Supporting Visionary Storytellers...

Michelle Tyrene Johnson 2025 Finalist

40 Acres and a Laptop: Or When the Past and a Dystopian Future Collide

Play synopsis

It’s 2038. President Yorkshire, as a third-term president, has done the unthinkable - he’s brought slavery back. Not the chains and whips type. But Black people need to be registered to white people to keep Blacks from getting out of hand type. However, in every society, there’s always an underground group that fights the power. In this case, the revolution leader lives in the White House where she is “sponsored” by her bestie - President Yorkshire’s sister. The freedom fighters have a ticking clock they have to beat. Will the good guys triumph and stop the atrocity in its tracks, once and for all? Or will the conservative cultural wars that have been boiling over for decades have a glorious victory put in place for generations?

Playwright BIO

Playwright and Senior Radio Producer Michelle Tyrene Johnson lives in Louisville, Kentucky. Johnson’s plays have been staged nationally in readings and productions from California to New York. Her commissioned play “Only One Day A Year” was selected for the Kennedy Center’s New Visions/New Voices Festival in 2020, was the recipient of a $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and had its world premiere at Coterie Theatre in 2023. A native of the Greater Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan area, Johnson received her MFA in Writing with an emphasis on playwriting in May 2022 from Spalding University.

On New Play Exchange | Personal Website

From the Playwright...

I have to admit, I’ve never been a huge fan of the dramaturg experience. Too many that I’ve come across spend more time trying to deconstruct your play to turn it into something that you weren’t trying to write than in seeing the play you created. But not Professor Denise J. Hart. Not even close.

From my first session with Prof. Hart, I felt the full force of her respect for my play 40 Acres and a Laptop which is probably the craziest play I’ve ever written. And I’ve written my share of stories bending time and space. Prof. Hart created the best thing that a playwright needs - a safe space. It was a safe space from the questions she asked me about my play and then through all the sessions we had about it. I always felt her genuine liking for the play and her desire to make it stronger, tighter, and in better alignment with my vision of the play I wrote.

Our sessions never felt strained or uncomfortable. Rather I felt each session and “homework” assignment left me feeling inspired and invigorated to sharpen the story. Also, a program that allowed me to fly out for a public reading at Howard University made the experience even better. Because that’s the real test of a play’s strengths and weaknesses, how it holds up before an audience.

My being able to also have one-on-one time to discuss, not just the trajectory of the play, but of my career was the full circle bonus of this opportunity. Because, let’s face it, it’s just not easy for a Black woman playwright of a certain age to be treated as if my work and my future are as bright and worthy as a youngster coming out of a nationally recognized MFA school or platinum playwriting program.

40 Acres and a Laptop 3/15/2025 Developmental Play Reading at Howard University

Denise J. Hart, Director

As a scholar dramaturge/presentation coach, for six years, Denise coached internationally recognized scholars, artists and activists for appearances on the Lone Star Emmy nominated Blackademics TV, which airs on PBS and reaches over 3 million households.

On season 4, episode 1 of Blackademics Television, Denise's episode was nominated for a Lone Star Emmy. You can watch the episode by clicking here.

Denise, a full Professor at Howard University, is the founder of the Play Development Lab. She currently serves as the area coordinator of playwriting advising playwriting and TV/film students. A scholar and creative practitioner, she's the 2024 recipient of the the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts Full Professor award for Scholarly Research and Creative Endeavors.

Director

An accomplished director, Denise's directing credits include: Zora, Stick Fly, Milk Like Sugar, Torn Asunder, Spunk, Zooman and the Sign, Day of Absence (finalist in the ‘08 ACTFestival and recipient of the Outstanding Acting Ensemble Award), Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Quick Stop at the Florist, Bedlam in the Pulpit, Malcolm, Martin & Medgar, The Exile & The American, Secrets of the Mist of Blue, Uncanny Resemblance, and Melancholy of Barbarians.

She has also authored and directed 19 children's musicals.

Dramaturge

Denise is the Principal Project Curator for Howard Players Theatre History Archive, a publicly accessible digital humanities research archive project that chronicles and documents the hidden history and contributions of the Howard Players from 1909-2019.

As a dramaturge, Denise has been invited to share her scholarly expertise as a guest expert on Fox 5 TV & WJLA/ABC News in Washington DC and in DC as dramaturgy consultant with Ford's Theatre "Written Then, Spoken Now" on CSPAN, Studio Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre, The August Wilson Society, Arena Stage, Mosaic Theatre, Howard University, Hatiloo Theatre in Memphis TN and guest panelist on Molly's Salon/Arena Stage.

Production dramaturge credits include: Jitney by August Wilson (recipient of the 2019 Memphis Ostrander Award for Best Production), Rhyme Deferred, Flyin' West, Milk Like Sugar, Sweet Charity, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Day of Absence (Kennedy Center ACT Festival Outstanding Acting Ensemble Award), Zooman and the Sign, Malcom. Martin & Medgar, Breath Boom and DC Queer Festivals' productions of Quick Stop at the Florist and Secret Mist of the Blue.

Student Feedback... (40 Acres)

Everett Judd - I really enjoyed there being people a part of the cast who are totally separated from the Howard ecosphere. I found it to be very refreshing to work with people who are not only of a different generation but also who are currently in the world dabbling in the craft but also some who are very respected and well-rounded in their specific crafts and industries. I will also say I really enjoyed your directing as well and look forward to seeing more of it. I feel that I have truly grown from this process and have learned things as an actor, director, and writer. It would be great in the future if we could have a student play development lab, it may take some time and I may be an alumni by then but I think the students (especially those interested in playwriting) would love to have that experience. I hope this helps but I also hope that you understand that you are doing a very important thing here for the culture, theatre, and black female playwrights. Once again, thank you for the opportunity and I look forward to working with you again soon!

The Play Development Lab offers play- development experience for Black women playwrights to advance process, craft & career.

The Play Development Lab under the direction of Professor Denise J. Hart is part of the Department of Theatre Art's New Works Initiative, designed to offer comprehensive play development support to professional Black women playwrights. Through this program, Professor Hart aims to advance their creative processes, enhance their craft, and foster long-term careers.

The Lab serves as a vital resource for playwrights while also providing Howard University students with invaluable opportunities to engage directly in developing new plays that center on the Black Diaspora. Students will participate in various roles, from acting to stage management, fostering an interactive and collaborative learning experience.

The inaugural cohort for the 2024/2025 Play Development Lab includes six professional playwrights, two of whom have been selected as finalists. The finalists will each receive a developmental play reading, allowing students and patrons to witness the creative process.

The Play Development Lab is an essential step forward in creating spaces where Black women playwrights can hone their craft while also fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for the ongoing development of the Black theater canon.

Denise J. Hart, an Emmy nominated award winning playwright, dramaturge and director has created an intensive play development opportunity for professional black women playwrights to develop their work through one-on-one meetings, table work and rehearsals with a cast of actors and developmental readings.

CLICK HERE to read about Professor Hart's previous play development program, Visiting Playwrights 2008-2017.

PDL Leadership

Denise is an award winning playwright and dramaturge. As a play development dramaturge she has partnered with the Lark Play Development Center/NYC to bring international Ivorian playwright Kofi Kwahule's work to the US, Black Girl You've been Gentrified by Nichole Thompson Adams, Nothing to Lose by Denise J. Hart and supported a number of emerging playwrights through partnership with the Playwrights Forum/WDC and through the Visiting Playwrights Series where she helped develop the work of Nikkole Salter, A. Peter Bailey, Peter Harris, and Elizabeth Bruce. She has shared her expertise on WDC's Fox 5 TV & WJLA/ABC News and with Ford's Theatre "Written Then, Spoken Now" on CSPAN, Studio Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre, The August Wilson Society, Arena Stage, Mosaic Theatre, Howard University and Hatiloo Theatre in Memphis TN.

Production dramaturge and audience dramaturge credits include: Rhyme Deferred, Black Nativity, Jitney (recipient of the 2019 Memphis Ostrander Award for Best Production), Flyin' West, Milk Like Sugar, Sweet Charity, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Day of Absence (Kennedy Center ACT Festival Outstanding Acting Ensemble Award), Zooman and the Sign, Malcom, Martin & Medgar, Breath Boom and the DC Queer Festivals' productions of Quick Stop at the Florist and Secret Mist of the Blue.

She served as the 2021 & 2022 Howard Entertainment Faculty Externship recipient at Amazon Studios where she worked in Drama Development and Limited Series Drama Development and contributed to some of America's favorite TV shows!