INKubator is Powerstories Theatre’s creative workshop series for playwrights developing new works.
This program offers a space where ideas take shape, from first draft to stage‑ready performance. Participants explore revision, structure, and storytelling in a supportive environment that celebrates women’s voices and artistry with dramaturgical support from playwright‑in‑residence Jenny Kokai.
The workshops culminate in Works‑in‑Progress presentations, giving audiences a rare glimpse into the evolution of new plays before their next debut.
Showcasing Works of Returning Women Playwrights
Voices of Women INKubator
Powerstories’ debut INKubator event is proud to welcome back Black Barbie by Ashley Burgess Laster and What about Ruth? by Charlene Dorsey, two short plays by our local playwrights. The 2026 Voices of Women Theatre Festival short play night sold out quickly, and many were disappointed as they didn’t have the chance to see these performances.
Now you can.
Both playwrights will refine and develop their scripts in a week long workshop, followed by intimate presentations of these works in progress– in whatever state they’re in– for a small audience.
May 30 and 31
Powerstories Studio
4237 El Prado Blvd., Tampa
7pm and 3pm
Only 30 seats each night
$20 donation
SATURDAY, MARCH 30 – 7:30PM
SUNDAY, MARCH 31 – 3PM
$20 DONATION
- “Black Barbie” By Ashley Burgess Laster
- “What about Ruth?” By Charlene Dorsey
March 30-31, 2026
Powerstories Studio, 4237 El Prado Blvd, Tampa, FL 33629
Short Play Description and Playwright Bios
Ashley Burgess Laster
TAMPA
Black Barbie
During a Monday morning staff meeting in a sleek Tampa office, Janelle, the only Black woman on her team, learns that everyone but her was invited to the CEO’s weekend boat party. As small talk turns sharp, she faces microaggressions masked as humor and inclusion. What begins as an ordinary meeting spirals into a moment of truth when Janelle confronts the hypocrisy of corporate culture and claims her identity with the words, “I am not a Black Barbie.” Black Barbie is a ten-minute drama about power, perception, and the courage to stop performing and start being seen.
Ashley Burgess Laster is a Tampa-based playwright, community leader, and Medicare sales professional whose work explores identity, inclusion, and resilience. Drawing from her real-world experiences as a Black woman in corporate America and her passion for storytelling, Ashley writes with humor and heart about belonging, courage, and the power of speaking truth. Black Barbie is her first stage play.
PLAYBILL CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM
Michaela Gibson (Janelle) – (also goes by Kayla) is stoked to play Janelle in this 10 minute play Black Barbie. Kayla has loved theatre since middle school, in high school she played Annelle in Steel Magnolias, and she will also be playing Rebecca in Our Town in April. In addition to her love of theatre, she also aspires to be a film actress. She was a “Fly Girl” in Basketball Jones featured on Tubi and Amazon Prime. When not acting she loves to spend time with her friends and family and incorporate her faith into everything she does.
Noah Krush (Rick) – I’ve been at HC since end of 2023. Since then, I have been in every show here. I love acting and Black Barbie has given me a chance to be in a show that has such an important story to tell and also a chance to work with some amazing performers and people. I thank Ashley and Indi for the chance to do it!
Julia Rose (Karen) – is an aspiring actress with a love for musical theater and film. She is currently studying theater at Hillsborough Community College and wants to move to LA and continue working as an actress. Her previous theater experience includes performing as Inga in Young Frankenstein (CWP), Young Republicanette in Heathers: The Musical (HCC), and Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun (Stage West). Julia thanks her parents, her brother, and her partner Ethan for their continued support!
Dylan Lauricello (Ben) – is a first-year in his second semester at HC. a Tampa Bay native, he has appeared in numerous local productions, including Guys & Dolls (Harry the Horse) with mad Theatre of Tampa, and HC’s production of 35MM: A Musical Exhibition (male role swing) and is also appearing in the voices of women festival’s staged reading of How to Rob the Art Institute of Chicago. He is very excited to be a part of new work in the Tampa Community.
Indy Rivers (Director) – makes their theatrical directoral debut with Black Barbie and What About Ruth? as part of Powerstories’ VOW festival. They are a storyteller who writes, directs, and produces for film and stage, and are passionate about stories that highlight social injustices and mental health issues. Their most recent short film, The Lover’s Reprise, can be seen locally on March 14 at the Tigertail Asian Film Festival.
Blake Ballard (Stage Manager/Music Coordinator) – is excited to support Black Barbie as Stage Manager. Blake assisted the production by helping coordinate music and supporting the team during rehearsals. He enjoys learning about the behind-the-scenes work that brings a theater production together and is proud to be part of the Voices of Women Theatre Festival.
Brianna “Bree” Brand (Production Stage Manager) – is a New College Alumni with a Bachelor of Arts. In the past, she has stage managed multiple shows for Powerstories including (but not limited to): Alabama Story, Irena’s Vow, and Witch Hunt. She looks forward to working with everyone!
Jenny Kokai (Festival Dramaturg) – is an award-winning playwright, director, and arts advocate, and our Playwright-in-Residence and playwriting instructor. Currently serving as Director of the School of Theatre and Dance at the University of South Florida, Jenny’s plays have been produced across the globe—from Riverside: The National Theatre of Parramatta in Australia to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Plan-B Theatre, Montana Rep, Moxie Theatre, and Birmingham Children’s Theatre, among many others.
Harley Jones (Assistant Festival Dramaturg) – is a recent graduate of the University of South Florida’s School of Theatre and Dance. They began working with Powerstories as an Apprentice Dramaturg for the 2025 Voices of Women Theatre Festival. This year, they serve as the Assistant Festival Dramaturg. They would like to thank this year’s playwrights for allowing them to have a hand in telling their stories.
Charlene Dorsey
TAMPA
What about Ruth?
What About Ruth? is a 10-minute monologue play told fully from the biblical character Ruth’s point of view — reclaiming the story that history, scripture, and tradition have always told about her, but never from her. Through poetic language, soulful vocal riffs, and internal testimony, Ruth questions loyalty, obligation, womanhood, and self-worth. This play challenges the romanticized “Boaz narrative” and instead centers the truth inside the woman who was expected to serve everyone’s lineage but never got to speak her own. This time — Ruth speaks.
Charlene Dorsey is a multifaceted creator, educator, and entrepreneur whose work bridges faith, identity, memory, and womanhood. As founder of One Woman, Many Passions™, Charlene explores narrative through multiple creative branches — from travel writing to spiritual education to brand storytelling — with a consistent focus on integrity, transformation, and the reclamation of voice. A native of Tampa, Florida, she has spent more than two decades empowering women and young adults through teaching, arts mentorship, and narrative expression.
Her work centers the inner lives of women who have been historically spoken for — specifically giving language to the silence, survival, humor, and spiritual knowing that often sits underneath tradition. What About Ruth? is Charlene’s first staged theatrical offering under her Rooted Media branch — disrupting biblical assumptions by asking the most human question of all: “What was HER truth?”
PLAYBILL CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM
Natasha McKenzie (Ruth) – is a local artist from Queens NYC, who has performed in several community theater productions and is thrilled to be returning to the stage here in the Tampa Bay Area. NaTasha was most recently seen in The Studio@620 adaptation of Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf where she played The Lady in Red. Other roles: The Princess Who Kissed the Frog in Disenchanted! with mad Theatre and as Effie White in New Tampa Players’s production of Dreamgirls. NaTasha feels everyone has a gift as well as a purpose and she is blessed to be able to use hers to give back through performing. Outside of performing, she is a mentor and tutor to teens in her community. She lives to uplift people’s souls so that they enjoy themselves, CELEBRATE LIFE & LIVING. NaTasha is thankful for family and friends and all their love, support and unceasing prayers.
Vette Berrian (Sister Vett/Church Lady) – Army veteran and retired Air Force spouse. She is an accomplished and award winning actress. Her play, Please Don’t Touch My Hair premiered at the VOM festival last year. Thank you Charlene and Indi for taking me along on this great journey of self realization and truth that is explained in What About Ruth.- Indy Rivers (Co-Director/Creative Advisor) – makes their theatrical directoral debut with Black Barbie and What About Ruth? as part of Powerstories’ VOW festival. They are a storyteller who writes, directs, and produces for film and stage, and are passionate about stories that highlight social injustices and mental health issues. Their most recent short film, The Lover’s Reprise, can be seen locally on March 14 at the Tigertail Asian Film Festival.
- Brianna “Bree” Brand (Production Stage Manager) – is a New College Alumni with a Bachelor of Arts. In the past, she has stage managed multiple shows for Powerstories including (but not limited to): Alabama Story, Irena’s Vow, and Witch Hunt. She looks forward to working with everyone!
- Jenny Kokai (Festival Dramaturg) – is an award-winning playwright, director, and arts advocate, and our Playwright-in-Residence and playwriting instructor. Currently serving as Director of the School of Theatre and Dance at the University of South Florida, Jenny’s plays have been produced across the globe—from Riverside: The National Theatre of Parramatta in Australia to Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Plan-B Theatre, Montana Rep, Moxie Theatre, and Birmingham Children’s Theatre, among many others.
- Harley Jones (Assistant Festival Dramaturg) – is a recent graduate of the University of South Florida’s School of Theatre and Dance. They began working with Powerstories as an Apprentice Dramaturg for the 2025 Voices of Women Theatre Festival. This year, they serve as the Assistant Festival Dramaturg. They would like to thank this year’s playwrights for allowing them to have a hand in telling their stories.
