TELL is an evening of story telling from the mouths and minds of queers in NYC hosted by Drae Campbell at the Bureau of General Services—Queer Division since February 2014.

Juneteenth is the theme of the 74th TELL, on Saturday, June 19, 2021, 6 to 7:30 PM (EDT), with special guest host lea robinson. Featuring storytellers: Letta Neely, Maxine Eloi, and Amanda Shea.

Suggested donation $10 to benefit the storytellers and the Bureau.

All are welcome to join, with or without a donation.

You can make a donation when you register on Eventbrite.

Registration on Eventbrite is required in order to receive the Zoom meeting link on the day of the event.

Click here to register

lea robinson is a queer/transgender/butch/gender non-confirming POC identified actor and writer. lea recently moved to Oakland from NYC, where they were active in both the theater world and film & tv. Lea is currently SAG-AFTRA and AEA and has representation in both L.A. (manager: MadCatch Entertainment) and in San Francisco (MDT). A lover of cats, scary movies and video games.

Letta Neely is an Earthling; she is also a Black Dyke, an Artist, an Activist, a Feminist, and a Mother. In addition to Juba and Here, Letta is the author of the chapbooks When We Were Mud and gawd and alluh huh sistuhs. Her plays: “Hamartia Blues”, “Last Rites”, and “Shackles & Sugar” have been produced in Boston, Philly, and Los Angeles. She is a co-artistic director for Fort Point Theatre Channel and the editor of Ife Franklin’s book, “The Slave Narratives of Willie Mae”. She is also an actor and director, most recently performing with the A.R.T. in the Boston Theatre Marathon Zoom Edition and directing Renita Martin’s “Unmasked” for the Revolution of Values Black Theatre Project. She believes in the interconnectedness of both the struggle and the liberation. Her newest projects: 1) Traces/ Remain:Seed to Harvest with Deen Rawlins can be seen on the Arts Emerson Toshi Reagon’s Parable Path website. 2) Scriptwriter for Ife Franklin’s film “The Slave Narratives of Willie Mae will be presented on Juneteenth at Black Market. and 3) Her newest book Geographies of Power will be available in late 2021.

Maxine Eloi is an actor, writer, director, musician, teaching artist and filmmaker. Classically trained at Boston University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), Maxine has continued to pursue her creative passions through film, theater, and music since graduating with a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree. Maxine has a passion for social justice and sparking positive change in the world. In addition to starring in over 15 films (The Broken Swords, Blue Crossing, Roll Pin Punch) she has also created two independent films Sunday Funday and Aghast, that speak on themes from the environment to abuse of power. Sunday Funday was featured in over 10 festivals internationally, including the Berlin Black International Film Festival. Maxine is a company member of Theater Delta, Curious Theatre Collective, and is a teaching artist at North Carolina Theater Conservatory. When Maxine is not working on film or theater she enjoys her other creative passion in music by performing with multiple bands. Maxine is a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for her indie rock band, Maxine Eloi, as well as punk collaboration Perchance to Dream. She also performs as a vocalist in The Wiley Fosters. Maxine is grateful to pursue her career as an artist and collaborate with others to create engaging and thought-provoking work in film, theatre, music, and TV.

Amanda Shea is an International multidisciplinary artist residing in Boston, Massachusetts. Shea has performed spoken word poetry at numerous venues throughout Boston and globally (including the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (NYC), the Peace Institute (D.C.), National Press Club (D.C.), and the Institute of Contemporary Art). She achieved status as an International Artist when she performed virtually in Africa for ArtGlo based in Malawi; as well as the Jos Literary and Arts Festival in Nigeria. Amanda has been published in several articles such as The Boston Globe, WBUR, Boston Magazine, Boston Hassle and appeared on local news station NBC Boston. Shea sat down with Pebbles on HOT96.9 Boston for the “Voices” segment. Most recently, Shea was internationally published in Times Group, a news outlet based in Malawi.

She served as an official host for the 2018 and 2019 Boston Art & Music Soul Festival as well as the 2019 Arts Equity Summit. Shea is a radio host on LFOD Radio, which has been nominated for two Boston Music Awards.

Amanda is a full time educator who facilitates youth workshops for spoken word poetry, visual arts, and public speaking throughout a plethora of schools and non profit organizations in Boston.

Amanda will be embarking on her third tour, to Africa, in 2021 with two other Boston poets. The “Awake” tour seeks to explore the role of art as both a revolutionary and spiritual tool for social justice and human spiritual awakening.