Antonio Duke (he/him) is a Twin Cities-based actor, playwright, and teaching artist. He worked with Pillsbury House Theatre as part of the Summer 612 Micro Grant (2011 & 2012), Late Nite Series (2012) and Naked Stages Fellowship (2018) where he created his solo performance play Ashes of Moons. His solo performance play Tears of Moons was part of the Guthrie Theatre’s Solo Emerging Artist Celebration. Antonio’s plays The Death of Kings and The Fog premiered as staged readings at the Guthrie Theatre for The New Griots Festival. His play The Sly Sambo appeared as part of the Fresh Ink Series at the Illusion Theatre. The Fog garnered him The Many Voices Mentorship from The Playwright Center. He's the recipient of the 2019 Artist Initiative Grant through the Minnesota State Arts Board for his solo performance play Missing Mississippi Moons. Training: University of Minnesota/Guthrie BFA Actor Training Program.

Fellowship Statement

My artistic aim is to create stories from the black diaspora as authentically as possible. In my writing I focus on mythology. Within mythos lies intimate and epic circumstances that I am driven to explore. I conjure most of my muse from black spiritualities; specifically, those deities from the Afrocentric Yoruba, Santeria and Voodoo traditions. In my work, I speak about trauma, both personal and historical. Performing traumatic events with Afrocentric cultural aesthetics is important to me because it provides me with the chance to connect with my ancestors. In doing so, I follow in a lineage of West African storytellers called Griots. Stories are strange spells. They are conjurations in our mouths. Playwriting and performance is a spiritual manifestation act rooted in an ancient practice of Afrocentric storytelling. It is through this practice that I can sit with the ancestors that I have yet to meet.

Photo by Bruce Silcox.