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SEASON 26
The Meeting Tree
a new play by B. Elle Borders
directed by Summer L. Williams
produced in partnership with Front Porch Arts Collective and the City of Boston’s Office of Arts and Culture
Jul 18 - Aug 9, 2025
The Strand Theatre
All tickets are Pay-What-You-Want!
ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
Sofia Langton is on a mission to succeed where her grandmother failed and regain the rights to the Alabama farm where her family was once enslaved. But there is something rotten in the land, and it sits smack dab in the middle of a fractured family tree. Can Sofia mend the wound that has divided her family for six generations? A story of kinship and healing, B. Elle Borders’ The Meeting Tree empowers us to break cycles of trauma and discover just how deep and tangled our roots really are.
Producing Partners
ABOUT THE TEAM
CAST
PLAYWRIGHT AND PRODUCTION TEAM
B. Elle Borders, Playwright
Summer L. Williams, Director
afrikah selah, Dramaturg
BIOS
Elle Borders is a Boston based Actress, Voiceover Artist, Writer and Educator. Recent credits: Nassim, Common Ground Revisited (Huntington Theatre Company); The Light (WAM Theatre-Special Presentation); Mr. Joy (Kitchen Theatre Company-Special Presentation); We All Fall Down (Huntington Theatre Company); Black Odyssey Boston (Front Porch Arts Collective/ Underground Railway Theater- 2020 Elliot Norton Award Best Ensemble); The Wiz (Lyric Stage Company); An Octoroon, We Are Proud to Present… (Company One Theatre/ArtsEmerson); World Premiere of How Soft the Lining (Bad Habit Productions); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello (Actors’ Shakespeare Project). Written Works: Joy (Huntington Theatre Company), The Meeting Tree (Reading/Front Porch Arts Collective). Radio/Podcasts: “Circle Round Story Time”on WBUR. Elle holds a BFA in Acting from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. She enjoys working on pieces that blend art, activism and education. Her greatest joy in life is performing/creating with her husband Brandon G. Green through their company Equals 8 (equals8.com)
Summer L. Williams she/herSummer L. Williams is an award-winning director and Co-Founder/Associate Artistic Director of Company One Theatre in Boston. Her most recent directing credits include Jaja’s African Hair Braiding at SpeakEasy Stage Company, August Wilson’s King Hedley II at Actors’ Shakespeare Project (2024 Elliot Norton Award Nominated), How We Got On by Idris Goodwin at Emerson Stage, The Boy Who Kissed The Sky by Idris Goodwin at Company One Theatre, Jump by Charly Evon Simpson at Everyman Theatre in Baltimore, MD, can i touch it?, a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere by Francisca Da Silvera at Company One Theatre, sandblasted by Charly Evon Simpson with Vineyard Theatre and WP Theater, Off-Broadway. Local/Regional credits: The Arboretum Experience at American Repertory Theater (A.R.T), Daddy Issues at Salt Lake City Acting Company New Play Sounding Series, the Digital World Premiere of Downtown Crossing at Company One Theatre, Wolf Play at Company One Theatre, School Girls, or The African Mean Girls Play at SpeakEasy Stage Company, Miss You Like Hell with Company One Theatre and OBERON at American Repertory Theater, the World Premiere of Leftovers at Company One Theatre, Wig Out! with Company One and OBERON at A.R.T.; Smart People at Kitchen Theatre Company in Ithaca, NY and Geva Theater in Rochester, NY; Barbecue at Lyric Stage Company of Boston—Winner of the 2018 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director; Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. at Company One Theatre; Bootycandy at SpeakEasy Stage Company; An Octoroon and Colossal with Company One Theatre—Winner of the 2016 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director for both productions. Intimate Apparel at Lyric Stage Company of Boston; Shiv as a part of The Displaced Hindu Gods Trilogy; Shelter of Last Resort by Miranda Craigwell as a part of XX PlayLab 2014; the New England Premiere of Jackie Sibblies Drury’s We Are Proud To Present A Presentation About The Herero Of Namibia, Formerly Known As Southwest Africa From The German Sudwestafrika Between The Years 1884-1915; Idris Goodwin’s How We Got On; Lynn Nottage’s By The Way, Meet Vera Stark at the Lyric Stage Company of Boston; The Brothers Size and Marcus; Or The Secret Of Sweet as part of The Brother/Sister Plays (2012 Elliot Norton Award nominated for Outstanding Production and winner of the 2012 IRNE Award for Best Play); Neighbors; Grimm; The Good Negro; Voyeurs De Venus (Winner of 2009 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Director); The Bluest Eye (IRNE and Elliot Norton Award nominated); The Last Days Of Judas Iscariot; Spell #7 (IRNE nominated); Jesus Hopped The A Train (2004 Elliot Norton Award for Best Fringe Production); and Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 (IRNE nominated).
afrikah selah they/themafrikah selah is a Boston-based cultural worker specializing in dramaturgy, new play development, and arts journalism, currently serving as the New Work Manager at Company One Theatre. With a passion for dialogue and a commitment to exploring new ideas in innovative ways, they value creative collaboration that fosters community and work towards a more equitable world. They take pride in having contributed to the development of three world premiere plays and two Rolling World Premiere productions, curating accessible virtual masterclasses with esteemed artists, and being an alum of four nationally recognized arts and culture cohorts. To learn more about their work, visit itsafrikah.com.
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association
^ Member of United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829
AMPLIFYING ACTION
Company One Theatre is producing The Meeting Tree to AMPLIFY:
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our partnership with Front Porch Arts Collective at the historic Strand Theatre, and our shared commitment to supporting and producing new work that honors the past, present, and future of Black artistry in Boston’s historically Black neighborhoods.
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the reverberations of chattel slavery, racism, and displacement — on the land, our ancestral ties, and our present-day relationships — and the laws and policies that define who receives access to land and resources that must be repaired.
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C1’s ongoing relationships with community partners who work to address the social, economic and health-related disparities that exist for BIPOC families in Boston’s own neighborhoods.
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the essential need to face our uncomfortable, shared American histories —to build common ground, foster solidarity, and cultivate restorative practices for a vibrant, more just future.
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the first world premiere play by B. Elle Borders, a Boston artist with deep local ties, whose personal and vulnerable storytelling sparks meaningful conversations about our collective responsibilities to one another.
Connectivity Partners
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RESOURCES & ACTION STEPS
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