Long Wharf Theatre Announces Cast and Creative Team for Unbecoming Tragedy
Wednesday March 26 2025
Long Wharf Theatre (Artistic Director Jacob G. Padrón) is proud to announce the cast and creative team for the world premiere of Unbecoming Tragedy: A Ritual Journey Toward Destiny, written and performed by Terrence Riggins and directed by Cheyenne Barboza. This gripping solo drama runs May 11 – June 1, 2025, at Off Broadway Theater, behind the Shops at Yale (41 Broadway, New Haven, CT 06511), with a Pay-What-You-Can performance period from May 11–15 to ensure accessibility for all.
More than a play, Unbecoming Tragedy is a reckoning—part confessional, part ritual, part fever dream—crafted by a playwright and performer whose work has captivated audiences on both local and national stages.
For Riggins, this play is not just another production; it is a deeply personal excavation of the stories we tell ourselves to survive. His career has spanned regional and Off-Broadway theatre, film, and television, but Unbecoming Tragedy marks a homecoming. A nationally recognized artist, Riggins is also a New Haven resident, and this world premiere is an affirmation of Long Wharf Theatre’s belief that some of the most vital storytelling in American theatre is happening right here, in its own backyard.
Long Wharf Theatre has been nurturing Unbecoming Tragedy for years. The journey began when Dexter Singleton and Jenny Nelson of Collective Consciousness Theatre (CCT) introduced Riggins’ work to the company. In 2021, an excerpt was featured in Long Wharf Theatre’s LAB series, offering a first glimpse of the piece in front of an audience. A developmental reading followed in 2022, then a staged workshop at Bregamos Community Theater in 2023, produced by CCT. With each step, the piece evolved— it was refined, sharpened, made more visceral. Now, the play finally takes full form in a production directed by award-winning theatre artist Cheyenne Barboza, whose past work includes Passing Strange at Long Wharf Theatre and The Agitators at Theatre Horizon.
“This play is about transformation—not just personal, but collective,” says Riggins. “It’s about how we navigate life’s complexities, the roles we play, the choices we make. It’s about what happens when we can no longer outrun our own truth.”
For Long Wharf Theatre, Unbecoming Tragedy represents something much larger than a single production. Now in its 60th season, the company is reshaping the way theatre is made and experienced in New Haven. Its commitment to producing work beyond the walls of a traditional theatre building has brought stories into unexpected spaces—boathouses, community centers, and now, a tucked-away venue behind the Shops at Yale.
“We continue building on our history of innovation, creativity, and ingenuity for the people of Greater New Haven.” says Jacob G. Padrón, Artistic Director of Long Wharf Theatre. “Unbecoming Tragedy is exactly the kind of work that drives us forward. Terrence is a singular voice, and this story is one that demands to be heard.”
The production is also the latest chapter in Long Wharf Theatre’s long-standing partnership with Collective Consciousness Theatre, an organization dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices and creating theatre that fosters civic dialogue. The two companies have worked together for years to support artists whose stories reflect the realities of New Haven’s diverse communities.
“Unbecoming Tragedy is a powerful exploration of the human condition, shedding light on the complexities of identity and the impact of trauma,” says Dexter Singleton, Artistic Director of Collective Consciousness Theatre. “I’m excited for audiences to experience this journey at Long Wharf Theatre, where the story takes on new depth with the incredible talent on stage. It's a play that resonates with everyone, challenging us to reflect on who we are and how we evolve."
“This play was born in New Haven. It was shaped by New Haven. And now, it will be shared with the people of New Haven before it reaches national stages,” says Riggins.
“This isn’t just theatre. It’s a conversation. It’s a reckoning. It’s a ritual,” says Riggins. “And it starts here.”
For tickets and more information, visit https://www.longwharf.org/events/unbecoming-tragedy-2.
Full Creative Team
Cheyenne Barboza - Director
Terrence Riggins* - Playwright and Actor
Theresa Stark* - Production Stage Manager
Devario D. Simmons^ - Costume Designer
Joseph Fonseca^ - Lighting Designer
Omid Akbari^ - Set Designer
Finn Wiggins-Henry^ - Sound Designer
Hannah Tran - Projections Designer
* - Member of Actors Equity Union
^ - Member of United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829
About Long Wharf Theatre
Birthed at the founding of America's regional theatre movement, Long Wharf Theatre opened on July 4, 1965 with Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Jacob G. Padrón, our company continues to build on a legacy of more than 400 productions that represent the best of classic plays, beloved musicals and world premieres, including works by Anna Deavere Smith, Paula Vogel, Tracey Scott Wilson, Lloyd Suh, Tina Landau, Whitney White, Ricardo Pérez González, and Dominique Morisseau. We are internationally recognized for a commitment to commissioning, developing, and producing new plays that expands storytelling in, and storytellers for, the American theatre. More than 30 Long Wharf Theatre productions have transferred to Broadway and Off-Broadway, and we produced three winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama: D.L. Coburn's The Gin Game, Michael Cristofer's The Shadow Box, and Margaret Edson's Wit. In recognition of its artistic achievements, Long Wharf Theatre won a Regional Theatre Tony Award, among the first to receive this honor, and Connecticut Critics Circle nominations and awards in nearly every category.
Today, Long Wharf Theatre is in a bold new chapter, moving beyond its physical home of nearly 60 years to bring theatre to everyone. We are once again leading a national theatre movement that instigates a fresh, sustainable model for our industry while making professional live theatre more financially and physically accessible for our community. In 2023, Greater New Haven residents could experience Long Wharf Theatre productions in seven cities and towns, including seven New Haven neighborhoods, at free and affordable prices. 2024 continues this innovative journey, ranging from a production of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge at Canal Dock Boathouse to a celebration of our 60th season. This is an invitation for all our neighbors to gather, bear witness to our shared humanity, and live connected, art-filled lives.
Our efforts have garnered extensive feature stories in The New York Times, The Washington Post, American Theatre magazine, and "PBS NewsHour." For leading with courage and creating a theatre of possibility, Artistic Director Jacob G. Padrón was named among Town & Country's 2023 Creative Aristocracy, a national list of 70 "kings and queens of culture" who are keeping human ingenuity regally and outrageously alive, and 2023 Person of the Year by National Theatre Conference, joining the ranks of former recipients August Wilson, Lloyd Richards, and Joseph Papp.
About Collective Consciousness Theatre
Collective Consciousness Theatre (CCT) is a BIPOC led, small professional theatre company based in New Haven, CT. Founded in 2007, we are a theatre dedicated to social change through the art of live theatre, interactive workshops and community conversations. We believe theatre has the power to open doors, unlock hearts and change minds. We use theatre to tackle social issues affecting our city and nation. Through creativity on the stage, in the classroom and with our community we partner to collectively inspire and seek solutions to improve our world. Our work has been seen by thousands of youth and adults across the U.S. and Europe, headlining festivals from NYC to Norway. As a theatre that champions the work of writers of color and women, we have produced dozens of new plays featuring underrepresented stories in our community reaching diverse audiences of all ages. CCT has produced the work of some of the best playwrights in the nation including Dominique Morisseau, Robert O’Hara, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Idris Goodwin, Marco Ramirez, Katori Hall and others.
collectiveconsciousnesstheatre.org