Toni Stone
Lydia R. Diamond
American Conservatory Theater
directed by Pam MacKinnon
Here, an athlete’s training and discipline find new, rich expression in an actor’s. When Ursula tears into how Toni Stone feels when she holds a ball in her hand, her words cleave the air and wick away the sweat. She chops and slices and skitters and coasts. It’s a line drive in speech form, a short hop scooped up by an actor’s capacious heart.
The San Francisco Chronicle
It begins—and partially ends—with a paean to the exquisite sensation of holding a baseball. “The weight of the thing in the hand …” Stone (an absolutely brilliant Dawn Ursula) tells the audience. “This is what I need … what I know.”
The San Francisco Examiner
Lydia R. Diamond
American Conservatory Theater
directed by Pam MacKinnon
Here, an athlete’s training and discipline find new, rich expression in an actor’s. When Ursula tears into how Toni Stone feels when she holds a ball in her hand, her words cleave the air and wick away the sweat. She chops and slices and skitters and coasts. It’s a line drive in speech form, a short hop scooped up by an actor’s capacious heart.
The San Francisco Chronicle
It begins—and partially ends—with a paean to the exquisite sensation of holding a baseball. “The weight of the thing in the hand …” Stone (an absolutely brilliant Dawn Ursula) tells the audience. “This is what I need … what I know.”
The San Francisco Examiner
Radio Golf
by August Wilson
Everyman Theatre
directed by Carl Cofield
Dawn Ursula plays her and she brings real gusto and intelligence to this woman.
WYPR.org
by August Wilson
Everyman Theatre
directed by Carl Cofield
Dawn Ursula plays her and she brings real gusto and intelligence to this woman.
WYPR.org
Queen's Girl in the World (Rep)
by Caleen Sinnette Jennings
Everyman Theatre
directed by Paige Hernandez
Jennings’s rich storytelling skills are keenly embodied through the animation and captivating illustration of a truly gifted actor in Dawn Ursula. Though much of the spotlight of this performance is on Ursula, hers is actually not a one-person show – though most of it rests on her shoulders. I give Ursula a tremendous amount of credit for her fabulously rich portrayal of Jacqueline, and also director Paige Hernandez for channeling and utilizing every aspect of Ursula’s on point, masterful performance. Kim James Bey probably had a hand in Ursula’s dialectic fluidity –which made so much of this show feel quite natural.
MD Theatre Guide
by Caleen Sinnette Jennings
Everyman Theatre
directed by Paige Hernandez
Jennings’s rich storytelling skills are keenly embodied through the animation and captivating illustration of a truly gifted actor in Dawn Ursula. Though much of the spotlight of this performance is on Ursula, hers is actually not a one-person show – though most of it rests on her shoulders. I give Ursula a tremendous amount of credit for her fabulously rich portrayal of Jacqueline, and also director Paige Hernandez for channeling and utilizing every aspect of Ursula’s on point, masterful performance. Kim James Bey probably had a hand in Ursula’s dialectic fluidity –which made so much of this show feel quite natural.
MD Theatre Guide
Sweat
by August Wilson
Everyman Theatre
directed by Vincent Lancisi
Dawn Ursula gives an exquisite portrayal of Cynthia, who applies for a management job. That decision threatens Cynthia’s relationships with her white buddies.
The Baltimore Sun
by August Wilson
Everyman Theatre
directed by Vincent Lancisi
Dawn Ursula gives an exquisite portrayal of Cynthia, who applies for a management job. That decision threatens Cynthia’s relationships with her white buddies.
The Baltimore Sun
Botticelli in the Fire
by Jordan Tannahill
Woolly Mammoth
directed by Marti Lyons
The seven-member company is so overripe with talent that Ursula, a much-honored Woolly powerhouse, appears in just a handful of scenes. Her most haunting moment comes when she is present merely as a sort of disembodied narrator, reciting the relative distances between various parts of the human body while offstage, victims of the religious purges burn.
Washington City Paper
by Jordan Tannahill
Woolly Mammoth
directed by Marti Lyons
The seven-member company is so overripe with talent that Ursula, a much-honored Woolly powerhouse, appears in just a handful of scenes. Her most haunting moment comes when she is present merely as a sort of disembodied narrator, reciting the relative distances between various parts of the human body while offstage, victims of the religious purges burn.
Washington City Paper
The Revolutionists
by Lauren Gunderson
Everyman Theatre
directed by Casey Stangl
As usual, Ursula does striking work. She’s a natural at dispensing deadpan wit, triggering some of the best laughs of the show, and is just as effective when revealing the part of Marianne’s personal life that keeps her outward flame burning.
The Baltimore Sun
by Lauren Gunderson
Everyman Theatre
directed by Casey Stangl
As usual, Ursula does striking work. She’s a natural at dispensing deadpan wit, triggering some of the best laughs of the show, and is just as effective when revealing the part of Marianne’s personal life that keeps her outward flame burning.
The Baltimore Sun
Intimate Apparel
by Lynn Nottage
Everyman Theatre
directed by Tazewell Thompson
Dawn Ursula as Esther is magnificent. Ursula’s subtlety reveals cracks in her single-mindedness armor as she is swayed toward love, but the way Ursula’s Esther is broken and pulled together again carries the show.
MD Theatre Guide
by Lynn Nottage
Everyman Theatre
directed by Tazewell Thompson
Dawn Ursula as Esther is magnificent. Ursula’s subtlety reveals cracks in her single-mindedness armor as she is swayed toward love, but the way Ursula’s Esther is broken and pulled together again carries the show.
MD Theatre Guide
A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry
Arena Stage
directed by Tazewell Thompson
This production is anchored by the endearing performances of Lizan Mitchell as the matriarch Lena Younger and Dawn Ursula as her daughter-in-law Ruth Younger. Mitchell captures the very heart of the play and essence of Hansberry's words. Ursula displays the fierce determination and powerful struggle to achieve a better life that has made A Raisin in the Sun a beloved classic. It's their drive, and especially Mitchell's mastery of Lena's sage and wry personality, that propels this production with terrific spirit.
BroadwayWorld.com
by Lorraine Hansberry
Arena Stage
directed by Tazewell Thompson
This production is anchored by the endearing performances of Lizan Mitchell as the matriarch Lena Younger and Dawn Ursula as her daughter-in-law Ruth Younger. Mitchell captures the very heart of the play and essence of Hansberry's words. Ursula displays the fierce determination and powerful struggle to achieve a better life that has made A Raisin in the Sun a beloved classic. It's their drive, and especially Mitchell's mastery of Lena's sage and wry personality, that propels this production with terrific spirit.
BroadwayWorld.com
Proof
by David Auburn
Olney Theatre Ctr.
directed by Timothy Douglas
Douglas discovered a delicious pot of gold in Dawn Ursula, who draws us in with the flit of an eyelid. Her Catherine is feisty, vulnerable, sassy, ironic, demonstrative with her beautiful hands, engagingly staccato in her delivery, and with a smile that, when it comes, knocks you over with its genuineness and heart. Ursula lives on another plane, showing us her exhaustion, confusion, self-doubt and fear of truth. The latter runs throughout Catherine, and Ursula’s portrayal conveys that so clearly. When she says “I AM FINE,” she is trying to convince the naysayer and herself at the same time, smiling through gritted teeth and struggling to keep her eyes from rolling back into her head with annoyance. She remains outwardly pleasant while inside, she is screaming “I AM NOT FINE!” She plays against the anger, which is a much more realistic reaction from someone who is trying to hide her heart from those who love her. Ursula doesn’t see words on a page; she sees blue light and shining stars, false hope and bright lies, fierce defenses and heartbreaking loss. It would not be enough to congratulate Ursula on her performance; rather, a cup of coffee and two hours of chatter would be infinitely more satisfying.
DC Metro Theatre Arts
by David Auburn
Olney Theatre Ctr.
directed by Timothy Douglas
Douglas discovered a delicious pot of gold in Dawn Ursula, who draws us in with the flit of an eyelid. Her Catherine is feisty, vulnerable, sassy, ironic, demonstrative with her beautiful hands, engagingly staccato in her delivery, and with a smile that, when it comes, knocks you over with its genuineness and heart. Ursula lives on another plane, showing us her exhaustion, confusion, self-doubt and fear of truth. The latter runs throughout Catherine, and Ursula’s portrayal conveys that so clearly. When she says “I AM FINE,” she is trying to convince the naysayer and herself at the same time, smiling through gritted teeth and struggling to keep her eyes from rolling back into her head with annoyance. She remains outwardly pleasant while inside, she is screaming “I AM NOT FINE!” She plays against the anger, which is a much more realistic reaction from someone who is trying to hide her heart from those who love her. Ursula doesn’t see words on a page; she sees blue light and shining stars, false hope and bright lies, fierce defenses and heartbreaking loss. It would not be enough to congratulate Ursula on her performance; rather, a cup of coffee and two hours of chatter would be infinitely more satisfying.
DC Metro Theatre Arts
Angels in America I & II
by Tony Kushner
Round House &
Olney Theatre Ctr.
directed by Jason Loewith and Ryan Rillette
"...as he talks to his nurse (the very accomplished and versatile actress Dawn Ursula) about his terrible pain. Ms. Ursula was also mesmerizing in her other roles as a realtor, the Angel, and –especially –as the homeless woman that Joe’s Mother (Sarah Marshall) meets in the city streets. Ms. Ursula’s comic and dramatic timing was exceptional as she portrayed a mentally disturbed denizen who is surviving by her wits and sheer endurance."
DC Metro Theatre Arts
"Ursula really only gets two major scenes as the Angel, but they’re doozies. She walks the fine line between being relatable and flawed and being supernatural and terrifying; it’s disturbing to realize that this creature of heaven is as confused and lost as we are about the state of the universe."
DC Theatre Scene
by Tony Kushner
Round House &
Olney Theatre Ctr.
directed by Jason Loewith and Ryan Rillette
"...as he talks to his nurse (the very accomplished and versatile actress Dawn Ursula) about his terrible pain. Ms. Ursula was also mesmerizing in her other roles as a realtor, the Angel, and –especially –as the homeless woman that Joe’s Mother (Sarah Marshall) meets in the city streets. Ms. Ursula’s comic and dramatic timing was exceptional as she portrayed a mentally disturbed denizen who is surviving by her wits and sheer endurance."
DC Metro Theatre Arts
"Ursula really only gets two major scenes as the Angel, but they’re doozies. She walks the fine line between being relatable and flawed and being supernatural and terrifying; it’s disturbing to realize that this creature of heaven is as confused and lost as we are about the state of the universe."
DC Theatre Scene
Dot
by Colman Domingo
Everyman Theatte
directed by Vincent Lancisi
Dispensing zingers with extra force, Ursula triumphs as the frustrated Shelly. She makes the character so sympathetic you may even forgive some of the ways she handles her mother (you'll feel guilty, but you'll still laugh at how Shelly brings the Aurora Borealis into that manipulation).
The Baltimore Sun
by Colman Domingo
Everyman Theatte
directed by Vincent Lancisi
Dispensing zingers with extra force, Ursula triumphs as the frustrated Shelly. She makes the character so sympathetic you may even forgive some of the ways she handles her mother (you'll feel guilty, but you'll still laugh at how Shelly brings the Aurora Borealis into that manipulation).
The Baltimore Sun
Lost in the Stars
by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson
Washington National Opera / Kennedy Center
directed by Tazewell Thompson, conductor John DeMain
And Dawn Ursula, who has to be one of the most versatile performers on the Washington stage today, has just emerged from Stage Kiss at Round House Theatre. As Grace Kumalo, she is radiant as a pious woman whose belief shines in her face as she persuades her reluctant husband to set off on the search for Absalom. Ursula also plays Mrs. Mksie, a wickedly funny landlady encountered on the search.
DC Metro Theatre Arts
by Kurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson
Washington National Opera / Kennedy Center
directed by Tazewell Thompson, conductor John DeMain
And Dawn Ursula, who has to be one of the most versatile performers on the Washington stage today, has just emerged from Stage Kiss at Round House Theatre. As Grace Kumalo, she is radiant as a pious woman whose belief shines in her face as she persuades her reluctant husband to set off on the search for Absalom. Ursula also plays Mrs. Mksie, a wickedly funny landlady encountered on the search.
DC Metro Theatre Arts
Stage Kiss
by Sarah Ruhl
Round House Theatre
directed by Aaron Posner
Dawn Ursula is not only superbly cast for her comedy chops, but she gets to the heart of the character, which could become supercilious, but Ms. Ursula's attention to the characters nuances makes her She seem much more three dimensional and she gets to the heart of the character and the story. Ms. Ursula really gives She depth into the character's relationship with the other actors... Ms. Ursula and Mr. Wooddell, make a dynamic couple that expertly plays the subtext that Ms. Ruhl carefully weaved into the script.
BroadwayWorld.com
by Sarah Ruhl
Round House Theatre
directed by Aaron Posner
Dawn Ursula is not only superbly cast for her comedy chops, but she gets to the heart of the character, which could become supercilious, but Ms. Ursula's attention to the characters nuances makes her She seem much more three dimensional and she gets to the heart of the character and the story. Ms. Ursula really gives She depth into the character's relationship with the other actors... Ms. Ursula and Mr. Wooddell, make a dynamic couple that expertly plays the subtext that Ms. Ruhl carefully weaved into the script.
BroadwayWorld.com
Queen's Girl in the World
by Caleen Sinnette Jennings
Theater J
directed by Eleanor Holdridge
associate director Paige Hernandez
Dawn Ursula is a lovely name for the remarkably gifted young actor starring in Caleen Sinnette Jennings’s sweet-spirited solo show “Queens Girl in the World,” directed by Eleanor Holdridge and presented by Theater J. The principal character is Jacqueline Marie Butler, daughter of a middle-class black couple with high ambitions for her.
Ms. Ursula also portrays — with star-quality brilliance — numerous other characters: Jacqueline’s imperious mother and her doctor father, who watch in consternation their 12-year-old daughter’s budding friendship with a neighbor, the boys she develops crushes on, the new friends she makes when her parents remove her from that neighbor’s influence by sending her to middle school at a school in Greenwich Village peopled mostly by Jewish kids.
The time is the turbulent early years of the civil rights movement. Ms. Jennings captures with admirable fluency the various voices of her characters, and in Ms. Ursula she finds the perfect actor to convey the play’s poignancy, as Jacqueline finds herself emotionally adrift: neither fully at home in the culture she was born into nor in the intellectually stimulating, politicized atmosphere of her nearly all-white new school.
NY Times
by Caleen Sinnette Jennings
Theater J
directed by Eleanor Holdridge
associate director Paige Hernandez
Dawn Ursula is a lovely name for the remarkably gifted young actor starring in Caleen Sinnette Jennings’s sweet-spirited solo show “Queens Girl in the World,” directed by Eleanor Holdridge and presented by Theater J. The principal character is Jacqueline Marie Butler, daughter of a middle-class black couple with high ambitions for her.
Ms. Ursula also portrays — with star-quality brilliance — numerous other characters: Jacqueline’s imperious mother and her doctor father, who watch in consternation their 12-year-old daughter’s budding friendship with a neighbor, the boys she develops crushes on, the new friends she makes when her parents remove her from that neighbor’s influence by sending her to middle school at a school in Greenwich Village peopled mostly by Jewish kids.
The time is the turbulent early years of the civil rights movement. Ms. Jennings captures with admirable fluency the various voices of her characters, and in Ms. Ursula she finds the perfect actor to convey the play’s poignancy, as Jacqueline finds herself emotionally adrift: neither fully at home in the culture she was born into nor in the intellectually stimulating, politicized atmosphere of her nearly all-white new school.
NY Times
Zombie: The American
by Robert O'Hara
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
directed by Howard Shalwitz
Recent Helen Hayes Award Winner, Dawn Ursula
(as Sec. Abidemi and her sister) as well as Woolly Company Member and DC acting legend Sarah Marshall are the two standouts. Ursula is a master of vocal inflection that makes a line read somewhat of a master class,
BroadwayWorld.com
by Robert O'Hara
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
directed by Howard Shalwitz
Recent Helen Hayes Award Winner, Dawn Ursula
(as Sec. Abidemi and her sister) as well as Woolly Company Member and DC acting legend Sarah Marshall are the two standouts. Ursula is a master of vocal inflection that makes a line read somewhat of a master class,
BroadwayWorld.com
Ruined
by Lynn Nottage
Everyman Theatre
directed by Tazewell Thompson
As a member of Everyman Theatre’s Resident Acting Company, Dawn Ursula has delivered some unforgettable performances—as a Hollywood maid in “By the Way, Meet Vera Stark,” as an apprentice conjurer in “Gem of the Ocean” and as a beleaguered wife in “A Raisin in the Sun”—but she hit a new peak in this year’s “Ruined” as the owner of a bar/brothel in the war-torn Congo. Mama Nadi churns with fondness and horror as rape victims and soldiers from various factions pass through her doors, but she has to keep those emotions under control if her business is to survive. Ursula used her body as much as her voice to reveal both the turbulent feelings and the struggle to keep the lid on. It was as if she were playing two characters—the outer Mama Nadi and the inner—and she captured both of them perfectly.
Baltimore City Paper "Best of" Award
by Lynn Nottage
Everyman Theatre
directed by Tazewell Thompson
As a member of Everyman Theatre’s Resident Acting Company, Dawn Ursula has delivered some unforgettable performances—as a Hollywood maid in “By the Way, Meet Vera Stark,” as an apprentice conjurer in “Gem of the Ocean” and as a beleaguered wife in “A Raisin in the Sun”—but she hit a new peak in this year’s “Ruined” as the owner of a bar/brothel in the war-torn Congo. Mama Nadi churns with fondness and horror as rape victims and soldiers from various factions pass through her doors, but she has to keep those emotions under control if her business is to survive. Ursula used her body as much as her voice to reveal both the turbulent feelings and the struggle to keep the lid on. It was as if she were playing two characters—the outer Mama Nadi and the inner—and she captured both of them perfectly.
Baltimore City Paper "Best of" Award
Marie Antoinette
by David Adjmi
Woolly Mammoth
directed by Yury Urnov
Marie’s friends at court, including Joseph (Gavin Lawrence), Yolande de Polignac (Dawn Ursula), Therese de Lambaille (Sue Jin Song) and Axel Fersen (Bradley Foster Smith) could all have been easily overshadowed, but strong acting and big personalities all around lead to some memorable performances.
DC Theatre Scene
by David Adjmi
Woolly Mammoth
directed by Yury Urnov
Marie’s friends at court, including Joseph (Gavin Lawrence), Yolande de Polignac (Dawn Ursula), Therese de Lambaille (Sue Jin Song) and Axel Fersen (Bradley Foster Smith) could all have been easily overshadowed, but strong acting and big personalities all around lead to some memorable performances.
DC Theatre Scene
The Totalitarians
by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
Woolly Mammoth
directed by Robert O'Hara
But two towering comic performances make Robert O’Hara’s “rolling world premiere” production a must-see: Townley’s, plus Dawn Ursula’s as Francine Jefferson, a campaign manager who sees Penelope as an obedient blank canvas on which she can paint her ticket out of Nebraska.
Washington City Paper
by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb
Woolly Mammoth
directed by Robert O'Hara
But two towering comic performances make Robert O’Hara’s “rolling world premiere” production a must-see: Townley’s, plus Dawn Ursula’s as Francine Jefferson, a campaign manager who sees Penelope as an obedient blank canvas on which she can paint her ticket out of Nebraska.
Washington City Paper
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
by Lynn Nottage
Everyman Theatre
directed by Walter Dallas
Portrayed by the compelling Dawn Ursula..."By the Way, Meet Vera Stark" combines comedy and commentary in a bold, mostly successful fashion, encompassing seven decades of American entertainment and social history. In its Baltimore/Washington premiere, the play could not ask for a much more vibrant or rewarding introduction than the one offered by Everyman. The company has pulled out all the stops. Casting and direction are first-rate, and so is the stagecraft.
The movie clip is really on film, depicting a scene from "The Belle of New Orleans," the big-break movie for Vera that lets her reveal the soul behind the slave.This film component has been so expertly crafted for Everyman by cinematographer Thomas Kaufman, and so deftly acted by Ursula and Hylton, that it's a shame that Nottage didn't provide enough material for it to last more than a few minutes. But that's all she wrote.
And when, interviewed on that TV chat show, Vera says she is still "bound to Tilly" 40 years later, it is easy to feel the sting, especially given Ursula's brilliant portrayal. The actress, one of Everyman's resident artists, has the beauty and nuance to make a riveting Vera, and she lets you sense every ounce of frustration inside. (Nottage based the character on Theresa Harris, whose film career was largely confined to maid roles despite her physical glamour).
Ursula also handles the funny stuff in Act 1 with aplomb, verbally and physically.
The Baltimore Sun
by Lynn Nottage
Everyman Theatre
directed by Walter Dallas
Portrayed by the compelling Dawn Ursula..."By the Way, Meet Vera Stark" combines comedy and commentary in a bold, mostly successful fashion, encompassing seven decades of American entertainment and social history. In its Baltimore/Washington premiere, the play could not ask for a much more vibrant or rewarding introduction than the one offered by Everyman. The company has pulled out all the stops. Casting and direction are first-rate, and so is the stagecraft.
The movie clip is really on film, depicting a scene from "The Belle of New Orleans," the big-break movie for Vera that lets her reveal the soul behind the slave.This film component has been so expertly crafted for Everyman by cinematographer Thomas Kaufman, and so deftly acted by Ursula and Hylton, that it's a shame that Nottage didn't provide enough material for it to last more than a few minutes. But that's all she wrote.
And when, interviewed on that TV chat show, Vera says she is still "bound to Tilly" 40 years later, it is easy to feel the sting, especially given Ursula's brilliant portrayal. The actress, one of Everyman's resident artists, has the beauty and nuance to make a riveting Vera, and she lets you sense every ounce of frustration inside. (Nottage based the character on Theresa Harris, whose film career was largely confined to maid roles despite her physical glamour).
Ursula also handles the funny stuff in Act 1 with aplomb, verbally and physically.
The Baltimore Sun
photo Stan Barouh
WE ARE PROUD TO PRESENT A PRESENTATION ABOUT THE HERERO OF NAMIBIA, FORMERLY KNOWN AS SOUTH WEST AFRICA, FROM THE GERMAN SUDWESTAFRIKA, BETWEEN THE YEARS 1884-1915
by Jackie Sibblies Drury
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
directed by Michael John Garcés
...the ringleader (played with bottomless reserves of wit and indignation by Dawn Ursula)
Though Woolly’s actors play nameless generic characters, each portrait is etched with clean, knife-like strokes. Ursula is a magnetic center as the black woman who pointedly identifies herself as the artistic director.
Washington Post
by Jackie Sibblies Drury
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
directed by Michael John Garcés
...the ringleader (played with bottomless reserves of wit and indignation by Dawn Ursula)
Though Woolly’s actors play nameless generic characters, each portrait is etched with clean, knife-like strokes. Ursula is a magnetic center as the black woman who pointedly identifies herself as the artistic director.
Washington Post
photo Teresa Wood
Love in Afghanistan
by Charles Randolph Wright
Arena Stage
directed by Lucie Tiberghien
"...Dawn Ursula manages to command the play in stretches as Desiree. Ursula is one of those actresses who can use sentences like chefs use knives, which comes in handy as the no-nonsense Desiree carves up her capricious son."
Washington Post
by Charles Randolph Wright
Arena Stage
directed by Lucie Tiberghien
"...Dawn Ursula manages to command the play in stretches as Desiree. Ursula is one of those actresses who can use sentences like chefs use knives, which comes in handy as the no-nonsense Desiree carves up her capricious son."
Washington Post
photo Stan Barouh
The Convert
by Danai Gurira
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
directed by Michael John Garcés
"As portrayed to perfection by Dawn Ursula, Prudence is a splendidly overbred enigma. She’s terminally unhappy, unsuited to the skirt-chasing Chancellor, contemptuous of the innocent Ester and in turn held in contempt by the whites whose English isn’t as pretty as hers. She’s an inspired tragic figure, conscious of the figurative prison that has been built for her. No wonder an audience can never fully figure out where she’s headed: neither can she. She’s politically and philosophically in the wrong place at the wrong time, an idea reinforced as the downtrodden locals begin taking vicious revenge."
Washington Post
by Danai Gurira
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
directed by Michael John Garcés
"As portrayed to perfection by Dawn Ursula, Prudence is a splendidly overbred enigma. She’s terminally unhappy, unsuited to the skirt-chasing Chancellor, contemptuous of the innocent Ester and in turn held in contempt by the whites whose English isn’t as pretty as hers. She’s an inspired tragic figure, conscious of the figurative prison that has been built for her. No wonder an audience can never fully figure out where she’s headed: neither can she. She’s politically and philosophically in the wrong place at the wrong time, an idea reinforced as the downtrodden locals begin taking vicious revenge."
Washington Post
photo Stan Barouh
Clybourne Park
by Bruce Norris
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
directed by Howard Shalwitz
"reprise...played superbly both times by Dawn Ursula"
Washington Post
by Bruce Norris
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
directed by Howard Shalwitz
"reprise...played superbly both times by Dawn Ursula"
Washington Post
photo Stan Barouh
A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry
Everyman Theatre
directed by Jennifer Nelson
"Dawn Ursula has sparkled in the past as the title character in the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival's The Taming of the Shrew, as Black Mary in Everyman Theatre's Gem of the Ocean, and as Mrs. "Bunny" Colvin on HBO's The Wire. But Ursula turns in her greatest performance yet as Ruth in A Raisin in the Sun, now at Everyman. With her high cheekbones and hawk-like nose, Ursula projects such a force-field of strength that when her characters falter, the effect can be devastating. When Ruth despairs over her marriage and her new pregnancy, Ursula seems to stagger and we in the audience stagger along with her."
Baltimore City Paper "Best of" Award
by Lorraine Hansberry
Everyman Theatre
directed by Jennifer Nelson
"Dawn Ursula has sparkled in the past as the title character in the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival's The Taming of the Shrew, as Black Mary in Everyman Theatre's Gem of the Ocean, and as Mrs. "Bunny" Colvin on HBO's The Wire. But Ursula turns in her greatest performance yet as Ruth in A Raisin in the Sun, now at Everyman. With her high cheekbones and hawk-like nose, Ursula projects such a force-field of strength that when her characters falter, the effect can be devastating. When Ruth despairs over her marriage and her new pregnancy, Ursula seems to stagger and we in the audience stagger along with her."
Baltimore City Paper "Best of" Award
photo Stan Barouh
Gem of the Ocean
by August Wilson
Everyman Theatre
directed by Jennifer Nelson
"For several years now, Dawn Ursula has been one of those actresses who sparkle in supporting roles, demanding attention for the short periods she's been onstage. This was the year, however, when she moved from the bottom paragraphs of reviews to the top. This was the year her scalpel-wielding monologues, her eagle-faced stares, and her indomitable, big-boned body language completely took over the stage for long stretches at a time. At Everyman Theatre, where she has been a company member for some time, she played laundress/cook Black Mary in August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean, a smoldering presence until she erupts in complaints too ferocious to deflect. And in the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival's outdoor production of William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, she played the title role and made Kate's insults sting."
Baltimore City Paper "Best of " Award
by August Wilson
Everyman Theatre
directed by Jennifer Nelson
"For several years now, Dawn Ursula has been one of those actresses who sparkle in supporting roles, demanding attention for the short periods she's been onstage. This was the year, however, when she moved from the bottom paragraphs of reviews to the top. This was the year her scalpel-wielding monologues, her eagle-faced stares, and her indomitable, big-boned body language completely took over the stage for long stretches at a time. At Everyman Theatre, where she has been a company member for some time, she played laundress/cook Black Mary in August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean, a smoldering presence until she erupts in complaints too ferocious to deflect. And in the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival's outdoor production of William Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, she played the title role and made Kate's insults sting."
Baltimore City Paper "Best of " Award
photo Thomas Hoebbel
The Piano Lesson
by August Wilson
Hangar Theatre
directed by Jennifer Nelson
"Craig Wallace and Dawn Ursula as Boy Willie and Berniece are electric, delivering focused and honest performances. Ursula redefines the term "cold fury" with a passionate, straightforward and uncompromising rendering of the character."
CNY Theater News
by August Wilson
Hangar Theatre
directed by Jennifer Nelson
"Craig Wallace and Dawn Ursula as Boy Willie and Berniece are electric, delivering focused and honest performances. Ursula redefines the term "cold fury" with a passionate, straightforward and uncompromising rendering of the character."
CNY Theater News
photo Danisha Crosby
Next Fall
by Geoffrey Nauffts
Round House Theatre
directed by Mark Ramont
"Ursula lends Holly an inner life that makes her more than the calm foil among the play’s combatants."
Washington Post
by Geoffrey Nauffts
Round House Theatre
directed by Mark Ramont
"Ursula lends Holly an inner life that makes her more than the calm foil among the play’s combatants."
Washington Post
photo Stan Barouh
Doubt, A Parable
by John Patrick Shanley
Everyman Theatre
directed by Vincent Lancisi
"...played by Dawn Ursula in a short but dazzling turn."
Baltimore City Paper
by John Patrick Shanley
Everyman Theatre
directed by Vincent Lancisi
"...played by Dawn Ursula in a short but dazzling turn."
Baltimore City Paper
photo Stan Barouh
Eclipsed
by Danai Gurira
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
directed by Liesl Tommy
"The strongest moments in Danai Gurira's Eclipsed are the smallest ones...when a peace activist's irrational, intimately personal hope dies suddenly, shockingly, as you watch. Ayesha Ngauajh and Dawn Ursula, respectively, create those moments..."
Washington City Paper
by Danai Gurira
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
directed by Liesl Tommy
"The strongest moments in Danai Gurira's Eclipsed are the smallest ones...when a peace activist's irrational, intimately personal hope dies suddenly, shockingly, as you watch. Ayesha Ngauajh and Dawn Ursula, respectively, create those moments..."
Washington City Paper
photo Jen Plants
Taming of the Shrew
by William Shakespeare
Baltimore Shakespeare Festival
directed by Joe Brady
"Dominating the production, however, is Ursula. After standing out in supporting roles in the Everyman Theatre productions of Gem of the Ocean and Much Ado about Nothing, she finally gets a leading role and makes the most of it."
Baltimore City Paper
by William Shakespeare
Baltimore Shakespeare Festival
directed by Joe Brady
"Dominating the production, however, is Ursula. After standing out in supporting roles in the Everyman Theatre productions of Gem of the Ocean and Much Ado about Nothing, she finally gets a leading role and makes the most of it."
Baltimore City Paper
photo Stan Barouh
Two Rooms
by Lee Blessing
Everyman Theatre
directed by Vincent Lancisi
"Most of the intensity of Everyman's production comes from Dawn Ursula's quietly powerful depiction of Lanie. Ursula leaves no doubt that Lanie's outward restraint is a thin veneer covering longing, frustration and escalating anger...Dawn Ursula makes us feel this. Her performance will send a chill up your spine."
Maryland Morning WYPR 88.1
by Lee Blessing
Everyman Theatre
directed by Vincent Lancisi
"Most of the intensity of Everyman's production comes from Dawn Ursula's quietly powerful depiction of Lanie. Ursula leaves no doubt that Lanie's outward restraint is a thin veneer covering longing, frustration and escalating anger...Dawn Ursula makes us feel this. Her performance will send a chill up your spine."
Maryland Morning WYPR 88.1
