Get in Good Trouble, Necessary Trouble
A True Colors Collaboration with SMU Meadows and Clark Atlanta University
Friday, April 9, 2021, 8:00 PM EST
Location: Livestreaming on Zoom
*Advanced registration is required as capacity is limited*
SMU’s Division of Theatre and the Department of Theatre Arts at Clark Atlanta University, a historically Black university in Atlanta, are collaborating on a program of six short, student-written plays based on a prompt inspired by the late American statesman and civil rights leader John Lewis: “Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.” Students from both undergraduate programs will be playwrights, stage managers, and actors, while professional directors will work with the students to realize performances of these new plays. Click below to register to watch the livestreaming performance.
The Plays
“Wolf & Sheep”
Set during the Harlem Renaissance, “Wolf & Sheep” follows the internal struggle of Black artists being disenfranchised by unfair record contracts. Lucky and cohort Ink devise a plan to push back against the status quo in this short play about music, pride and legacy.
— Christian Alexander and Alexis Lofton (Both CAU B.A. Theatre Arts ’21)
“A Faceless Judge”
A hopeful young girl attempts to bridge the gap between two very different worlds: sexuality and religion.
— Michaela Brown (CAU B.A. Theatre Arts ’21)
“A Mile in My Shoes”
Two girls come from different walks of life: one who is sure of her future (White), and one who’s unsure if she’ll live to see tomorrow (Black).
— Courtney Burns (CAU B.A. Theatre Arts ’22)
“Grace”
A young Black girl trying to go to college questions a system that continuously kills her Black brothers and sisters and the light of humanity. “Grace” is about learning that pushing forward doesn’t always mean moving on; sometimes, it means being still.
— Crislyn Fayson (SMU B.F.A. Theatre ’22)
“Necessary Trouble”
A young man hides the fact that he went to a Black Lives Matter protest and is then forced to educate his conservative Southern mother on how the world really works.
— Dalton Glenn (SMU B.F.A. Theatre ’22)
“A Sister Is God’s Way of Making Sure We Never Walk Alone”
Amid a pandemic and social crisis, a young artist tries to overcome obstacles in order to create art. Her sisters face challenges within their own lives but still find ways to support, listen, and, most importantly, show love to one another.
— Stakiah Washington (SMU B.F.A. Theatre ’21)
