Different Strokes! presents New Works Workshop performance - "Nuances of Night" written by Matt Lutz and Ambo Tazanu

Different Strokes! Performing Arts Collective is proud to announce the upcoming workshop performance of Nuances of Night, a new and gripping two‑actor drama by playwrights Matt Lutz and Ambo Tazanu, who do double duty as the production's headliners.  A workshop performance is a space where the script, the actors, and the director can test the material in front of a preliminary audience and listen for where the play is solid and where it might need strengthening.

Set in Washington, DC, during the early months of the COVID‑19 pandemic, the play follows the multiracial relationship between Deja and Jared, two longtime friends whose shared history, emotional intimacy, and unspoken truths collide over several charged weeks in 2020, when the world was held captive by COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd. Their conversations about race, body image, and longing feel deeply personal yet deeply recognizable, especially for audiences who lived through the isolation and uncertainty of 2020. Nuances of Night invites audiences to consider how the events of that year reshaped our understanding of love, friendship, and the fragile boundaries between them. “This play reflects exactly the kind of work we believe matters. It is human, complicated, and unafraid to ask real questions. Nuances of Night captures the emotional weight of 2020 while reminding us of the importance of connection ”, says Different Strokes! Artistic Director, Stephanie Hickling Beckman.

Matt Lutz & Ambo Tazanu met in Wilmington, NC, in 2001. They had an immediate connection. A year later, their friendship really took root when both found themselves living in Los Angeles. Both dreamers, with a passion for and background in theatre performance, had numerous conversations over the years about working on an artistic project together. In the summer of 2020, that dream began to materialize. The murder of George Floyd, and the movement that followed, served as an invitation for them to start having deep conversations about race - for the first time in their nearly 20 years of friendship. Nuances of Night is the baby that formed as a result and developed over six years from the page to its first appearance on stage. It is also the first play written by either of them.

Nuances of Night runs at Attic Salt Theater Space, July 17-18 at 7:00 pm and July 19 at 3 pm. Attic Salt Theater is located at 2002 Riverside Drive, Studio 42-o, Asheville, NC.  Please note the time difference from other performances.

For more information about performance dates, tickets, or media inquiries, please contact Different Strokes! Performing Arts Collective at steph@differentstrokespac.org