Mar 29, 2021 Watch Party
Time: 1957. Place: New York City. Six actors gather in a Broadway theater to rehearse an anti-lynching play, written and directed by white artists. Newcomer John believes in the sanctity of theater, ingénue Judy insists there s only the human race, and veteran actress Wiletta is torn between getting along and delving into the authentic truth of her character. As the actors get on their feet and small talk turns into discussion on motivation and theme, tension begins to run high, ultimately reaching a point of no return. A boulevard comedy with undeniable dramatic force, Alice Childress s masterpiece would have been the first play by a Black woman produced on Broadway if she had agreed to the producers demands that she soften its message. Funny, incisive, and poignant, this play-within-a-play is an unflinching examination of white fragility and liberalism in the theater industry.
Today, American Conservatory Theater announced new performance dates and initial casting information for A.C.T. Out Loud, a series of filmed play readings featuring enduring works by some of the greatest minds of generations past. These plays have the power to reach across time, speaking both to the age in which they were written and the ever-changing currents of today, and include works that have been long-celebrated as well as those that have not received the attention they are due. The three upcoming readings are: Alice Childress s Trouble in Mind, directed by Awoye Timpo (In Old Age at New York Theatre Workshop; The Homecoming Queen at Atlantic Theater Company); George Bernard Shaw s Arms and the Man, directed by 2020 SAG Award nominee, Obie Award winner, and Tony Award nominee Colman Domingo (Ma Rainey s Black Bottom on Netflix; The Scottsboro Boys on Broadway, Fear The Walking Dead on AMC); and Thornton Wilder s The Matchmaker, directed by Dawn Monique Williams (Moon Man Walk a