THE FAMILY SHOWCASE

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"The one person who was supposed to love me no matter what, be there for me no matter what, came in and out of my life so easily it made me feel like I didn’t matter."

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The Family Showcase examines the effects of migration and generational trauma in the Black family through the eyes of the Black child. It reckons with the more insidious aspects of this through the reclamation of storytelling agency. The playwrights shared their family stories with one another and mapped a play that juxtaposes their two narratives. They played with theatrical conventions concerning the boundaries of character, genre, time and space to attempt to articulate the inarticulable—What is missing in my family and why? What is the source of this lack? How can we fix it?

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Our childhoods, our families, are the building blocks that shape who we are and how we move about the world. Vulnerability is the bridge that connects those who otherwise would've been strangers. Being vulnerable about the past that shaped us, the questions that haunted us, the memories stitched to us, and the hopes that fuel us is difficult. Yet, it is necessary in order for us to grow as we move through the human experience. 

 

Storytelling is the vehicle through which life keeps its spark. It was and continues to be one of the greatest honors of my life to have been entrusted with directing the delicate and powerful stories of these two actor-playwrights. In crafting the show, using photos, videos, interviews, conversations, and memories, we brought to life in rehearsal and on stage the real life people and moments that led the actors to where and who they were in that present moment. And to have done it all over Zoom! We utilized two different performance spaces and bridged these theaters through the use of a strategtic and simple set, brilliant digital graphics, Zoom manipulation, imagination, patience, and whole lot of love. The crafting of the show was from the start a shining presentation of the power of connectivity.