Happy spring, almost summer! (in my eyes!)

Thank you to everyone who attended Lil Sis & The Furies. I deeply appreciate your support, and all of the metaphorical and literal flowers you showered me with. It means so much. Lil Sis will definitely return sooner than later!

Here are some stills from the show:

Hello, happy March! I am eagerly awaiting warmer weather—and also the premiere of my new punk rock musical LIL SIS & THE FURIES at Columbia University on April 3-4, 2026.

Ticket link will be live within the next two weeks (and tix are free), but in the meantime, you can add your name to this guest list that I will send to my producer, for us to reserve your ticket. Show times are as follows: Invited Dress Rehearsal Apr 2 at 8:00pm, Opening Night Apr 3 at 8:00pm, matinee April 4 at 2:00pm, and Closing Night April 4 at 8:00pm.

Location: Theatre at Schapiro Hall, 605 W. 115^th Street, on the basement level (let me know if you’ll need elevator access!)

More info coming! Also, if you know electric guitarists who could rehearse and perform in our band (March 26 - Apr 4), we’re seeking a lead guitarist and a rhythm guitarist. Stipend is $50. Reply to this email with any leads!

Happy holidays! Or, if this is trite to you, like it can be for me, as the holidays are actually quite a grief-filled time, I wish you tenderness this time of year and hope you are with loved ones.

My year was extremely difficult; I was laid off in the midst of grad school, unemployed for some time, now working part-time at school with full-time course work, had deaths in my family, learned a lot of lessons…whew. But, when I did a year in review, A Year in Charlene, if you will (my partner coined that), I realized I have so much to celebrate and be proud of myself for even amongst the turbulence of the year.

So here are the highlights and accomplishments of my year and some hopes for the next!

Hello! Happy September! I do like this part of the year, it feels like being in the eye of the storm that is fall/winter with all its holidays, assignments, and wild weather.

I’d love to invite you to two projects I’m involved in, not as a writer, but as a director!

1. Sat, September 13 at 1pm at Greenroom42, I am co-directing my friend Iman’s Sabrina Carpenter Cabaret! It’s high camp and it’s bonkers! Come dressed as Sabrina Carpenter or Chappell Roan. There’s also a livestream available!

2. Sat, Sept 27 at 2pm I am directing a staged reading of Malaika Tinashe’s Don’t Look So Damn Surprised at The Flea Theater. Tickets are $10. Please support the artists, who will get some money in a profit-share model.

And don’t worry, I do have showings of my own work down the pipeline! Notably, my 2nd year Columbia MFA production will be taking place the weekend of April 3, 2026. Save the date!

Happy Summer!

I’d love to see you at a reading for an excerpt of my work in progress, LILITH AND OSHUN.

When: Thurs, June 26, 7pm

Where: The Word is Change Bookstore, 368 Tomkins Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11216.

Hello! Lots of good news to report. So, first, I’m a Hansberry-Lilly Fellow! Here I am in Playbill.

“Created in honor of playwright Lorraine Hansberry, the fellowships ensure that the next generation of women and non-binary playwrights of color are able to follow in Hansberry's footsteps, allowing them to create new work and develop their writing careers regardless of their economic situation. Each recipient receives a $25,000 stipend for each year of matriculation at select writing programs across the country, with up to $75,000 available to subsidize living expenses not covered by tuition.”

I’m so thrilled to have received this award, especially in light of losing my job. I’ll be able to work part-time once I do secure long-term work.

Another praise report is that I am observing the director and assisting the production of Chiaroscuro by Aishah Rahman at the National Black Theatre/The Flea. I’m getting valuable experience shadowing and assisting the crew! I also highly recommend the show. It runs June 1-22, with previews starting next week. Get your tickets here!

Happy New Year to those I haven't yet reached out to since December. I hope you've been able to find some sense of stability and control during the past few turbulent months (years?).

I have a praise report! Bury Your Gays, the anthology I contributed my short story "Lost and Found" to, is a Bram Stoker Award finalist for Superior Achievement in an Anthology! “The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is pleased to announce the Final Ballot for the 2024 Bram Stoker Awards®. The HWA is the premier writers organization in the horror and dark fiction genre, with more than 2,000 members. We have presented the Bram Stoker Awards in various categories since 1987.” I’m attending StokerCon this June which is where they’ll announce the winner! Keep your fingers crossed for me 😀

In sadder news, my job contract ends in March. Please send any part-time/freelance writing gigs along. Or, if there is anything theater specific, like a literary internship, that would be perfect too!

Lastly, my birthday is March 18! Purchase the publications I’m in, which are linked at the bottom of this email. Send me some bday money: my venmo is @CharleneAdh. I have Zelle and ApplePay, too, which you can send using my phone number. Alternatively, please donate in my honor to any campaign on Sudan Funds or to the Gaza Municipality.

Happiest of holidays! Don't know if this is the same for you, but it's been a taxing year. I hope you get lots of rest this winter, especially for the impending presidency, ongoing war, genocides, economic crises, and, and, and...

Despite the chaos, I have had a lot of bursts of lights this year, primarily getting my first short story published, having a poem published, being a semi-finalist for a play residency and being commissioned to write a play for said residency, and getting into graduate school! My first semester is a wrap, and I am very proud of my accomplishments in such a short amount of time.

I'd love to share with you a clip of the first scene I have directed, from THE TAPESTRY by Alexis De Veaux (1976), a play about law student Jet in the days leading up to her bar exam. The scene, from Act 2, takes place in the morning in Jet's apartment. She is frantically preparing for her law class. She’s sleep-deprived. The night before, she had a nightmare that foreshadows a betrayal she will discover later in the play. Click the links below to watch my scene & learn about my process.

Scene from THE TAPESTRY

Happy October, and happy early Halloween to all who celebrate! This year I will be Morticia Addams and my partner will be Gomez.👻🕸️🎃

I'm excited to announce I will be having a developmental reading of my play SEED, which was commissioned by The Hearth, in November! It sadly, is a closed reading, so I can't invite the public. But if you're interested in a Black, queer eco-horror play set in present-day Harlem, I'll send a draft your way.

Speaking of The Hearth, they are one of the several theater companies affected by the recent decision by the Catholic Archdiocese, which owns the Connolly Theater, to forbid certain plays, particularly trans plays, from being performed. Read more about it in the NYT. And please, also consider donating to The Hearth as they search for a new venue for their upcoming production.

Lastly, school is fulfilling but quite stressful. Midterms have always been the most difficult part of school for me, so I can't wait to get to November/December. By finals, even when it's crazy, I know what's going on; whereas now, I'm a chicken with its head cut off. So, say a little prayer for me, please. 😅 And please forgive any delays in communication.

Happy September! 🍂 School has started, and I am stressed but also having a lot of fun.

This Saturday, Sept 21, 8:00pm EST, I will be on a Zoom panel to celebrate Issue 22: Beyond the Margin alongside my fellow writers and collaborators! This will be a moderated event that will allow the artists to divulge into the conception, execution, and meaning behind their work. It's free, tell your friends! RSVP!

More to come :)

Hi! You’re receiving this email if you’re a friend, colleague, or mentor of mine. I am notoriously inconsistent with sharing new things going on my life and have desired a simple way to share career updates and events with everyone I care about. I will send brief emails periodically! Please feel free to unsubscribe if you’re emailed-out. (I’ll still send you a holiday e-card though!)

Why “The Elusive Chartreuse”? It’s a pun of my name and the Mariah Carey album Me. I am Mariah…The Elusive Chanteuse. Yes, I am a Lamb. And I sing and compose music!

1. I start my MFA in Playwriting at Columbia on Sept 3. I’m very excited! Classes I’ll be taking my first semester: TV Pilot, Fundamentals of Directing, Playwriting I, History & Theory of Theatre, and American Spectacle (with Lynn Nottage!)

2. I published a poem in Issue 22: Beyond the Margin, edited by the Ebony Tomatoes Collective, a Black, intersectional literary and arts magazine. Check it out! https://www.blurb.com/b/12041339-issue-22-beyond-the-margin

   

   There also will be a virtual event on Sept 14 where I and the other contributors discuss this issue. Save the date; I’ll send along more info as soon as I have it.