News

World Premiere Production from Children’s Theatre of Charlotte Explores Teen Race Relations  

This March, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte will break new ground with “The Drama Club” (Mar. 13-22), a world premiere production for middle and high school audiences. This commissioned piece from regionally acclaimed playwright Bob Inman explores race relations in today’s high schools. With inspiration drawn from the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case, “The Drama Club” explores a modern dilemma that schools continue to face: how do we truly connect with each other and what are the stakes if we fail?  

Directed by Children’s Theatre’s Artistic Director Alan Poindexter, “The Drama Club” focuses on two young actresses - one white, one black - whose competition for the lead in the fall production has repercussions throughout the entire school. As tensions between the two girls spread, students must wrestle with their peers, their prejudices and themselves as they search for ways to turn conflict into community.  

During his career as a journalist, playwright Bob Inman covered the Civil Rights movement in Montgomery , Alabama as well as Charlotte ’s cross-town busing in the 1970s. In “The Drama Club”, he explores how the history of race relations in America affects the relationships today’s students have with each other. “Are our students truly connecting across racial, economic, ethnic and cultural barriers, or do the old poisons of mistrust and discord still lurk below the surface? Who’s working to make things work?” he asks. “’The Drama Club’ is about all this, and it’s about more than race. It’s about differences – how we try to blur the lines between the many ways we’re different and explore the things that bind rather than separate.”  

To broaden and enhance the impact of this important piece, Children’s Theatre is working with a variety of community partners on activities surrounding the production. The Theatre plans to host talkbacks with members of the cast and artistic team after performances, and to provide a follow-up historical workshop for school groups who attend the show.  

The Theatre has also organized a series of free monthly events called the TEENS & RACE: THEN & NOW series. Leading up to the production, these public events offer teens opportunities to consider issues of race, the Civil Rights Movement and how choices made by previous generations have led to current conceptions and misconceptions. The TEENS & RACE: THEN & NOW series will conclude on Sunday, March 8 with the premiere of “Souls of Our Students”, a documentary featuring local high school students sharing heart-felt stories about how it feels to be ‘different’ in an increasingly diverse community. A collaborative project of Mecklenburg Ministries, Charlotte Coalition for Social Justice, Temple Beth El and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS), this documentary will be incorporated into the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools 9th grade curriculum.  

“The Drama Club” and these surrounding activities are made possible in part through a McColl Award from the Arts & Science Council. The production is also part of Imagination Begins with US - The US Airways New Plays Festival for Families. For more information, please visit http://www.ctcharlotte.org/DramaClub.htm.  

Performance times and dates are:  

Friday, Mar. 13                               7:30 pm *Fab Friday* (1/2 priced performance)

Saturday, Mar. 14                           2:00 pm

Sunday, Mar. 15                             2:00 pm

Saturday, Mar. 21                           4:00 pm

Sunday, Mar. 22                             2:00 pm *Signed*  

Performances will be held in the McColl Family Theatre at ImaginOn, 300 East 7th Street .  Front Orchestra tickets are $24.00; General Admission tickets are $18.00. For tickets to the productions, call the Children’s Theatre Box Office at 704-973-2828 (10 am-5 pm, Mon.-Fri.) or visit our website: www.ctcharlotte.org. NOTE: This production contains mature themes and strong language and is recommended for middle and high school audiences.  

Children’s Theatre of Charlotte is supported, in part, with an Operating Grant from the Arts & Science Council, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Inc., ArtsTeach, and the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Cultural Resources, and the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.
Time Warner Cable: the 2008-09 Media Sponsor of Children's Theatre of Charlotte

US Airways: the 2008-09 Official Airline of Children’s Theatre of Charlotte

# # #


   

Home   |   Awards   |   Reviews   |   News   |   Actors   |   Headshots   |   Theatres   |   Calendars   |   Newsletters   |   Membership
Auditions   |   Workshops   |   Drama Instruction   |   Playwrights/Scripts   |   Vendors   |   Links   |   Advertising   |   About Us