ShaWanna Renee Rivon

ShaWanna Renee Rivon is an award winning, and nationally renowned Playwright and Producer. With her first writing premiere in Los Angeles with Deal Breakers, the NAACP nominated production, co-produced with Lisa Nicole Bell, this creative journey began taking its flight. Her early writing experienced was first nurtured in the urban play market with romantic comedies. ShaWanna’s success grew to more popularly featured productions such as Cheaper to Keep Her and Marriage Material, which starred Vivica Fox, Brian McKnight, and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins (of “TLC”), both of which toured nationally. As an Actor, ShaWanna starred as a series regular on cartoon shows such as Strawberry Shortcake (as Raspberry Torte), The Bratz (as Sasha), and The Care Bears (as Cheer Bear). Upon returning home to...

ShaWanna Renee Rivon is an award winning, and nationally renowned Playwright and Producer. With her first writing premiere in Los Angeles with Deal Breakers, the NAACP nominated production, co-produced with Lisa Nicole Bell, this creative journey began taking its flight. Her early writing experienced was first nurtured in the urban play market with romantic comedies. ShaWanna’s success grew to more popularly featured productions such as Cheaper to Keep Her and Marriage Material, which starred Vivica Fox, Brian McKnight, and Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins (of “TLC”), both of which toured nationally. As an Actor, ShaWanna starred as a series regular on cartoon shows such as Strawberry Shortcake (as Raspberry Torte), The Bratz (as Sasha), and The Care Bears (as Cheer Bear). Upon returning home to Houston ShaWanna elected to fulfill her tenacity for arts training, earning her BFA in Playwriting and Dramaturgy from the University of Houston, all while continuing to write and produce professionally in the local Houston market. As a developing creative, ShaWanna discovered her niche and artists mission: To create period-piece comedies, centered around the lives of Black women, and their obstacles, past and present. In this, she has begun the development of her 6-Play Cycle. The first of which, being Old Black and White Hollywood, about a 1950’s Black woman comic who strongly desires to become the first Black star on screen, all without the tropes of playing a maid. Old Black & White Hollywood was part of the University of Houston’s 2019-2020 season, was developed with Suzan Lori Parks, and won ShaWanna The Edward Albee Playwriting Award. The latest of productions in her 6-Play Cycle, Power to the Queendom, was developed with the Rec Room Writers. The script being loosely based on a true story in Houston’s past in 1970, about a group of female Black Panthers forced to protect their community amidst urgent racial and revolutionary events and circumstances. The third play installment into ShaWanna’s 6-Play Cycle, Miss Culture, 1983, is currently in development through her artists-residency with Rec Room Theatre.

Scripts

Power to the Queendom!

by ShaWanna Renee Rivon

Synopsis

When freedom and the power to determine the destiny of the community rest in the hands of four female members of The Black Panther Party...it’s the most powerful ride you’ll ever see. Power to the Queendom is an action-packed journey through the comedy, drama, and immediate need of a 1970s Houston community. Power to the Queendom follows four women and their love for their community, and its people—caught in a...

When freedom and the power to determine the destiny of the community rest in the hands of four female members of The Black Panther Party...it’s the most powerful ride you’ll ever see. Power to the Queendom is an action-packed journey through the comedy, drama, and immediate need of a 1970s Houston community. Power to the Queendom follows four women and their love for their community, and its people—caught in a room with an HPD Officer held hostage. In this story, inspired by true Houston-American characters and events, these four women of the Houston chapter of The Black Panther Party (The People’s Party II) standoff in negotiations with the Houston Police Department in the hopes to bargain for the life of their leader (Carl Hampton) and for the future of their organization. A clever and driven journey of powerful women, caught in a terminal situation, standing for many of the same community values and societal challenges that would still be recognized today.