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NYTimes.com: A dark comedy about racism both covert and obvious, written by the Chicago playwright Joel Drake Johnson, “Rasheeda Speaking” begins previews Tuesday at the Signature Center in a New Group production directed by Cynthia Nixon.
2 comments:
Alex Wanebo
said...
This article fits in well with the current emphasis on discussing issues of race in theatre and film. It is rare for our society to discuss issues of gender and race simultaneously, one of these elements is often ignored in the interest of simplification. It's interesting though to examine the challenges faced by African-American women in this industry because not only do they not have male privilege but they also do not have white privilege. "Rasheeda Speaking" also seems to draw out some uncomfortable vulnerabilities for the entire cast and audience, for Tonya Pinkins she has to acknowledge the racism and discrimination she deals with every day that she is accustomed to suppressing. For Dianne Wiest this piece means accepting that she does benefit from white privilege and therefore is a part of our culture of racism more than she may have realized. The writing of this play made it necessary for the playwright to acknowledge the lack of strong roles for women, particularly African-American women. All in all, I think this piece sounds like a fantastic way to make people think and open up to what the realities of racism mean for them personally and examine what they can do to create equality.
I love, love, love important theatre. This is important theatre. Also, this is important theatre with incredible creators and actors who seem to be willing to tell the real story. The team is very brave to tackle an issue of direct racism in a candid and bold way, and I think they'll do a solid job of combining beautiful storytelling with the social issues at hand. This way, audiences won't feel bombarded with judgment and yet still feel the power necessary to inspire a stir in one's social conscience. From an actor's perspective, it was interesting to hear Tonya Pinkin and Dianne Wiest speak on their emotional experience acting the show. They described that the weight of the race issue at hand has bled into their real lives in ways that are hard to shake off. I couldn't imagine embodying a character in this set of given circumstances and NOT feeling emotionally worn-down. The actor's job in promoting social issue change is certainly an interesting one, and I value and admire the work Pinkins and Wiest are doing, as well as the rest of the team, in order to tell this crucial story.
2 comments:
This article fits in well with the current emphasis on discussing issues of race in theatre and film. It is rare for our society to discuss issues of gender and race simultaneously, one of these elements is often ignored in the interest of simplification. It's interesting though to examine the challenges faced by African-American women in this industry because not only do they not have male privilege but they also do not have white privilege. "Rasheeda Speaking" also seems to draw out some uncomfortable vulnerabilities for the entire cast and audience, for Tonya Pinkins she has to acknowledge the racism and discrimination she deals with every day that she is accustomed to suppressing. For Dianne Wiest this piece means accepting that she does benefit from white privilege and therefore is a part of our culture of racism more than she may have realized. The writing of this play made it necessary for the playwright to acknowledge the lack of strong roles for women, particularly African-American women. All in all, I think this piece sounds like a fantastic way to make people think and open up to what the realities of racism mean for them personally and examine what they can do to create equality.
I love, love, love important theatre. This is important theatre. Also, this is important theatre with incredible creators and actors who seem to be willing to tell the real story. The team is very brave to tackle an issue of direct racism in a candid and bold way, and I think they'll do a solid job of combining beautiful storytelling with the social issues at hand. This way, audiences won't feel bombarded with judgment and yet still feel the power necessary to inspire a stir in one's social conscience.
From an actor's perspective, it was interesting to hear Tonya Pinkin and Dianne Wiest speak on their emotional experience acting the show. They described that the weight of the race issue at hand has bled into their real lives in ways that are hard to shake off. I couldn't imagine embodying a character in this set of given circumstances and NOT feeling emotionally worn-down. The actor's job in promoting social issue change is certainly an interesting one, and I value and admire the work Pinkins and Wiest are doing, as well as the rest of the team, in order to tell this crucial story.
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