The Drop Off by James Anthony Tyler
At Deer Lakes Assisted Living Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, Allain drops off her mother Delphina. When Delphina refuses to stay, long-buried memories, broken dreams, and an impending eviction surface in ways that threaten to unravel their mother/daughter bond forever. Funny, heartwarming, and ultimately touching, The Drop Off is a moving exploration of how to best care for our loved ones while also learning to care for ourselves.
Sat, Feb 14 at 7:30pm

Directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg
Stage Managed by Alex Grindey
Production Assistant & Stage Directions by Jadera Perdue 

Sabrina Dahlgren, Madelyn Porter, C. Niambi Steele, and Michole Briana White.

Delicia Turner Sonnenberg (she/her) is a San Diego based director whose work has been celebrated for its boldness, creativity, and commitment to diverse storytelling. Delicia has directed plays for Denver Center, La Jolla Playhouse, the Old Globe, the Alley Theatre, South Coast Rep, New Jersey Rep, Utah Shakespeare, Theatre Squared, Island City Stage, Two River Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Theatre Calgary, Roundhouse Theatre, Center Rep, Cygnet, Diversionary and San Diego REP, among others. She is a founder and former Artistic Director of MOXIE Theatre, which she helmed for 12 acclaimed seasons.

Alex Grindey (They/Them) earned their BA from Eastern Michigan University’s Entertainment Design and Technology program with focuses in Stage Management and Sound Technology and a Minor in Music. Upon their graduation they proceeded into the world of freelance theatre where they had many positions from Sound Board Operator or A1, to Stage Manager, to Sound Designer, to Production Manager. Some of their favorite shows include, with Flint Repertory Theatre: A1 Audio Engineer for The Magnificent Seven(2023),Ragtime(2023) andGodspell(In a Pool!)(2024), Assistant Stage Manager forLittle Shop of Horrors(2023), with Three River’s Community Players: Stage Manager forMuch Ado About Nothing(2025), and with Queer Theatre Kalamazoo: Stage Manager forThe Lysistrata Project(2026). Alex is also the Resident Sound Designer at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre.

Jadera Perdue is very excited to be a part of Flint Repertory Theatre’s New Works Festival! She has previously performed with Lebowsky Center for Performing Arts, seen as Ms. Gordon in School of Rock, Cinderella’s Mother in Into The Woods, and the Star-To-Be/Cecile in Annie. During her collegiate career at Rochester Christian University, she had the privilege of being in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost as Kathrine, Lucy in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and Hippolyta in A Midsummer’s Night Dream. She has also worked with many theaters in Michigan, such as Birmingham Village Players, Flint Community Players, Mystic Hero’s Theatre and Skycraft Theatre Works. In her free time, you can find her spending time with her sisters, friends, or crafting. Jadera is thankful for her amazing community and family for their love and support!

Madelyn Porter “The whole world is a stage…” and Madelyn Porter plays a part in keeping it real in Detroit. Porter is a member of Actor’s Equity Association and has worked in professional theatre for over forty years. She is the recipient of the 2024 City of Detroit Arts, Culture, and Entrepreneurship (ACE) Award, the 2019 Kresge Arts in Detroit – Literary Arts Award, Wayne County Chapter of NOW – Special Achievement Award for portraying Sojourner Truth (national tour). Porter received the Wilde Award for best lead actress in Gem of the Ocean (Aunt Ester) 2023 – Detroit Repertory Theatre and Wrong River (Grandma) 2022 – Flint Repertory Theatre. She is a proud Flint Repertory Theatre (FRT) Associate Artist and was recently seen in A Streetcar Named Desire at FRT. Porter is founder of Mad’s World, LLC, currently works as Connectivity and Engagement Manager for Detroit Public Theatre, performs historical reenactments and Storyliving for the Detroit Historical Society, The Henry Ford/Greenfield Village, and Troy Historical Village. She is Director of Theatre for the Hannan Center and a Writer in Residence for InsideOut Literary Arts. Porter also writes and creates stories on commission. She is designing a Cultural Awareness Through the Arts Program for School Districts and Color My World workshops for students of all ages. Her passion is education through the arts. “Let’s reach and teach audiences of all ages through the arts. My goal is to continue to make Detroit a world-class city and create quality theatre by any means necessary.”

Michole Briana White is a critically acclaimed American actress, singer, and songwriter, originally from Chicago. Her extensive career spans film, television, and stage, establishing her as a versatile and compelling performer. Michole is widely recognized for her powerful portrayal of Lucille Flenory in the Starz crime series Black Mafia Family (BMF). She is an executive producer and star of the upcoming feature film Sheepwell, with recurring roles in the new Amazon series Ballard and a hit Netflix show to be announced soon. Other notable TV roles include Atlanta, Dead to Me, FBI International, Law and Order SVU, and Grey’s Anatomy. Film roles include Malignant, Lila and Eve, Spike Lee’s She Hate Me, and Ava Duvernay’s first feature I Will Follow. She received an Obie Award and Drama Desk Award for the original Off-Broadway stage production of August Wilson’s Jitney. Michole’s artistry extends beyond acting into her heartfelt musical endeavors. Her new single Remember Me will be released in February with an EP up next. Currently she has two singles streaming; Miss Tang co-written with producer Rob Mullins and Mother Earth Is Dying, co-written with Doodlebug from Digable Planets, 80 Empire, and Dj Skillspinz.

Sabrina Dahlgren is a Michigan-based actor, vocalist, and director. Her recent stage work includes performing as the “By My Side” soloist in Flint Repertory Theatre’s landmark production of Godspell (In a Pool!) and as Erma in Anything Goes at the Lebowsky Center for Performing Arts. Her notable regional credits include starring as Gynecia in Head Over Heels (Lebowsky Center), Fraulein Kost in Cabaret (The Friction Theatre), and Ronnette in Little Shop of Horrors (The Encore Musical Theatre Co.). Sabrina has also appeared in Into the Woods at The Encore and Rent at The Dio. Beyond the theater, she has showcased her vocal range as a guest lead singer for the 80s tribute band Starfarm. As a director, Sabrina recently helmed The Cottage and Wait Until Dark at the Lebowsky Center, along with multiple Cabaret productions at various venues. She currently serves as a vocal and acting coach specializing in pop/rock technique. Offstage, Sabrina is an avid painter and cook who enjoys supporting her three children in their own pursuits across the Michigan arts community.

Niambi Steele Coming from a rich legacy of Black theater starting in the 1970’s, Niambi performed throughout the Midwest in plays such as, Tambourines to Glory, Five on The Black Hand Side, Who’s Got His Own, and even You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. After being nominated by the Encore Awards for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ (Musical) for her portrayal of “Zarita” in Simply Heavenly, and then winning the Encore Award for Best Actress (Musical) for “Lutiebelle” in Purlie!, Niambi came to New York after recording and touring as a lead and back-up vocalist with 24 Carat Black and soul-music greats at Stax Records (1973-1975). Niambi was steered into her first New York theatrical appearance by Ed Bullins (in residence at that time with Joe Papp’s Public Theater) via The Hotel Play, written by Wallace Shawn, at La Mama Etc., (1981). Niambi has continued to perform steadily in New York theaters— from The Heckscher Theater, where she was a “Choir Member” in the first run of Mama I Want To Sing, starring Desiree Coleman, (1983), to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe’s production of “Billy, Lena, And The Duke“, (2011). She was nominated for 2014 Best Actress Musical for her portrayal of “Brenda” in That ‘L’ Word at the John Chatterton 2014 Winter Play Festival in New York. Niambi has worked in numerous Harlem-based community outreach productions with playwright, J. E. Franklin, under the direction, guidance, and tutelage of the Audelco Award- Winning Director, Eric Coleman. Her arts-based community involvement also includes the New York Theater Workshop, Negro Ensemble Company Repertory, Harlem Arts Alliance, Kumble Theater and the Frank Silvera Writer’s Workshop where she is consistently relied upon as an excellent cold reader for new playwrights and was an integral part of its Reader’s Theater at the National Black Theater Festival (2007). She has performed in Harlem with new playwrights at the Schomburg Center For Research In Black Culture, Abysinnian Baptist Church, and at the Salvation Army, with its annual Grandparent’s Around the World Production of Dinner At Grandma’s (2006-2011), reprising her portrayal of beloved Sista Lula for five years. Herself a playwright, she has had her works read at the National Black Theatre Festival (2007) and the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival (2012). More recently, Niambi won a 2020 Audelco Award for being a member of the Outstanding Ensemble Performance of Sassy Mamas at Black Spectrum Theatre. Niambi’s most enduring accomplishment is being a mother of two, grandmother of five, great grandmother of six, and only child to her dear mother, Mrs. Lucille Ford Taplin Smith of Indianapolis, Indiana, where her musical and theatrical journey began.