

It’s been at the back of my mind since before Obama was elected. Just watching how America’s leaning very far to the right politically. The majority of people in our country want health care for everybody and fair wages, but the people in power don’t want that. And the people who don’t want that have the most money and there’s been a lot of ‘red pilling’ – which my movie is about – of even what we would have thought of as our organizations that uphold equality, like the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union). They were very strongly for this thing called Citizens United, which made money speech. See, I can’t support the ACLU when someone clearly from the other side got into the ACLU and dominated to push that agenda through.

I think that that’s happened in more and more places and I really just feel like I need to get out of the country. So it’s like, ‘Get your movie out. Get out of the country.’ [laughs]

You play the role of Cassandra. Is she the main character in the film? What can you tell us about her?

I think of the film more as an ensemble film.

It’s funny because I was directing and I needed to be over there. I was trying to get my other performances. Cassandra does not have a lot of coverage. She gets like one solo scene really. But Cassandra is the character who keeps saying to her friends, ‘This place is spooky. Let’s go home. Let’s get out of here, it doesn’t feel good.’ And nobody listens and then it’s too late.

Did you write the character specifically for yourself?

I did write her for myself. I’m a Cassandra – I’m always that person who’s warning people and they don’t take things seriously.

TONYA PINKINS. © GREG NANAMURA

Have you always wanted to direct?

I’ve dabbled directing theatre a lot and then I spent the last three years shadowing as a director in television. I made a couple of short films over the years and I’ve loved it every time I did it. But it takes so many people. You need a village to make a film. And after three years of shadowing as a director and having relationships with showrunners, producers and execs, I didn’t feel like I was any closer to getting the opportunity.

First of all, it’s a privilege to get to shadow. You have to know somebody or get in a program to get even the opportunity so that in and of itself is a big hurdle that a lot of people can’t do. I had the relationships that I had with the directors and showrunners because I’d worked for them as an actor. But even at the end of that, you’re taking a month off your life where you fly yourself to wherever the show is, you’re putting yourself up. Yes, you get to eat on the set but that’s a month when you can’t work on anything else. You’re like being an intern and taking time out of being a self-supporting person in order to get this opportunity.

Having spent about four months over three years doing that, I was like, ‘WOW, I can’t afford to keep doing this and it doesn’t feel like anybody’s going to hire me.’ So I was like, ‘I better just hire myself.’

After having been involved in so many aspects of creating this film, are you considering leaning more towards writing and directing going forward or do you still feel more comfortable in front of the camera and on stage? 

I don’t think I ever need to get in front of the camera or on stage again. I love it on this side. I love being the person who creates opportunities for other people. I’m very happy telling stories. I have a bunch more horror movies I want to make because that’s my favourite genre.

KATHRYN ERBE, TONYA PINKINS AND LUBA MASON IN ‘RED PILL’. © GREG NANAMURA

You’re working with Matthias Gohl on the soundtrack. Can you tell us a bit about the direction you gave him for the music?

He’s going to record a string quartet in Iceland. He’s insisting on that, which is very expensive.

I love strings. I loved what [composer] Arthur Simonini did for ‘Portrait of a Woman on Fire’. I went and listened to some other of his music, particularly this French documentary he did, ‘Le monde sous les bombes, de Guernica à Hiroshima’. I loved that entire documentary score. When we temp-tracked the movie, we used this classical music with a lot of strings.

I like counterpoint. If it’s a scary moment, I like the music to kind of be funny. And I like to give you a big laugh before some really tragic thing is going to happen.

If used properly, art can be a powerful weapon and you’re obviously doing your bit with your new film. But how can we, the people on the other side of the screen, help make a difference?

Great question. I was talking to a friend this morning. We were talking about just what was going on politically. The Guardian wrote an article that Trump is consulting with this guy [John] Yoo, this attorney who drafted the document that gave Bush all of these powers. And he’s known for saying, ‘What do you want to do? We’ll figure out how to make the law do it’. And I started feeling like, ‘Why am I making a movie? A revolution is going to happen.’ And my friend said, ‘Yeah, but artists have always have been at the forefront of every movement. And if we don’t keep making art, then aren’t we letting them win?’

You know, whenever the fascists take over, they kill all the artists because we are so powerful. There’s this sculptor named Egon Weiner and I’m told that he said, ‘The only appropriate response to abuse is creativity.’ So I think that we have to keep creating work that both warns of what may come but also posits what is possible, what can be, better worlds, as well as showing what the possibility of the dystopian world is.

In making this movie, I definitely wanted people to get scared. But not just through the adrenaline of a horror movie but feel like, ‘Is that possible?! I don’t want that to be possible! Let’s do something!’ And trying to put it in an entertaining genre because the working class love horror. And the working class has the power to get out and vote and control what happens in this election. So painting a picture of what might be your worst nightmare. I wanted to have people go, ‘Whoa!’ OK, wake up! [laughs]

CATHERINE CURTIN AND COLBY MINIFIE IN RED PILL. © GREG NANAMURA

Have the recent protests in the US have made any real impact on the current situation in the US?

The uprisings have continued. The mainstream media isn’t covering them, but they are ongoing. That’s why what happened in Portland happened. Because people have been in the streets for fifty-four days. People have been occupying the mayor’s office here in New York. If there were no uprisings that were ongoing, Trump wouldn’t feel that he had to send federal agents into the cities. It has not subsided. It’s just not getting the coverage anymore.

 How have you been keeping yourself busy during the pandemic?

I think that for a lot of people, the pandemic has been a windfall and a gift. It has not been that for the essential workers, for the health care workers, for the grocery store people, for the delivery people. And so this divide is really showing me that we never really had a democracy here. For people who had jobs and lost them, there was this amount of money that they received every week and that was lovely because a lot of people were like, ‘Great! This is more money than I was doing.’ That’s about to end in a week. But all those essential workers and health care workers didn’t get that. And they’ve been risking their lives and they don’t have sick pay and health care and the hospitals don’t have room for them.

I’m a hermit and I like being alone. I have not suffered during the pandemic. Most of my suffering is just sitting up worrying and watching people being brutalized in the streets. And feeling like, ‘I’m an old woman. What can I do?’ But I really care about the fact that this country is just proving every day that it doesn’t care about any of us. It isn’t about black or white or female or trans. It just doesn’t care about humanity. Property is more important than people. And that’s got to change, whatever it takes. It took a pandemic for people to go, ‘Oh, they really don’t care about me. Revolution – we got to have it.’

TONYA PINKINS. © JAMES ALEXANDER

A lot of artists are struggling during the pandemic because they miss the spotlight, the stage and the applause. What advice would you give them?

I just feel like creativity can be in a lot of different ways. I studied with William Esper as an adult and he would say about actors that, ‘It takes seven years to become an actor. Most people start out wanting attention. And then after you’ve gotten over that, then you can become a real actor.’

I think perhaps this is a time to go inward and figure what it is you really want. Is it attention that you want or do you want to have impact where people are changed by the work that you did, where you’ve touched them in a way that they have to think about their life differently?

Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins will come together with Frozen star Ciara Renée for an exclusive one-on-one discussion about Tonya’s upcoming socio-political horror film Red Pill.

Red Pill is Pinkins’ first feature film, which she has written, directed and produced. The television, film and Broadway star decided to step behind the camera and use her voice as an artist and storyteller to paint a vivid picture of the grave repercussions that the current political climate in America has on the country’s people.

The film features the work of a talented cast and crew, including eight-time Grammy award winning Latin music star Rubén Blades (Fear the Walking Dead), Catherine Curtain (Orange is the New Black, Stranger Things, Homeland), Kathryn Erbe (Law & Order: Criminal Intent), Tonya Pinkins (Fear The Walking Dead, Madame Secretary), Colby Minifie (The Boys, Fear the Walking Dead), Luba Mason (Person of Interest, NYPD Blue), Jake O’Flaherty (Criminal Minds, Shameless) and Adesola Osakalumi (Sex & The City 2, Ice).

‘It’s Halloween weekend just days before the 2020 election. An intersectional posse of progressive canvassers drive to Virginia to get out the vote. As soon as they cross the state line it is clear they are not welcome. Distressing clues indicate that they should get out of their rental house while the getting is good. They decide to stay, armed with their heart, humor and naiveté. But what they really need is heavy artillery.’ – Red Pill 2020

KATHRYN ERBE, TONYA PINKINS AND LUBA MASON IN ‘RED PILL’. © GREG NANAMURA

Pinkins explains, ‘I wrote my own personal Get Out. #Uprising2020 is White people waking up to the world Black and Brown folks have always known. Black women are intimately familiar with Becky and Karen, White women, who on the low end of the spectrum treat us as invisible, and on the high end weaponize their whiteness and sometimes cost us our lives. Red Pill‘s #Karengonewild is a dose of what’s coming to America if liberal Whites don’t wake up.’

Red Pill is currently in post-production and is set for release this autumn.

For more information, visit: http://redpillmovie2020.com/

Marissa Lynn Daniel, along with producing partner Jordan Leigh Auriemma, will produce this event with the support of Brielle Dulce Perez, Adriana Miriah Shaw, Grace Elizabeth Antinori, Shane Glenn Vickers, Christopher Ryan Quiroz and James Rushin.

The event will take place on the 1^st of August, 3PM EST.

Tickets cost $15 and proceeds will go towards the funding of Red Pill.

Register now at marissalynnstudios.com

Bridge to Broadway has announced their next line-up of industry superstars who will mentor students and young professionals during the June masterclasses.

TONYA PINKINS, DONNA MURPHY, CHUCK COOPER AND LILLI COOPER

Actress Ciara Renée (‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’, ‘Frozen’, ‘Big Fish’) will join Tony winners Tonya Pinkins and Donna Murphy who will lead a joint master class (available as a bonus class for June ClassPass holders only), Tony winner Chuck Cooper and nominee Lilli Cooper who will lead a father-daughter master class, Two-time Tony-winning composer and lyricist Adam Guettel (who is also the grandson of legendary musical theatre composer Richard Rodgers), Emmy winning casting director Jeff Greenberg (‘Modern Family’, ‘Frasier’, ‘Cheers’), Tony, Drama Desk and Grammy nominee Joshua Henry, Drama Desk Nominee Stephanie Hsu (‘Be More Chill’, ‘The Marvelous Mrs Maisel’, ‘The Path’), internationally acclaimed audiobook narrator Edoardo Ballerini (‘The Sopranos’, ‘Boardwalk Empire’, ‘Dinner Rush’), and master on-camera acting teacher Gary Perez (‘When They See Us’, ‘13 Reasons Why’, ‘The Blacklist’). Mickey Rowe of ‘Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’, who is the founder and Artistic Director of National Disability Theatre, will also be among the guests on Bridge to Broadway in the following weeks.

JOSHUA HENRY AND ADAM GUETTEL

Bridge to Broadway matches emerging artists with seasoned pros in live conversations and Q&As supporting The Actors Fund. Actor and author Erik Liberman teaches master classes around the country and is a recent inductee into the National Alliance of Acting Teachers. Marissa Lynn Daniel produces this series. Director Dan Fishbach associate produces.

Readers of The Cinematic Journal receive 25% off all classes and class passes in May and June. Just use the code TTEP74GF during checkout.

For more information, visit www.bridgetobroadwayonline.com/.