THE PIECE
"111 Orchestra Place" is a play about the rise and fall of The Gotham Hotel in Detroit, Michigan during the 1950’s. One of the first 5 star luxury establishments for Black folks of its time, it was a safe haven for African-Americans all around the country to be treated with dignity and respect and it was completely funded by the "illegal" Numbers gambling ring. I want to explore the cost of Black ambition in a time when we started winning so the United States changed the rules. For this play Camille will be conducting both oral histories of Black Detroiters and doing archival research at libraries in Detroit.
THE ARTIST
Camille Simone Thomas is a 5th generation African-American Detroiter through her father’s side and a first generation Jamaican through her mothers. She names this because her work most often interrogates cultural legacies, familial healing, spirituality, and the general kicking and screaming of how Black folks get free despite the oppressive forces of colonialism and white supremacy. Her work has been seen at The Connelly Theatre, MCC, Playwrights Horizons, Blackboard Playwriting series, Lime Arts Theatre company, American Slavery Project, Dixon Place, Workshop Theatre, Barter Theatre Company, The Brick, and more! While working on "111 Orchestra Place" with The Civilians she's also fundraising for a developmental production of her play "Sweetblood" coming Fall 2025. If you'd like to support that work financially click this link to donate or feel free to contact her via her website https://www.camillesthomas.com/