Tsehaye Geralyn Hébert is a self-described "bona fide gumbo girl." The nationally acclaimed playwright triaged between her grandparents’ rural Louisiana family seat, her Baton Rouge birthplace, and her mother’s beloved New Orleans. Steeped in her African-Creole culture, she relishes quiet world-changing moments that live on stage alongside the hyperbole and spectacle of Mardi Gras. With a rich polyglot larger-than-life-world full of music, dance, activism, and storytelling, there’s no wonder Hébert found her way to the theater.
The Northwestern University and School of the Art Institute of Chicago alum penned The Chicago Quartet, a series of works set across 19th and 20th century Chicago. Fearless in scope, Hébert's work is highly imaginative and might include Lucy Parsons, Ida B. Wells, Jane Addams, Chicago's Black avant-garde arts communities, or the lady sitting next to her at the salon.
The citizen artist is committed to inclusivity and sustainability. Hébert's writings and performances center race, gender, disability, and the economics and geography of making art. She brings communities and demographics together to grieve, heal, celebrate, and move boldly forward.
C. A. Lyons Ascension
The Alliance Theatre
Featured Artworks
Cover Tale of the Lychee Woman
Artist's working cover page.
Quote from the play.
Something Marvelous Production.
pygMALI
Hébert reinterprets Lucy Parsons with a woodcut print by Carlos Cortez framed inside a word graphic disputing Parsons’ purported identity.
WOOD CUT: Carlos Cortez framed by Hebert's research.
pygMALI = Africa’s Pygmy/Twa people +Mali
Original cover designed by the playwright.
The editing process crosses out different title options tackling Shaw’s Pygmalion through the lens of Black language
A Piece Peace Yet To Be Named.
Playwright-in-Residence, Chicago State University.
Chicago State University Breakey Theatre Production Meditation on Violence A Piece Peace Yet To Be Named.
Bookstore, The Play.
Artist photographed the young man blurred the phot, giving it an Impressionist effect
Frances:Agnes
The artist uses the names of the two protagonist depicting the plays core struggle.
Heart of the Matter.
Roger Brown, photographer.
Black and White high contrast photograph of white woman and Black woman facing camera.
Bedtime Story Cover.
Artist’s early design.
Before and After photos. eta wall.
COTA logos
eta wall. Commissioned art commemorating founder.
Developing accessible, inclusive, affordable, safe housing and work-live spaces led me to create this concept of Chicago.
COTA logos: drama, art, writing, graphics, painting icons
Equitable Chicago, Illinois.
I think in words, images and designs. I contract professional graphic artists to refine my original concepts
Noyes Cultural Arts Center’s 100th!
TBD
I suggested putting the center + its flags on the top tier. The artist thought it would be too gaudy, but I asked her to revise the sketch. She loved it and it taught me to ask the unpopular question and to think outside the box.