B-CC STUDENT'S STAGE PLAY SELECTED FOR NATIONAL BLACK THEATER FESTIVAL

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A stage play authored by Bethune-Cookman College student DJ. Coleman was selected by the National Black Theatre Festival committee in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Bethune-Cookman College senior D.J.Coleman (second from left) poses with actress Kim Fields, singer Justina Jones and actor Tony Grant at the celebrity reception following the reading of his stage play "I Shall Overcome at the National Black Theatre Festival.

“I Shall Overcome” was presented at the festival and its reading featured three celebrities – Alaina Reed Hall, a former member of the cast of NBC’s “227,” former NFL wide receiver Eddie Goines and Petri Hawkins-Byrd, the bailiff on “Judge Judy.” The play received positive reviews from a standing room only audience, and Coleman received positive feedback for his brave look at the black church.

“My first reaction was I couldn’t believe that I was selected,’’ said Coleman, a psychology major from Leesburg, Fla. “Out of thousands of submissions, my work grabbed the attention of the festival founder, Larry Leon Hamlin.”

“Since the reading, the play has been receiving rave reviews,” Coleman added. “It really touched the masses and the celebrities in one special place – the heart.”

Coleman had the opportunity to network with some key players in the theater and television industry during the festival. There have been talks of showcasing the play in New York City as well as the National Black Theatre Festival in 2005.

“It seems that the sky is the limit,’’ Coleman said.

Coleman has authored two novels – “I Shall Overcome” and “How I Made It Over” – and both have converted into Gospel stage plays. He has also penned another play, “I’ve Cried For The Last Time” and has recorded and produced a Gospel CD “My Season.”  

Coleman is on track to graduate B-CC in the summer of 2004 with a degree in Psychology. He plans on rewriting his first novel, on which, the play is based, and touring both the play and book that year. The novel will be in stores in Spring 2004.

“I Shall Overcome” offers a mix of comedy, suspense, jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues and family-based emphasis as it tells the story of a man on search of his true identity and faith in God.

Bethune-Cookman is a comprehensive college, which offers degrees in liberal arts as well as professional fields, such as business, education and nursing. A United Methodist Church-affiliated school, the college has a diverse and international student population of more than 2,500 and a solid reputation for academic excellence. As evidence of its outstanding program, the College has been listed in the Templeton Honor Roll of Character Building Colleges and Universities, and it was ranked by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the “Top 50” schools in the nation for black students.

For more information, contact our website www.bethune.cookman.edu.

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