Tony Wilkes is a man with experience that runs wide and deep in the performing arts. Wilkes' journey in entertainment has taken many twists and turns into the present day. He's worn many different hats, each helping to shape the career he currently enjoys.
Wilkes, born and raised in North Carolina, received his training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Fashion Institute of Technology and the Mayer School of Fashion Design. Over the years, he has participated in countless numbers of workshops that have continued to keep his skills sharp and current.
Over the past twenty years, Tony has formed and operated several business entities, including L.A.W. Entertainment, L.A.W. Productions, Inc., Phoenix Ensemble, Silk Town and HUSS Publishing companies, as well as L.A.W. Recordings, an independent record label.
Wilkes has produced forty or more productions during this time, including plays and video productions in locations such as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
In the costume world*, he has designed more than sixty plays and videos, as well as being in residence at Rutgers University, East Lynn Theatre Company and the Alonzo Player's Home. He has also worked on such shows as Cyrano, Les Miserable's, Damn Yankees, On The Water Front, Swinging on a Star, Bring In Da Noise, Bring In Da Funk, and 42nd Street, all on Broadway in the wardrobe department*. Other wardrobe credits are the Metropolitan Opera House, Madison Square Garden, Nassau Coliseum, and Radio City's Christmas Spectacular for five years.
At the present time Tony is very busy developing and producing film projects. Some of the projects include C-LO, Durdy Game, Colorz of Rage, Not of the Flesh, Scorned, Kelly's Secret, Laura Lee, On My Way to School, and Keep Bangin', a hip hop movie.
There you have it, a brief tour of the career of Tony Wilkes!
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Marsha Trice transforms the stage from a simple blank box with her vivid portrayals, intense characterizations, and clear vision, reflecting a realism which crosses boundaries to touch the essence of the human experience in a way not usually seen in the theater. She takes the empty wrapper of a new character and creates a complete reality – shaking audiences and directors alike with the truths she brings to life on stage.
Marsha Trice has committed wholly to the theater and its craft – performing, producing, consulting, and teaching. Ms. Trice has acted on stages in both New York, New Jersey and has toured throughout the Easter Board also. She has taken leads and birthed life to each new character as well as turned smaller role into significant portrayals, elevating whole productions to new levels. Her commitment to her craft has lead her to work with directors and producers who challenged her, allowing her to hone her artistic ability to create true portraits every time she steps on stage. Her mentors include Raul Julia, Gilbert Price, Toney Blue, Arnold Beauchamp, Duane Jones, Hazel Bryant and George C. Wolfe. They all helped her to express her gift for getting inside each and every character she plays and shaped how she approaches the theater.
Not only does her acting ability reveal how dedicated and committed Ms. Trice is to the Arts and their expression. She has played an active role in shaping theater in New Jersey producing some of the finest works which audiences have seen, touching their corners of the universe and addressing the very real experiences they have everyday which shape their lives. She founded in 1990 a theater production company – the Phoenix Ensemble – with long-time friend Tony Wilkes, a renowned theater artist in his own right. Together they formed a theater company which was spurned on y an intense desire to bring theater arts to the Jersey City community and ultimately their audience grew until it stretched beyond these boundaries to include the greater Tri-State area and theaters throughout the United States. Phoenix offers theater audiences a chance to see a view of the world beyond the reality with a hopefulness, that one little spark that turns despair into a possibility for a new beginning. Ms. Trice has curated a theater program with Phoenix which challenges and uplifts – rebuilding communities and families.
Ms. Trice is a member of the Abundant Joy Community Church located in Jersey City. She is in charge of the drama ministry, working with children and adults. She is also in the process of taking the lives of the women in the bible and weaving their stories on stage.
