Where Art Aligns…

Where stories become bridges, and where purpose and creation meet right on time.

Birthplace of Multi-Award Winning Solo Show

Black and Blue

Written & Performed by Jamar Gilbert

Directed by Kayla Raelle

Available for Booking at Universities/Theatres Nationwide

Black background badge with white laurel leaves and text indicating an official selection of the Splash Award 2025 for excellence in cultural arts performance at Namba Performing Arts Space.
Black background with white laurel wreaths on each side. Centered text reads "Official Selection Hollywood Fringe 2025."
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Festival logo with black background, white laurel leaves on side, text "Official Selection The Un-Erasable Solo Festival 2025," and a torn newspaper image with a red "X" across it.
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A logo with a black background featuring a red laurel wreath encircling text that reads 'BEYOND THE FRINGE 2025'. Inside, there are three rows of text, each reading 'THE ACTORS COMPANY', with the word 'COMPANY' highlighted in red in the last row.

What is Black and Blue?

The award winning solo show, Black and Blue, follows four Black men — an elder, a radical, a conflicted cop, and a 9-year-old boy — whose inner truths collide around identity, belonging, and the pressures placed on their lives and bodies.

While deeply rooted in the specific realities of Black manhood in America, the show opens into something universal: the longing to be seen, the fear of being misunderstood, and the courage it takes to claim all parts of who we are.

Through dynamic physicality, vocal transformation, and emotional truth, Jamar brings each character to life in a performance that is both intimate and explosive, inviting audiences into a conversation about identity, empathy, and the power of embracing our full selves.

Run Time: ~60 minutes

Tech Needs: Minimal (flexible for classrooms → black box → theaters)

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The Origin Story

About the team

Audience Reactions

Student Take-Aways

Stage Raw Review
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Hollywood fringe reviews
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los angeles sentinel WRITEUP
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Poster with text on black background, featuring a man sitting in a dark setting with lightning graphics, discussing the show 'Black and Blue' and referencing Gilbert and Raelle's work, with emphasis on capturing lightning in a bottle.
Poster with text about the power of storytelling in black and blue colors, featuring a man in the background holding and performing with a large cloth.
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  • "An unflinching tour de force, birthed from the immensely gifted mind of Jamar Gilbert."

    —Audience Member

  • "The work Gilbert and Raelle have done is imperceptible. The two capture lightning in a bottle."

    —Audience Member

  • "What bought tears to my eyes was seeing someone that looks like me do what I want to do and doing it soo freely!"

    —Audience Member

  • "It is an honor and privilege to be in the room and witness this. It is greatness. In every sense of the word."

    -Audience Member

  • "Jamar is a powerhouse and commands the stage with a rich and vibrant energy."

    —Audience Member

  • "One of the BEST original works I have ever seen."

    —Audience Member

  • "This is America. This is gorgeous artistry and expression and what this country and what I needed to see."

    —Audience Member

  • "You see ALL of humanity in one space, in one time."

    —Audience Member

  • "Delivered with grace-from the writing to the acting to the direction."

    —Audience Member

  • "Black and Blue isn’t just a performance. It’s a masterclass in character work. A meditation on identity, masculinity, and survival."

    —Audience Member

  • "It is raw, intelligent, well paced, and truly one of the most powerful pieces of art I’ve ever seen. "

    —Audience Member

  • "Earnestly and artfully played, expertly directed, much needed show for our times."

    —Audience Member

  • "A socratic seminar of the soul."

    —Audience Member

  • "Jamar Gilbert’s a superstar."

    —Audience Member

  • "Made me think about how my own biases affect the way I move through the world."

    —Audience Member

  • RECOMMENDED “Black and Blue is a potent and timely work and succeeds in being both deeply personal and broadly resonant.”

    —STAGE RAW—

  • “This is the kind of talent Hollywood says it’s looking for — raw, honest, unforgettable.”

    —Hollywood Fringe Critic—

  • “Black and Blue is an experience, challenging the audience to confront identity, survival, and truth long after the curtain falls.”

    —Los Angeles Sentinal—

Why Black and Blue Belongs at Your Theatre/Campus

The show serves as a reflection piece for students/audiences navigating identity, artistry, and adulthood, offering not just a story — but a transformational experience. One that naturally inspires listeners to answer the call of their own stories.

black and blue creative portfolio

Rooted in the specific realities of moving through America as a Black man, Black and Blue reveals truths that echo across all identities while bridging:

→ Performance & craft

Jamar’s character work demonstrates vocal transformation, physical embodiment, psychological depth, and storytelling technique.

→ Social awareness & identity reflection

Students/audiences recognize themselves — and others — in the show’s questions.

→ Universal humanity

The specific lens of Black manhood reveals truths that touch everyone.

→ Empathy through art

By witnessing four competing truths, students/audiences learn there is no single way to be human.

Book Shows/Services

Contact us below for rates

Single Performance

  • A 60-minute solo performance of Black & Blue

  • Optional talkback with Jamar & Kayla

Performance + Workshop Package

Choose from any of our three core workshops:

  • Being Seen (identity & vulnerability)

  • The Art of Empathy & Embodiment (character work)

  • Your Story, Your Power (solo voice & personal narrative)

Full-Day Experience

  • Performance

  • Talkback

  • 1–2 workshops

  • Optional student meetings/class visits

Multi-Day Residency

2–3 days of deeper engagement, including:
Performance

  • Talkback

  • Multiple workshops

  • Class visits

  • Optional one-on-one coaching

  • Final student sharing or showcase

Residencies are ideal for Theatre Departments, Creative Writing majors, Black Studies programs, First-Year Experience courses, DEI series, and arts festivals.

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