On January 8-10, 2010, experimental Detroit theater company 4THEATRSAKE stages a unique presentation of In The Blood. “Poverty exotica” rules Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan Lori-Parks’ modern day adaptation of The Scarlet Letter.
This urban theater project is a collaboration between 4TheatrSake, the 1440 Collective, the Virgil H. Carr Cultural Arts Center, the Cedi Collection, Detroit film-maker Ryan Myers and Plowshares Theater Company. Directed by Wyldchild L. Chemist, the soundtrack for this staging features original music by EAPro’s Nadir Omowale.
Written like final round slam poetry, In the Blood keeps it real in the “here and now.” Hester is a homeless single mother who is devoted to her five children, and struggles to find ways to feed them. Five actors play her five young treasures. The same actors also play the adults who help or hinder Hester in her quest to “get a leg up”. Lovingly comical moments are juxtaposed by the harsh world of poverty in this modern masterpiece.
The idea for the Detroit staging is to provide an all-inclusive social theater experience where audiences will witness compelling performances by 4Theatrsake’s actors as they illustrate the challenges faced by Hester, and the characters that surround her. Following the performance, the actors will remain on-stage (in character) to allow the audience a chance to react to and ask questions about the story they’ve just witnessed. Moderated by Oneita Jackson of O Street, this after-drama forum will focus on poverty, disease, human trafficking, race in a post-racial society, and what we can do to bring change.
The cast and crew of In The Blood represent Detroit artists from diverse backgrounds. Actor, director, writer Wyldchild L. Chemist was recently invited to join Plowshares Theatre Company’s new ensemble as an artistic associate. He will be participating in The Kennedy Center’s fellowship program for Theater Capacity Building in Culturally-Specific Organizations.
Named one of TIME magazine’s “100 Innovators for the Next New Wave,” Suzan-Lori Parks is one of the most exciting and acclaimed playwrights in American drama today. She is the first African American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for the Broadway hit Topdog/Underdog and is a MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient, among her many other honors.
In The Blood by Suzan Lori-Parks
Virgil H. Carr Cultural Arts Center
311. E. Grand River
Detroit, Michigan
Performance Times:
Friday, January 8, 2010 – 8pm
Saturday, January 9, 2010 – 4pm & 8pm
Sunday, January 10, 2010 – 4pm
$40 admission
BUY TICKETS NOW
(Your treat for reading the post all the way through: Use promo code “A” to save $15 off the ticket price!)
