amani meliyah & maleek rae
BODYCOUNT
Presented by JACK as apart of the Exponential Theatre festival
Director, Co-Creator - amani meliyah
Writer, Co-Creator, Featured Performer - Maleek Rae
CAST:
Taj Burroughs, Murphy Lorenzo Applin, UGBA, Valentina Johnson, Graciella Ye' Tsunami, and Maleek Rae
You dug a hole, now lie in it. BODYCOUNT is a raw, visceral exploration of what it takes to rise from the depths of our own making. Set in a cruising park, this play delves into the simplest, most primal truth—sometimes all we really want is a little connection and to feel held. It follows Gatekeeper, an aspiring photographer yearning to craft a world where large Black queer bodies can simply exist, and be embraced in gardens. The story whispers of longing, vulnerability, and the fierceness of reclaiming space in a world that too often deems that those who are fat and black are of less worth.
Written by Maleek Rae and directed by amani meliyah, BODYCOUNT combines their unique talents in a collaborative, community-driven experience that explores vulnerability, healing, and the human need for intimacy.
All contributions go directly toward production costs, including compensating our talented cast and creative team, who are primarily Black queer artists dedicated to creating impactful and authentic storytelling. Your donation makes a difference—thank you for your support!
CREATIVE TEAM
amani meliyah is a Brooklyn based theatre artist and filmmaker originally from South Carolina’s gullah geechee corridor. As a generative artist, they are most excited by new work that explores the interconnections of Liberation, Spirit, and community. Some of their favorite recent collaborations include Ghetto Alchemy: A Lunchroom Survival Guide by Maleek Rae (The Tank), Receptors by Aliyah Curry (Science in Theatre Festival), and the film Absent by Thomas Booker (recipient of the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant). amani is an active Theatre of the Oppressed practitioner with TONYC, an alumni of the Roundabout Directors Group, and is the current National Black Theatre SOUL LAB Directing Resident.
CAST
TAJ E.M. BURROUGHS [he/they]
A proud New York native, hailing from the colorful streets of Queens. Taj E. M. Burroughs is the wildest living dream of his ancestors. They’re a graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre at Rutgers University.
When they’re not acting, Taj is creating spaces to build community such as COMMUNION, an open mic poetry joint. Previously, a Brooklyn Poets fellow and an inaugural mentorship member at The Actors Center. Their credits include: Hot Seat *reading (The People's Theatre) Over the Moon (BCTR), Fat Ham (Seattle Rep), Obit or No More Dead Dogs *reading (Playwrights Realm), Digging, like monkeys, our grave in Gilead. *reading (The Fire This Time Festival), Angela Davis’s School For Girls with Big Eyes (Rutgers Theater Company), Three Sisters (Rutgers Theater Company) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Rutgers Theater Company), The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra (Rutgers Theater Company at The Globe Theatre) and Model Minority (AYE DEFY)
Murphy Lorenzo Applin Jr. [they/them]
is an artist from Philly, by way of Statesboro, GA, who is dedicated to making art for folks from communities and cultures that value togetherness, compassion, and love for each other. Murphy is an actor, a writer, a singer, a director, a teacher, and a student of life. Their most recent credits include Hello? Wayne Sanders? (The Gatekeeper's Collective), Guttah: Or Ceremonies for Alligator Bait (The Cell), Restoration In Progress (NYU Educational Theatre), and can be seen in Season 3 of The Other Two on HBO Max & Season 1 of Diarra From Detroit on BET+; Yami, which premiered at Lincoln Center under the Lincoln Center Education Fellowship; Aftermath: Analyzing Anguish (vibe Theater Experience: The Flea), A Rollercoaster Ride: The Final Readings (WP Theater), and Yami (Lincoln Center Education). They just premiered their debut single, "Motion" under artist name MALAj on all streaming platforms! Go check it out (you will not be disappointed)! They hold a BFA in Acting from UNC School of the Arts. They are more than excited to bring this necessary work of love and community to life with Maleek, amani, and this beautiful cast and crew.
Valentina Johnson [she/her]
is a writer, director, actor, dancer, model, rapper, and all-around astounding artist from the soufside of Atlanta, Georgia. She began performing at age five, nurtured by Black excellence in programs like The Youth Ensemble of Atlanta and The Stilwell School of the Arts, where she found her authentic voice as a Black trans woman. Valentina is a 2023 graduate of the University of Alabama’s BFA Musical Theatre program, receiving the Tommy Walker Award for her leadership as Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and for creating liberating and authentic spaces for marginalized students.Her very first original work, Cotton Candy, became one of the university’s first all-Black productions and the first directed by an openly trans artist. Not only is she a stunning curator but is also a captivating performer with credits including The Colored Museum, Kinky Boots, Into the Woods, Netflix’s Senior Year, and her current and largest project LOUD: A Ghetto Ass Rap Musical. Through LOUD, she brings Black trans girlhood center stage—with truth, love, and liberation. The piece is a prime example of her intentional artistry and her commitment to becoming a groundbreaking voice for the voiceless—creating work that not only reflects, but also liberates.
Ungrateful Black Artist (UGBA - 'oog ba')
(Playwright, pronoun inclusive) is a queer poet, rapper, playwright, actor, and activist based out of Brooklyn, NY. UGBA is the founder/host of CEREMONIES—a Brooklyn based monthly Black-Queer artist showcase held in honor of Essex Hemphill. UGBA is also the founder of "Dark-Skin Support Group," a virtual support network for dark-skin Black Americans in need of a space to discuss the realities of colorism. In 2020, UGBA was named a "Black LGBTQ+ playwright you need to know '' by Time Out NY. UGBA also served as script assistant for the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Fat Ham" on Broadway. He is an alumnus of The Public Theater's #BARS program and The Public Theater's Emerging Writers Group 2020-2023 cohort. UGBA is the recipient of the Founder's Award from New York Stage and Film, a 2023 Artivism Fellow through Broadway Advocacy Coalition, a 2022 MAP Grant recipient, a 2020-2021 BAM Resident, former Artistic Director at NY Writers Coalition, and former 2024 & 2025 Nuyorican Poetry Slam Team member.
Graciella Ye’Tsunami (they/Tsunami/we/Ocean)
is a Black queer fat trans nonbinary creative based in Brooklyn. Tsunami has their MFA in Dance from Temple University. Ocean is a poet & writer, Afro-diasporic historical & spiritual dramaturge, movement & theater maker, singer & sound vocalist, community builder, spiritualist, and death doula in training. Tsunami’s work explores lineage, ritual, devotion, community, Black queer quantum love letters, and creativity on the horizon of revolution.In addition to Temple University, Tsunami has presented choreographic works through Red Clay Dance Company’s La Femme Dance Festival, Leah Stein’s Studio Works, Philadelphia Fringe’s Scratch Night, BAXEMERGE’s Spring 2024 Cohort Culminating Showcase, and MANCC’s Summer 2024 Cohort Showcase.Tsunami’s poems “riot” and “dey dem divas” have been published by Killing the Buddha Magazine. Their poem “speaking in tongues” won Brooklyn Poets January 2025 YAWP Competition. Tsunami was part of Cave Canem’s “Poets As Deep Thinkers” New York Fall 2025 Regional Workshop Series. Through Cave Canem, in collaboration with The Guggenheim Museum, Tsunami was a featured poet for Rashid Johnson’s Rotunda Stage 2025 Series as part of Johnson’s immersive Guggenheim installation A Poem for Deep Thinkers. Tsunami has lovingly worked with: Anastacia-Renee, Samiya Bashir, George Sanchez, Maleek Rae, Maria "RiaGrace" Bauman, Jumatatu “Makini” Poe, Lela Aisha Jones, Leah Stein, Awilda Sterling Dupree, Kariamu Welsh, Merian Soto, Baba Stafford C. Berry Jr., Majesty Royale-Jackson, Mawu Ama Ma’at Gora, and Angel Edwards. In addition to BAX, they’re creatively affiliated with The Cell Theater, Cave Canem, Brooklyn Poets, Killing the Buddha Magazine, thINKingDance, and PushBlack.
Maleek Rae (they/them)
is a multi-disciplinary writer, performer, rapper, and director from Detroit’s Eastside. A recent recipient of the 2025 Princess Grace Foundation's Theatre Honoraria and the New York Stage and Film Founders' Award, Maleek is focused on merging artistic mediums with cultural activations to transform theatrical venues into chain-breaking ceremonial spaces. Their current project, the hip-hop-based ritual play GUTTAH or Ceremonies for Alligator Bait, has received developmental support from The Tank, The Cell, and JACK, and is part of a broader effort to expand the GUTTAH universe into a body of plays, music, and cultural activations that emphasize community building and sustainability in various spaces beyond traditional theaters. Maleek's other works include Love Birds: or How to Fix a Broken Heart, Baldwin Dreams, and co-creations such as Ghetto Alchemy: A Lunchroom Survival Guide and BodyCount: A Biography in the Vale of Cashmere with collaborator amani meliyah. As a performer, Maleek’s credits span theater—such as Mushroom Kingdom (Ars Nova), Mud Row (Premiere Stages), Detroit 67 (DPT), Chekhov/Tolstoy: Love Stories (Mint Theatre), Bacchae (CTH), and Messiah (La Mama)—as well as film and TV, including Them That's Not (Mekhai Lee), Law & Order: SVU, Organized Crime (NBC), HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness, and The Best Man: The Final Chapters (Peacock). Maleek has also performed in Terence Nance's SWARM exhibit at ICA Philadelphia and worked as a commercial and motion capture performer. They have been an artist-in-residence or fellow at institutions such as JACK, The Cell, Target Margin Theatre, The Laundromat Project, SPACE on Ryder Farm, The Tank, and Brooklyn Art Exchange.