Plays written by Kemiyondo Coutinho
THE STARS
CINDERELLA OF AMERICA
Synopses:
The Stars – Two Black lives, one in present-day America and one in apartheid-era South Africa, unfold across time and continents as humor, memory, and survival collide, revealing what happens when laughter becomes the last language for pain we were never taught how to name.
Cinderella of America – An ensemble-driven play following an undocumented African actress navigating love, visas, and the American dream, alongside immigrants from across the globe, reckoning with what it costs to belong to a country that keeps promising magic and demanding sacrifice.
Bio:
Kemiyondo Coutinho began her storytelling journey on the stage, using theater as a vessel to illuminate underrepresented voices. Her acclaimed one-woman plays, Jabulile! and Kawuna… You’re It!, explored issues ranging from gender inequality in Swaziland to the lived experiences of Ugandan women affected by HIV/AIDS. These productions toured internationally, earning critical praise across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, and Uganda.
In Uganda, she founded the NUVO Arts Festival (New Voices), a platform designed to uplift emerging voices through theater and art for social change. Her stage credits also include performances in classic and contemporary works such as Orpheus Descending, Hamlet, The Glass Menagerie, Seven Guitars, and Silent Voices. Most recently, her play The Stars was featured in IAMA Theatre Company’s New Works Festival, continuing her tradition of centering marginalized voices through sharp and poignant storytelling. Her play Cinderellas of America has had two workshop readings with IAMA and The Atlantic Theater Company.
Transitioning her powerful voice to the screen, Kemiyondo is a writer and Co-Executive Producer on Season 3 of Netflix’ Survival Of The Thickest as well as Starz’s smash hit P-VALLEY, having previously written for Season 2. Her screenwriting credits also include Empire of Mali (Netflix/Lionsgate) and Step Up (Starz/Lionsgate). She serves as Executive Producer and co-writer of Tyler Perry’s upcoming film Unt. Sisters in Italy, developed under Perry’s Amazon MGM Studios deal.
A Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 honoree, Kemiyondo’s directorial debut KYVENU earned NBC Universal’s Harness Social Impact Award and positioned her as a rising voice in global cinema. She is the inaugural recipient of John Singleton’s Filmmaker’s Fellowship and Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud Filmmaking Fellowship, and was named one of OKAYAfrica’s 100 Women of Africa to Watch.
Kemiyondo prides herself on being kind and efficient.