Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library

In the Red and Brown Water: November 9-16, 2012

Fri, Nov 9, 2012 . 8:00PM Sat, Nov 10, 2012 . 2:00PM Sat, Nov 10, 2012 . 8:00PM Sun, Nov 11, 2012 . 2:00PM Tue, Nov 13, 2012 . 7:30PM Wed, Nov 14, 2012 . 7:30PM Thu, Nov 15, 2012 . 7:30PM Fri, Nov 16, 2012 . 8:00PM

Co-directors: Alvin Mayes and Scot Reese

In the Red and Brown Water, the first work in Tarell Alvin McCraney’s The Brother/Sister Plays trilogy, draws on folk tales, Yoruba mythology and contemporary poets and playwrights to tell a coming-of-age story set in a Louisiana bayou housing project. The main character, Oya, is a teenage sprinter looking for a way out of her limited circumstances. McCraney’s spare, muscular language and inventive approach elevates Oya’s ordinary life — and the lives of those around her — into a semi-mythic story of universally shared human experience.

To learn more about the production and themes of this work, join the artists for a Talk Back after the November 13 performance, and guest panelists Patricia Hill Collins, Walter Dallas and Jeffrey McCune for a post-performance discussion on November 14. Visit the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library and UMD's McKeldin Library to explore resources related to In the Red and Brown Water:

Writings by playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, including the other Brother/Sister Plays, entitled The Brothers Size and Marcus; Or The Secret of Sweet, as well as theatrical criticism of McCraney's works.
Interested in learning more about the Yoruba people, whose mythology inspired McCraney's play? Read about their history and listen to their music in the UMD Libraries.

Hear more from the guest panelists here:

Writings by guest panelist Patricia Hill Collins
Films featuring the work of guest panelist Walter Dallas
Writings by guest panelist Jeffrey McCune