Marjuan Canady, a native Washingtonian with Trinidadian/African-American roots, is an award winning writer, actress, playwright, director, educator and producer for both film and the stage. Canady is the founder and CEO of her multi-media production company, Sepia Works. She is the CEO / Author / Co-creator of the children’s media brand Callaloo. Originally conceived as a theatrical play, Marjuan has led her team in building Callaloo into a brand consisting of books, puppet shows, digital content, animation, arts education programming and merchandise. Canady’s first children’s book Callaloo: A Jazz Folktale was published in 2013 in which she received the 2013 First Time Author’s Award from the National Library of Trinidad and Tobago. Her one-woman play, Girls! Girls? Girls. has been featured Off-Broadway, at national festivals and regional theaters. Her second play, Callaloo: A Jazz Folktalewas seen at the Ellington Theater and IATI Theater. For this work, Canady served as a featured playwright at the 2013 Lincoln Center for Performing Arts Director’s Lab. Past fellowships include: Matteo Ricci, Schomburg Mellon and Innovative Cultural Advocacy at the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute. Her diverse acting work includes plays, films, television, commercials and voiceovers. Canady recently starred and co-produced the short film The Resort shot in Tobago, WI. Currently she is directing her first short-documentary, Girls! Girls? Girls. set to release in 2017.