A fierce and funny solo show devised by Perisphere Co-Artistic Director, Gerrad Alex Taylor. I Know How To Curse: a re-blackening of shakespeare confronts the legacy of minstrelsy in American theater. Using the structure of a minstrel show to critique the casting politics of the classical canon, the play interrogates how Black actors are seen—and unseen—onstage. A radical blend of Shakespeare, satire, and self-reflection, it reclaims space for Black artists in the roles we’re too often denied.

Part manifesto, part mirror, and fully unflinching, this play is a reclamation—a re-blackening—of Shakespeare and the stages that keep rewriting the same story.

Directed by Nigel Semaj, I Know How To Curse, will run April 3-25, 2026. Pay close attention to the performance dates as there will be a break in performances in the middle of the run, which is a small change from Perisphere’s usual performance schedules.

Perisphere Co-Artistic Director Gerrad Alex Taylor brings a deeply personal and sharply political reflection on being a Black actor trained in the canon—knowing how to “speak the speech” and still being reduced to tokens, symbols, or sacrifices. He asks, through a satirical and sometimes sardonic tone: What space is truly available to Black performers in the worlds of Shakespeare, Chekhov, Ibsen? And what does it cost to gain entry?

Taylor is an award-winning director and multidisciplinary theatre artist based out of the Greater Baltimore region and an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His current creative work and research centers around creating space that preserves history and celebrates culture of the Global Majority.

In 2021 he was named one of Baltimore’s “40 Under 40” by the Washington Business Journal. In 2020, he founded Chesapeake Shakespeare’s Black Classical Acting Ensemble (BCAE), an affinity space for black actors interested in training and exposure of the “classics” and what an expansion of the classical canon may look like today. In 2024, Gerrad joined colleague Lizzi Albert to take on the roles of Co-Artistic Directors of Perisphere Theater in Montgomery County, MD.

Content Disclosure: This play contains racially and sexually charged language, including derogatory and offensive language. There are also moments of staged violence, including the use of a prop gun. This play deals with themes of racism and sexism.

*Note: Tickets purchased in person at the box office will incur an additional $2 service fee added to the prices listed online.

Director, Lizzi Albert

Lizzi Albert is a director, actor, and teaching artist who directed Perisphere’s 2023 production of Hazardous Materials, by Beth Kander. Other directing credits include This Historic Night (Seed Productions/Capital Fringe 2018), A Christmas Carol and The Tempest(Chesapeake Shakespeare Company), and an all-female Macbeth (Notre Dame of Maryland University). Acting credits include Avant Bards’ Julius Caesar, Constellation Theater Company’s Absolutely! Perhaps, and several productions with Chesapeake Shakespeare, where she is a company member. Lizzi is interested in creating intimate, expressive, psychologically insightful theater that allows audiences to both see their own experiences reflected on stage and be inspired to seek out new ones. She holds an M.A. in acting from the University of Essex and a BFA in theater from New York University.

Playwright, Joel Gross www.joelgross.com

Joel Gross’ ten published novels include THE BOOKS OF RACHEL.His play, MARIE ANTOINETTE: THE COLOR OF FLESH, is published by Dramatists Play Service. Joel has worked on films for Fox, Universal, Sony, and HBO. Joel has an M.A. in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University, and is a member of P.E.N., the Dramatists Guild, the Writers Guild, and the Authors Guild.

Joel’s screenplay of The Color of Flesh is set to be directed by Jon Amiel (SOMMERSBY, ENTRAPMENT, CREATION)  in Europe in 2025.

Joel’s play, Marie Antoinette: The Color of Flesh, was given its first public reading in New York, with Julia Roberts, Elisabeth Shue, and Stephen Lang in the cast. Subsequently, the play was developed at PKE in Los Angeles, with the help of its artistic director, Dan Lauria. Bob Kalfin directed the play at the New Jersey Rep (its world premiere), and later directed its New York debut. The Color of Flesh continues to be staged around the country since its 2008 off-Broadway production. Winner of “Best Play” for Spotlight Awards 2015, it has also been staged in Canada and Australia, and has been translated into Spanish, French, and Polish. To read selected reviews of the play, please click on the links below.

“The sweep of a historical novel….real events swirl outside, while inside at Versailles, emotions swirl just as vigorously around a triangle of love and friendship… Explores issues of class, many of them sounding quite contemporary, while creating a touching story of love.” Neil Genzlinger, THE NEW YORK TIMES

Meet the Team

Join us for our Special Events!

Thursday, April 2, 8:00pm: PWYC Preview Performance. Donations will be accepted at the door (cash preferred) for anyone interested in getting the FIRST LOOK at this WORLD PREMIERE. We will be putting finishing touches on the show and invite the public to watch this exciting end to our process.

Friday, April 3, 8:00pm: OPENING NIGHT. There will be a reception following the performance. Join us for drinks, food, and a chance to mingle with the cast and production team!

Sunday, April 5 (NEW DATE): Meet the director! After the show, IKHTC director Nigel Semaj will be in conversation with Perisphere’s resident dramaturg, Shana Laski, about the many influences on IKHTC. 

Thursday, April 9: Artist’s Night. Join students, theater artists, and other industry professionals, and enter a raffle to win a free monologue coaching session with Perisphere’s co-artistic directors. 

Sunday, April 12:  Stay for a post-show talkback with IKHTC creator Gerrad Alex Taylor and Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s Associate Director for Education and Community Engagement, Molly Horton Booth.