Somewhere in America, an army of pre-teen competitive dancers plots to take over the world. And if their new routine is good enough, they’ll claw their way to the top at the Boogie Down Grand Prix in Tampa Bay. But in Clare Barron’s raucous pageant of ambition and ferocity, these young dancers have more than choreography on their minds, because every plié and jeté is a step toward finding themselves, and a fight to unleash their power.

Dance Nation is an incisive, hilarious play about the world of pre-teen dancers aiming to take home the top spot at Nationals in Tampa. Adding to the fun is genius casting of adult actors of all ages to portray these children in often heartbreaking realism. Ikechukwu Ufomadu and Ellen Maddow are two of the talented cast. They shared a bit of their experience with us here. When and how did you first become involved with Dance Nation and what has the journey been like so far? Ikechukwu Ufomadu: I was asked to participate in a couple of workshops and readings of the show in September 2016. Then in November of last year, I got an offer for the production at Playwrights. It’s been great working on the show. I’m a big fan of the play. There are some wild stage directions in the script and it’s been fun seeing them translated to live performance. I’ve worked with Clare Barron, playwright] and Lee Sunday Evans, Director] before on other projects and enjoy working with them. I’m also much more flexible and in shape from all the dance rehearsals. Ellen Maddow: I have been in several developmental workshops of Dance Nation, the first in 2016. I am a playwright and composer as well as an actor …Read more