
Malika Omolola Oyetimein
Hi!
I'm so happy you stopped by to look at my lil corner of the internet!
My name is Malika Oyetimein and I am a artist and storyteller. I am a director and playwright by ' trade' and a passionate knitter / and sewist and designer.
2 and a half years ago I suffered a brain injury that left me disabled. While I was in recovery and navigating my new life, I was grateful to have a passion and skill I could lean into. Knitting/ Sewing & Designing was not only therapeutic but a great tool in exercising my brain and using my motor skills. It was a strong help in regaining myself again.
Career Stuff :
I received my MFA from The University of Washington's School of Drama. I am a member of the Directors Lab at Lincoln Center and i'm in the cohort of the inaugural New Hope Colony Artist Residency. I am thrilled to have been nominated by stage, television and film director Liesl Tommy. I am also Merrimack Reparatory Theatre's Artist-in- Residence. As of the fall of 2021 I joined the MFA directing faculty at Boston university. I couldn't be more satisfied.
I was featured in Seattle’s City Art Magazine 2016 Future List, Cross Cut 2017 and my productions of Bootycandy (2016 ) and Hoodoo Love (2017) were nominated for Gregory Awards: Best Production. I had the honor of co-adapting and directing Dr. Maya Angelou's I Know why the Caged Bird Sings (Book-It Repertory Theatre) which garnered a Gregory Award nomination for Best Director. Select directing credits: How I Learned What I Learned ( Arden Theatre Co.) The workshop production of The First Deep Breath ( National Black Theatre), The Bitter Game (Wallis Annenberg), Eclipsed (Southern Repertory Theatre), the world premiere of WHITE (Theatre Horizon) Barbecue, Bootycandy (Intiman Theatre Festival), And In This Corner: Cassius Clay (Seattle Children’s Theatre).
Writing wise :
"(S)LAUGHTER: A PLAY ON PAIN: When a pregnant community activist is thrown in prison for “standing her ground” she goes into labor and is forced to give birth in solitary confinement, shackled to a bed. Alone and afraid, she cries out and her epigenetic memory answers the call, bringing help she never envisioned. (S)LAUGHTER: A PLAY ON PAIN written by Malika Oyetimein is a poetic and painful look at the intersections of the racial injustices of the American healthcare system and prison system. This work will be produced in conjunction with Oyetimein and Brennie Tellu’s company unBossed Productions. "
