Playwright, actress, choreographer and Ensemble Studio Theatre member Stephanie Berry is telling the history of a modern African-American woman in The Shaneequa Chronicles: The Making of a Black Woman, opening Nov. 13 at E.S.T. Performances began Nov. 9 for a run through Dec. 3.

In Shaneequa, Berry traces one woman's self-discovery as she comes of age in the Harlem neighborhood in which she was raised. As an actress, Berry has played roles on "Loving," "New York Undercover," "Law & Order" and "Another World" and will be featured in the upcoming "Finding Forrester." A former dancer with the Chuck Davis Company and a choreographer (Spunk), she will move to Amparo Santiago's choreography in Shaneequa.

Talvin Wilks directs. Wilks helmed the world premiere productions of Ntozake Shange's The Love Space Demands, Sekou Sundiata's The Mystery of Love and Migdalia Cruz's Yellow Eyes.

Tickets are $15. The Ensemble Studio Theatre is located at 549 West 52nd Street. For reservations, call (212)247-4982. The Ensemble Studio Theatre is on the web at http://www.ensemblestudiotheatre.org.

— By Christine Ehren