UCF’s School of Performing Arts presents the first production of Theatre UCF’s 2023-2024 season: Chicken & Biscuits, a side-splitting comedy filled with heartfelt moments, and unforgettable characters.
Directed by alumna, Felichia Chivaughn ’16, this Central Florida premiere of Chicken & Biscuits opens Thursday, Sept. 21 at Theatre UCF’s Black Box and runs through Sunday, Oct. 1. Written by Douglas Lyons, Chicken & Biscuits premiered on Broadway in 2021 and has been hailed as a “feast of Black joy, love and laughter” by Variety.
See Theatre UCF’s production of “Chicken & Biscuits”, including a special talkback hosted on Sunday, Sept. 24 after the 2 p.m. performance. Tickets can be purchased for $25, or $10 with a valid UCF ID, online.
Set against the backdrop of their father’s funeral, Chicken & Biscuits explores the love, loyalty and complexities of the Jenkins family as the peaceful funeral is disrupted when a guest reveals a deep family secret. The group is quickly sent into a dramatic frenzy full of jabs, laughter and pot-stirring in this play that highlights the beauty in the brokenness of the Jenkins family.
“Though it’s set at a time of grieving, it truly is a piece that is rooted in joy,” says Chivaughn, who earned a degree in bachelor’s in interdisciplinary studies with focuses on theatre, mass communication and education. “Joy is a fundamental pillar of the Black experience. No matter what we’ve been handed or endured, we’ve always found and cultivated joy. It’s important to show this and experience it collectively in a theatrical space, and what a gift from Douglas Lyons to bear witness to a family just trying to figure out how to love each other well despite the differences.”
Born in Jamaica and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, by a single mom and four older sisters, Chivaughn learned early on about the gifts of caretaking and storytelling. But it was through serving in her local church and devising works with local artists that sparked her path as a director. For Chivaughn, her next chapter of artistry centers on radical joy, liberation, and collective healing to “decolonize theatrical spaces and amplify the voices and stories of Black women — unapologetically and with care.”
“I see the fabric of my own story woven into every crevice and corner of this beautiful tableau,” she says. “It means so much to me to work on Chicken & Biscuits with these brilliant and brave artists, especially at UCF, my alma mater. It’s a homecoming and a full-circle moment for me.”
See Theatre UCF’s production of “Chicken & Biscuits”, including a special talkback hosted on Sunday, Sept. 24 after the 2 p.m. performance. Tickets can be purchased for $25, or $10 with a valid UCF ID, online.
