When her deceased husband's insurance money comes through, Mama dreams of moving to a new home and a better neighborhood in Chicago. PJ Gibson's, "A Long Time Since Yesterday" has an all female cast. "I stay at Grace Dunbar's home to write the story and witness the unfolding of a scandal that involves Mrs. Dunbar's husband and another woman, " she said. Still the cast tries to wring something out of the mess through sheer determination. Theatre Director/ Fine Arts Department Chairman. Skip Navigation Links. Because it is set in 1964, people think it's a serious, political story. Set in Montgomery in 1964 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Ms. Cleage's insightful comedy surprises with its many complications of plot and character, and its sensitive depiction of family relationships & secrets, exposing a side of the African-American culture of the period that is generally ignored by the history books: a side that needs to be told. Autumn Knight knows her character's purpose and delivers a performance that is perfectly in-tune with what the audience both expects and wants her character to be. The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years — whew — is a dull period comedy that deals with secrets and lies in a well-to-do family at the top of the black elite of Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.
Jasmine Guy from the 1980s show "A Different World, " stars as a New York Times reporter in the play. Blood at the Root - Dominque Morisseau. Copyright © Educational Theatre Association. I hope people find something in the play that rings true for them. Department Chair of Visual and Performing Arts. Alliance Theatre October 2010 The Nacirema Society Requests... Share. I ended up writing a novel when a play I was writing had too many settings to be a play. Fiction: The Brass Bed and Other Stories (1991). Passionate and fearless, Shange's words reveal what it meant to be of color and female in the twentieth century. The demands have admirable motives, so the blackmailing plot unfolds in a comedic vein. Gracie's life has been planned for her, from following family traditions by attending Fisk University to marrying Bobby Green [Kevin Alan Daniels], the son of Grace's best friend, Catherine Adams Green [Andrea Frye]. Basically, though, The Nacirema Society is feather-light and none too plausible. Meanwhile, Jasmine Guy plays a New York Times reporter staying under Grace's roof (revealing shades of The Man Who Came to Dinner). Green is played by Charlie Brown.
It is one that can be enjoyed for those looking for fluff or those looking for something a little more substantial; it all depends on how much you personally want to take away from it. Deals with the Devil and Other Reasons to Riot (1993). Her memoir, "Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons and Love Affairs, " was published by Simon and Schuster/ATRIA Books in April, 2014. Playwright Biography. Of course, neither woman considers the fact that their grandchildren have their own plans. The Nacirema believe the body to be ugly and detestable and seek to avoid its uncleanliness through ritual and ceremony. This comedy is described as being "warm as a Southern evening. Return to Main Site. It was also great to be introduced to Oprah's audience, which expanded my readership.
Julius NovickJulius Novick. The anticipation is overshadowed by the arrival of Alpha Campbell, daughter of the Dunbar family's late maid. Grandma's birthday approaches.
Performing Arts Coordinator. A Song for Coretta (2007). Cleage, 65, is an African-American playwright, poet and author living in Atlanta, Ga. An Octoroon - Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. She is a superb character actress, and pulls out all the stops portraying a remarkably comical person. Stirring audiences out of complacency by tackling racial stereotyping in the entertainment industry, Nottage highlights the paradox of black actors in 1930s Hollywood while jumping back and forward in time and location in this uniquely theatrical narrative. Shanita has to decide how she'll support herself and her unborn child, Faye has to decide how and where she'll live, and Dez has to figure out how to make his ambitious dreams a reality. A + C: When I read your play, I could imagine the talent pool at The Ensemble doing a terrific job. Unfortunately, all pay the price for Angel's choices. The play lends itself to the Drama classroom and to Social Studies/History classes. And finally, director Heather Hooper announces the presentation of "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller at Shreveport Little Theatre for its Lagniappe Series. Set on the eve of the Cassius Clay-Sonny Liston rematch and based on the friendship between the actor Stepin Fetchit and Clay-soon to become Muhammad Ali-Fetch Clay, Make Man explores how each handled a life in the public eye as black men in their respective eras―Hollywood in the 20s, where a black actor's career depended on playing caricatures, and the mid-60s, after the assassination of Malcolm X. "She wants to go off to college in New York City to follow her dream to become a writer, " Jackson said.
Things I Should Have Told My Daughter: Lies, Lessons and Love Affairs (2014). However, they do not want a "black history" script, such as a biography or historical event. Do we root for the bright kids to engage their hidebound elders in social reform? With this act of violence--which is loosely based on the notorious 1955 killing of Emmett Till--James Baldwin launches an unsparing and at times agonizing probe of the wounds of race. "When it was announced that Stage Center would be doing 'A Christmas Story, ' I, like so many others, was thrilled at the opportunity to put such an iconic piece of Americana on stage, " said Jason Shidiskis, who plays Jean Shepherd, the narrator in the movie, and the author of the stories on which the movie and play are based. In Search of Free Womanhood: Black Conduct Literature, Obsidian, Spring/Summer2009, Vol. Power dynamics shift as their manager Reggie is torn between doing right by his work family, and by the red tape in his office.
They've only been able to read longer! "Her plays have real strong women roles and highlight things about women-whether good or bad, " said Wilson, adding in this play, Cleage wanted to highlight another side of society in Montgomery Ala., that of wealthy and prominent African Americans who were not interested in the civil rights movement. Not everyone, after all, was as obsessed with the Movement as some chronicles suggest; though Civil Rights could not be ignored and is not ignored in Ms. Cleage's play, people continued to go to school, worked, and socialized. Wilson said Grace Dunbar runs the family including her widowed daughter-in-law Marie Dunbar, played by Corliss Gainey. L to R: Derrick Brent II as Bobby Green, Florence Garvey as Lillie Campbell Jackson, Joyce Anastasia as Catherine Adams Green, Detria Ward as Grace Dubose Dunbar, and Bebe Wilson as Alpha Campbell Jackson.