A RITUAL OPERA & EXHIBITION BY DIOVANNA OBAFUNMILAYO FRAZIER

GODBODY asks the central question, "What does it mean to birth a body free of shame?" With this as its foundation, the series engages the body as a site of emotional processing and vessel for the divinity of self. The rich symbolism and philosophy of the AfroCuban religion, La Regla de Ocha Lukumí, become the spiritual technology with which Diovanna Obafunmilayo engages herself. Existing joyously, and in the process, conjuring a new sense of personhood, is the imperative. The series was made in the development process of the evening-length performance, GODBODY, a ritual opera, with the support of the Center for Performance Research and The Theater Offensive.

Showtimes: 

Friday, November 13, 2026 at 8:00PM

Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 2:00 PM

Saturday, November 14, 2026 at 8:00PM

On View:

October 20 - November 29, 2026

about DIOVANNA

Diovanna Obafunmilayo Frazier is a multimedia performance artist, Grammy-nominated songwriter, award-winning filmmaker, and poet, from Virginia Beach. Her major choreographic debut came in music video for Kehlani's "Altar". Her songwriting debut began with the gold-certified "After Hours". Her debut experimental dance-poetry film, "When We Arrive As Flowers", has been screened at over 25 film festivals since its debut in 2022. Based in New York, she continues to produce work that fuses all of these creative practices under an umbrella of spirituality, liberation, inspiration, and women's empowerment.

“An invitation of spirit. A birthday party. The making of a body, born free and without shame.”

GODBODY Community Events

GODBODY: CREATING WITHOUT SHAME ARTIST PANEL  

November 9, 2026 at 6:30 PM

Hosted by Kamaria Weemz, This interdisciplinary artist panel will feature artists Ifé Franklin and Bashexo in conversation with Diovanna Obafunmilayo to explore, across mediums, the process and embodiment of creating queer Black art. Audiences will be invited to take part in a community-art making activity that will be on display as part of the Exhibition.

GODBODY: ARCHIVING THE RITUAL

November 14, 2026 at 4 PM

After the matinee performance of GODBODY, continue the ritual with us in the gallery. We will gather for a talk-back with the creator, director, and performers of Godbody.

GODBODY PRODUCTION TEAM

  • Conciever  

    Diovanna Obafunmilayo Frazier is a multimedia performance artist, Grammy-nominated songwriter, award-winning filmmaker, and poet, from Virginia Beach. Her major choreographic debut came in music video for Kehlani's "Altar". Her songwriting debut began with the gold-certified "After Hours". Her debut experimental dance-poetry film, "When We Arrive As Flowers", has been screened at over 25 film festivals since its debut in 2022. Based in New York, she continues to produce work that fuses all of these creative practices under an umbrella of spirituality, liberation, inspiration, and women's empowerment.

    IG: @LaDiovanna

  • Martavius Parrish is a Black, Queer, Queens-based director, producer, and creative multipotentialite whose work spans theater, opera, music, movement, and film. He was most recently the director of the well-reviewed Edinburgh Fringe’s Letters to Joan. Prior to that, he made his Off-Broadway directing debut with Lynn Nottage’s Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine (which received 3 AUDELCO nominations, including Best Revival of a Play and a win for Best Featured Actress in a Play). He’s served on the artistic team for Lincoln Center Theater and has developed several new works with The Dramatists Guild, American Opera Projects, Cry Havoc, and the New York Shakespeare Exchange.


    Previous Associate Director credits include the 6-time Tony-nominated revival of Into The Woods (Broadway, Limited Engagement Tour, & City Center Encores!), Once Upon A Mattress (Broadway, LA, & City Center Encores!), Ragtime (City Center Encores!), Oliver! (City Center Encores!), and Disney’s Hercules (Development Workshop), as well as productions with the McCarter Theatre Center, Cincinnati Playhouse, and Out of the Box Theatrics. He’s a 2026-2027 Roundabout Directors Group Cohort Member, 2024 Drama League Directing Fellow, & Inaugural NYU Tisch Department of Design for Stage and Film Directors Fellow. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Neuroscience from Duke University, as well as a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from NYU Steinhardt. MartaviusParrish.com

  • Stage Manager 

    ty ruwe they/he (Stage Manager) is a Boston born, New Haven based stage manager who is excited to be coming back home! Selected stage management credits include:  Macbeth in Stride, Spunk, and Furlough’s Paradise (Yale Rep); Memnon (Classical Theatre of Harlem); The Pirates of Penzance (Cape Repertory Theatre); Fairview (Speakeasy Stage Company); Ada and the Engine (Central Square Theater); Lemonade: A Fresh Pressed Musical (Trustus Theatre). ty received his B.A. in psychology from Smith College and will soon be finished with their MFA in Stage Management from the Yale School of Drama (once that pesky thesis gets written…).

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  • Conciever  

    Diovanna Obafunmilayo Frazier is a multimedia performance artist, Grammy-nominated songwriter, award-winning filmmaker, and poet, from Virginia Beach. Her major choreographic debut came in music video for Kehlani's "Altar". Her songwriting debut began with the gold-certified "After Hours". Her debut experimental dance-poetry film, "When We Arrive As Flowers", has been screened at over 25 film festivals since its debut in 2022. Based in New York, she continues to produce work that fuses all of these creative practices under an umbrella of spirituality, liberation, inspiration, and women's empowerment.

    IG: @LaDiovanna

  • Martavius Parrish is a Black, Queer, Queens-based director, producer, and creative multipotentialite whose work spans theater, opera, music, movement, and film. He was most recently the director of the well-reviewed Edinburgh Fringe’s Letters to Joan. Prior to that, he made his Off-Broadway directing debut with Lynn Nottage’s Fabulation or, The Re-Education of Undine (which received 3 AUDELCO nominations, including Best Revival of a Play and a win for Best Featured Actress in a Play). He’s served on the artistic team for Lincoln Center Theater and has developed several new works with The Dramatists Guild, American Opera Projects, Cry Havoc, and the New York Shakespeare Exchange.


    Previous Associate Director credits include the 6-time Tony-nominated revival of Into The Woods (Broadway, Limited Engagement Tour, & City Center Encores!), Once Upon A Mattress (Broadway, LA, & City Center Encores!), Ragtime (City Center Encores!), Oliver! (City Center Encores!), and Disney’s Hercules (Development Workshop), as well as productions with the McCarter Theatre Center, Cincinnati Playhouse, and Out of the Box Theatrics. He’s a 2026-2027 Roundabout Directors Group Cohort Member, 2024 Drama League Directing Fellow, & Inaugural NYU Tisch Department of Design for Stage and Film Directors Fellow. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Neuroscience from Duke University, as well as a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from NYU Steinhardt. MartaviusParrish.com

  • Stage Manager 

    ty ruwe they/he (Stage Manager) is a Boston born, New Haven based stage manager who is excited to be coming back home! Selected stage management credits include:  Macbeth in Stride, Spunk, and Furlough’s Paradise (Yale Rep); Memnon (Classical Theatre of Harlem); The Pirates of Penzance (Cape Repertory Theatre); Fairview (Speakeasy Stage Company); Ada and the Engine (Central Square Theater); Lemonade: A Fresh Pressed Musical (Trustus Theatre). ty received his B.A. in psychology from Smith College and will soon be finished with their MFA in Stage Management from the Yale School of Drama (once that pesky thesis gets written…).

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