In the third segment of our Emerging Artists Series, Crossroads asked friend, fellow theatre maker and Tony Award winner André De Shields to select an emerging artist of his choice. It took Mr. De Shields very little time to reply. “If you are asking to whom I might wish to pass on the baton, a younger “protégé,” it would be Zhailon Levingston.” And when we reached out to Mr. Levingston, we found out exactly why André was so definite about his choice. We are proud to be highlighting Zhailon Levingston’s work, along with Mr. Levingston in conversation with Mr. De Shields and Ricardo Khan.

Zhailon Levingston is a Louisiana-raised writer, director, performing artist, and activist. He co-founded #WORDSONWHITE, an arts and activism campaign based in New York from 2016-2018. He recently directed Neptune at Dixon Place and the Brooklyn Museum, The Years That Went Wrong by David Zheng at The Lark and MCC. Other credits include The Exonerated at Columbia Law School, and Chariot part 2 at SoHo Rep for The Movement Theatre Company. He is the associate director of Primer for a Failed Super Power with the TEAM and Runaways at The Public with Sam Pinkleton. He was associate director for The Genesis Plays at the 14th street Y. Most recently he directed Mother of Pearl at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center and Chicken and Biscuits at Queens Theatre. Zhailon is the resident director at Tina: The Tina Turner Musical on Broadway.