How did it feel to inhabit/embody/become these characters (who were, of course a real people)?

I played a real person name Duchess”Charity” Quamino, who most know as “The Pastry Queen of RI.” I enjoyed playing Duchess. It felt as though I wasn’t playing a person and actually wished I was her as her life story resembled mine tremendously. This role humbled me, allowed me to appreciate being African, a woman and a living being making a difference. Duchess Quamino’s Story is to reclaim, celebrate, and spiritually elevate the legacy of a woman whose life defied the constraints of slavery through faith, entrepreneurship, and radical hospitality. It wasn’t just telling the history of a glimpse of who she was, it was a vessel for healing, remembrance, and empowerment. Telling her story and watching the audience's emotional state was a blessing.

Rebekah Acquah

Duchess Quamino

What did you learn from the person you played?

Duchess Quamino was an African woman of royal descent who was enslaved in Newport, Rhode Island. The play restored her voice and agency, highlighting her transformation from servant to free entrepreneur. The play celebrated Faith as resistance and sung and spoke about her spiritual journey—conversion, and mentorship of abolitionist William Ellery Channing—shows how faith became a tool of resilience and quiet rebellion and how quiet acts of faith can ripple into societal transformation. Playing this role, I felt I did not have to pretend and rather be as authentic as I am. (Thanks to the crew for being so welcoming in this)

Although Duchess Quamino was more than the Pastry Queen, I admired how the director put together the live cake eating and interaction of the audience as we honor Black Womanhood and Culinary Legacy. Her plum cake becomes a metaphor for freedom, legacy, and cultural preservation. Baking is portrayed not just as survival, but as sacred creation.

By staging this in Newport, where she lived and is buried, the production invited reflection and bridging the past and present on America’s complex racial history and offered a path toward historical healing. It did not hide that she was a slave and purchased her freedom, this was bold playing this role in Newport to a predominantly white audience.

I learned a lot about my own background as an African, which I did not know prior to this play. “God’s Little Acre,” symbolizing a full-circle journey of redemption. The Duchess Quamino story will hopefully continue to be told.

I thank the Director Rebecca Noon and Team. Anna, Casey, Jed, David, Elizabeth, Dominique, Jane and Thomas. You stirred hearts and awakened purpose. God Bless

All photos by Dominique Sindayiganza @sindayiganza