"Ms. Edwards" Program

Sacred Fools Theater Company presents...

Ms. Edwards

written by Sidney Edwards & Byron Coolie
directed by Byron Coolie

starring SIDNEY EDWARDS *

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Stage Manager: Rebecaa Schoenberg

Sound & Video Designer: Jaime Robledo

Key Art: Michelle Hanzelova

* Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States

This production is presented under the auspices of the Actors' Equity Los Angeles Membership Company Rule.

Produced for Sacred Fools by Scott Leggett

Special Thanks:
The Edwards Family (Both of 'em)
Our supportive family and friends across the country
The Sacred Fools Staff
The Groundlings School
Support Black Theatre
The Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative

If you liked the show, please leave a review!

This production is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

This production is supported, in part, by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

This production is supported, in part, by a grant from Council District 13, City of Los Angeles.

Our educational projects are supported in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency.

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CAST & CREW

Sidney Edwards | Performer/Co-Writer

Sidney Edwards (she/her)  is a multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles, California, working as an actress (AEA), singer, dancer, improv artist, and director. She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from William Peace University and an MFA in Acting from the University of Louisville, where she also earned a graduate certificate in African American Theatre.

Sidney is the director and co-writer of TYT 5, an award winning one-man show starring Byron Coolie that premiered at the 2024 Hollywood Fringe Festival.

One of Sidney's most celebrated achievements is receiving the Distinguished Actor Award at the 2018 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. She was also honored to perform at the 2017 National Black Theatre Festival. During her graduate studies, she was awarded the prestigious Warren Oates Award in recognition of her outstanding talent and promise as an MFA student.

Her favorite stage roles include Amneris in Aida (Karamu House, 2019), Sally Bowles in Cabaret (NC), and Squeak in The Color Purple (NC).

A passionate advocate for arts education, Sidney has served as a teaching artist with the Geffen Playhouse, Cleveland Play House, and the legendary Karamu House Theater. She has also held faculty positions at Baldwin Wallace University and the University of Louisville, where she served as Director of the African American Theater Program.

Insta: @ms.sidneyedwards

https://www.sidneyedwards.com/

Byron Coolie | Director/Co-Writer

Byron Coolie (he/him) is an actor, director, comedian, and filmmaker based in Los Angeles, California. He holds an MFA in Performance from the University of Louisville and originally hails from New Orleans, Louisiana. Having lived in nine cities - including Chicago and New York - Byron brings a rich, multicultural perspective to his creative work.

Byron is the co-creator, co-writer, and star of the original one-man show TYT 5, which premiered at the 2024 Hollywood Fringe Festival. The production received critical acclaim, earning the 2024 Best of Broadwater Award, a nomination for Best Solo Show at the Hollywood Fringe Festival, and a nomination for the 2024 Ella Turenne Award.

He was the 2013 recipient of the Shawn T. Smith Best Characterization Award for his performance in his original work Schizophrenia at Elizabeth City State University.

Notable stage credits include Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (Kentucky Shakespeare Festival), Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet (Chicago Shakespeare Theater), a featured role in Orphan of Chao (Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore), Ora in Amiri Baraka's The Toilet (Haven Theatre), and Malik in Kingdom (Broken Nose Theatre). Additional Shakespearean performances include Two Gentlemen of Verona and The Winter's Tale at the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival.

Byron's television appearances include roles in Chicago P.D., Chicago Fire, and the series Smoketown (as a series regular). His feature film debut, Wages of Sin - starring Danny Trejo - is slated for release in 2024.

In 2023, Byron wrote and directed two short films: Do Not Disturb, which explores the intersection of healing and social media addiction, and TOBI (also starring Byron), a searing look at Black generational trauma and abuse. A storyteller at heart, Byron is committed to crafting honest, resonant narratives rooted in Black culture and lived experience.

Insta: @byroncoolie8

Scott Leggett | Producer

Scott Leggett (he/him) is a Fringe veteran, having won Best Two-Person Play, along with Nedra Gallegos for Ronnie Larsen's If I'm Good. He performed multiple characters in Burglars of Hamm's critically acclaimed production of Resa Fantastiskt Mystisk, which won Top of Fringe in 2017. He was Monster in Cookie and the Monster at the HFF '15, which won Best Ensemble. He earned praise playing Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle opposite French Stewart in the critically acclaimed Pasadena Playhouse production of Stoneface: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Buster Keaton. At Sacred Fools, he played the titular character in Watson: The Last Great Tale of the Legendary Sherlock Holmes as well as its sequel. He studied theater at Penn State University and has appeared in several films, commercials and TV shows. Scott is also an accomplished director, having staged the hugely successful adaptation of Richard Elfman's Forbidden Zone at Sacred Fools. He also directed The Poe Show, which won Best Comedy at the HFF '15, and Skullduggery: The Musical Prequel to Hamlet. He currently serves as the Producing Director / Interim Artistic Director for Sacred Fools.