Side Hustle Theatre was founded by Melanie Payne and Deon Barksdale, Jr. to create meaningful opportunities for playwrights to develop and present new works before live audiences. We believe every new play deserves the opportunity to grow through collaboration, conversation, and performance. Through staged readings, workshops, and artist development, we provide a space where new stories can be explored, refined, and celebrated while helping to strengthen the future of theatre.
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MEET THE FOUNDERS
MEET THE FOUNDERS
MELANIE PAYNE
Melanie Payne is an author, playwright, journalist, and occasional actor. During her 30-year-career in media she worked as an investigative reporter, consumer columnist and most recently was an National Edward R. Murrow and Regional Emmy Award winning executive producer for the I-Team at Scripps’ ABC affiliate in Tampa. Her plays have been featured in stage readings and festivals throughout the U.S. The play “Color Blind” was produced for the Obsidian Theatre Festival in Detroit in 2023. She has also had plays produced at Fade-to-Black festivals in Houston, the Carrollwood Player’s Theatre in Tampa, and by The Atlanta Dramatists at the Academy Theater and Town Square Playhouse. Melanie is a member of the Florida Storytelling Association, the Suncoast Storytellers, the National Association of Black Journalists and the Dramatists Guild. Originally from Ohio, Melanie received a B.A. from Wellesley College and now lives with her husband Rodney Williams, in Tampa, Florida.
DEON BARKSDALE, JR.
DEON BARKSDALE, JR.
Deon Barksdale, Jr. is a Tampa native and FAMU graduate. With a background in acting, directing, and theatre production, he brings a multidimensional perspective to his playwriting. His work explores stories rooted in the African diaspora, examining the many complexities of the human experience. His short play Ibanujẹ was selected for the 2026 Fade to Black Reading Series and produced at the 14th Annual Columbus Black Theatre Festival. Chameleons premiered at the Of House and Home Short Play Festival, was a Bridges and Stages semifinalist, selected for Friends with the Write Stuff, and read at Chicago's Black Men Talk Play Festival. Heaven's Hotline premiered at Gulfport Community Players, and Globus Sensation was published in The Soliloquist. He is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, Inc. & Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.
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