The Brothers Size

EDITED POST

On November 28th and 30th, we will see Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brothers Size. It's in the Shiva Theatre at the Public, where we meet for classes, so I guess you all know by now how to get there.

McCraney is a young writer who has meteorically shot out of Yale and into some very high profile workshops and productions. The Brothers Size is a part of a cycle of plays he's working on, and as you may notice from his character names, derives inspiration from the Yoruba tradition. Yoruba is a West African spiritual practice (and people) which, thanks to its enslaved practitioners, has traveled in various forms with its gods and goddesses all over the Americas. The play also has a live, percussive musical score.

Because my mom told me to

Hey everybody:

My mom said that I should pass on this article about my alma mater. Since the fall of 2006, Harvard has offered free tuition to students with families in lower income brackets. My single mom and I didn't get to take advantage of this when I was in school there, so she thought I should pass on this information to you all, as some of you are applying to college now or in the near future...

Good luck!

Yellow Face

EDITED POST

So, change of plans. Our actual next show is the eagerly anticipated new play by David Henry Hwang, Yellow Face. We are going to be in the audience for the invited dress, meaning we will see it before anyone else in New York does! Sunday November 18th is the date, and it looks like we're on for 7pm. If that changes, I'll let you know as soon as I know.

Hwang is a well known and celebrated playwright, author of M. Butterfly, Golden Child, and Flower Drum Song. Yellow Face delves comically into the rich territory of identity politics, as the play is a fictional account of his protest of the Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce playing an Eurasian character, the Engineer, in the original cast of Miss Saigon. After a protracted battle between producers and the Actors' Equity Association, Pryce ended up on stage as the Engineer and won a Tony for it. Asian actors have since played the role, but the debate lingers on. Like white minstrels performing in blackface, yellowface has a long history. Click on this article for more.

Think about the ways in which systematic discrimination and privilege play out on stage and behind the scenes.

See you on Friday with your objects for show and tell! And I added the Overheard In New York link on the right sidebar.

What Eisa Did Last Week

I saw my play Bulrusher in Berkeley.
I wrote for the 24 Hour Plays on Broadway.
And I workshopped a new play at the Geva Theatre in Rochester.
In case you wanted to know.