Award-Winning Actor Anthony Gaskins Launches ‘Sunsets at Marina Del Rey,’ A New Waterfront Live Series Opening With a Special Black History Month Dedication

Marina Del Rey, CA — Award-winning actor, writer, producer, and educator Anthony Gaskins is launching a new live cultural series on the waterfront with the debut of Sunsets at Marina Del Rey, a founder-led gathering designed to cultivate reflection, creative presence, and communal belonging in public space.

The inaugural event, Episode 100, takes place Friday, February 27 at Burton Chace Park and opens the series with a special dedication to the 100th year of Black History Month. While this first edition centers Black history and cultural memory, future installments will explore a range of themes tied to wellness, civic life, education, and artistic practice, all unfolding within a consistent sunset-centered format.

Presented by the nonprofit Unexpected Artistry | The Humble Wellness & Creativity Collaborative, the series blends original performance, shared nourishment, and collaborative exchange in an intentionally intimate setting.

The structure of each gathering follows three movements:

The Prelude, an optional golden-hour moment aboard The Humble, a 1974 Viking double-cabin motor yacht docked at Burton Chace Park.The Gathering, original live performance, reflection, and a communal buffet served at sunset. The Collaborative Salon, a continuation of conversation and connection back aboard the yacht.

Episode 100 honors a century since historian Carter G. Woodson launched Negro History Week in 1926, establishing what would become Black History Month. Hosting this dedication in Marina Del Rey carries layered significance. The shoreline sits within a broader coastal narrative that includes Tongva stewardship of the land and waterways, as well as the mid-20th century displacement of Black beach communities along Southern California’s coast.

“To gather here during Black History Month is meaningful,” Gaskins says. “But this series isn’t only about history. It’s about practicing culture in the present together.”

The evening will feature a new original theater monologue written and performed by Gaskins, alongside Black history-inspired music curated live by the host himself. A whole-food communal buffet will accompany the sunset breaking of bread, reinforcing the series’ grounding belief that creation and nourishment operate as forms of care.

Gaskins brings more than 25 years of experience across theater, television, film, and education to the project. An MFA graduate of the American Repertory Theater Institute at Harvard University, he has appeared in Fetch Clay, Make Man at New York Theatre Workshop, earned an AUDELCO nomination for Best Lead Actor, and starred in the award-winning comedy series Frank and Lamar on IFC. His television credits include roles on Elementary, Person of Interest, Madam Secretary, and Instinct, and his film work has screened at Sundance and major festivals.

In 2015, Gaskins founded Unexpected Artistry as a nonprofit educational production company dedicated to bridging arts-based pedagogy with narrative media. Through culturally responsive programming and live creative initiatives, the organization seeks to address systemic inequities while centering humanity and belonging.

Sunsets at Marina Del Rey marks the next phase of that work, positioning the waterfront not merely as scenery, but as a living stage.

Children are welcome during the main gathering.Boat experiences are adults-only. Community RSVP is required. Space is intentionally limited.

While Episode 100 opens with a Black History Month dedication, the broader series will continue throughout the year, inviting participants into evolving conversations at the intersection of art, place, and public life.