“Nobody wanna be stuck in the mud. Not nobody.”

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Issue 25: Mud Row

Hello Friend,

When we shared the first act of Mud Row in a Community Matters reading last May, legendary local Civil Rights attorney Sam Stretton (still practicing) noted how attuned playwright Dominique Morisseau was to the realities of the lived experience of the African American residents in the East End of West Chester, and how Dominique was able to capture that so clearly in this fictionalized play.

With shifts back and forth in time, this play wrestles with what’s at stake now and holds within it great possibilities for shared community reflection, reconciliation and healing for a path forward. We are indebted to so many partners, neighbors and friends who have entrusted us with a significant piece of themselves in this process. And after six years in the making, we could not be more eager or honored to share this important piece with you.

All best,

Marcie Bramucci,
Director of Community Investment

Inside Mud Row

With a fresh Tony nomination under her belt, Dominique Morisseau (Ain't Too Proud, Skeleton Crew) has the world's attention. We're so lucky to have her here bringing the history and spirit of our local community to the stage as a part of our New Play Frontiers (NPF) Residency & Commission program. Mud Row is the second play to emerge from NPF — you may have caught the first, Project Dawn, in 2017.

NPF is a long-term initiative to develop and produce new plays that explore our American identity inspired by stories and concerns in our region. During the initial phase of her residency, Dominique was drawn to the West Chester community and its rich history.

“I remember an area by a railroad … sort of a swampy area, and I was told in passing, ‘Oh yeah, they call that Mud Row.’ That was my entry point,” Dominique explains. “I’ve made a fictional story that’s a fusion of my own family history and oral histories of what I heard from the people that live in West Chester. I imagined those grandchildren, these young people today, [who inherit] these homes. I thought about how African American communities are set up, how things are passed down, sustained, or deconstructed, or gentrified externally and internally. For me, now, this play has also become about family and what ties bind us, regardless."

Take a look at this article in Chester County Press that covers Dominique's journey through this process.

Dominique with Miss Alice Thomas, a longtime resident of the East End

Dominique with Kenneth Winston, Executive Director of the Charles A. Melton Arts & Education Center

Pictured above is Dominique with much of our collective village around this production, including the cast with historian/scholar Miss Penny Washington, our Community Ambassador Maurice Simmons (see interview below), and production sponsor Richard May of West Chester LLC.

The cast of Mud Row features six visiting guest actors – Tiffany Rachelle Stewart and Gillian Glasco as sisters, Elsie and Frances, respectively, Nikkole Salter as Regine, Bjorn DuPaty as Davin, Renika Williams as Toshi, and Eric Robinson Jr. as Tyriek.

Dominique Morisseau and Steve H. Broadnax III

Steve H. Broadnax III (Skeleton Crew, The Mountaintop) directs the production. Michael Carnahan makes his People’s Light debut as scenic designer, as does costume designer Shilla Benning. Returning guest artist Kathy Perkins (Skeleton Crew) designs lights and Curtis Craig (Skeleton Crew) designs sound. Resident Dramaturg Gina Pisasale dramaturgs the production and Resident Stage Manager Kate McSorley Fossner stage manages. West Chester resident Penny Washington generously contributed her time and passion as historical consultant on the production. Below are some photos of the walking tour she conducted for cast and artists.

Surrounding Mud Row

We invite you to check out these opportunities to discuss and engage more fully with the production.

Get the Scoop

At 6pm before each Wednesday evening performance, Resident Dramaturg Gina Pisasale hosts an artist from the production for Scoop, a casual conversation with fellow theatre-lovers.

Meet Bjorn DuPaty and Eric Robinson Jr. (July 3 & 24) and Tiffany Rachelle Stewart (July 10 & 17), enjoy light snacks, and get a behind-the-scenes look into the making of this production while discussing the background of the play with an intimate group of theatre lovers like you. You can call 610.644.3500 to add Scoop to your tickets, or purchase separately online for just $5.

Never been to Scoop? Try it for free!

We'd like to invite you, our subscribers, to be our guests. Get in on the conversation with Gina, Bjorn, and Eric on July 3rd and see what it's all about. You'll also get a chance to meet our Subscriptions and Ticketing Manager (and part-time Scoop Coordinator/Gina-enthusiast!), Eve Trojanov, at the event.

Capacities are limited and we want to make sure we have enough cheese to go around, so please RSVP by Friday, June 28th by giving Eve a call at 610.647.1900 x 119 or emailing her at trojanov@peopleslight.org.

AfterWORDS

Stick around for informal post-performance conversations after Thursday evening performances.

July 11, 18, & 25

Open Caption

An LED screen near the stage displays dialogue in real-time.

July 16 at 7:30pm
July 17 at 7:30pm
July 18 at 7:30pm
July 19 at 7:30pm
July 20 at 2pm & 8pm
July 21 at 2pm & 7pm
July 23 at 7:30pm
July 24 at 2pm & 7:30pm

Big news! We're working on bringing Augmented Reality/Smart Glasses open captioning to the US for the first time. To participate in a pilot of this exciting technology, please reply to this email (bramucci@peopleslight.org).

Business Night at the Theatre: July 17

Bring your business cards and join our Corporate Engagement Committee for a complimentary evening of networking and theatre. We'll begin in the Congdon Center with a pre-performance reception from 5:30pm - 7pm, then head into the Steinbright Theatre for Mud Row.

Availability is limited. RSVP by July 3rd to Jane Moss at moss@peopleslight.org.

Photo Exhibit

Glimpse a visual history of West Chester's East End over generations in a special photo exhibit in our lobby. The exhibit is co-curated by our West Chester historical consultant, Miss Penny Washington, and resident dramaturg, Gina Pisasale. Images are provided courtesy of Miss Washington and the Chester County Historical Society’s Community Treasures database.

More Access

People's Light is wheelchair accessible, service animal-friendly, and we offer assistive listening devices and large print programs at every performance. 


Staff Spotlight: Maurice Simmons

Read on for a brief interview with Maurice Simmons, who we are fortunate to welcome as Community Ambassador for Mud Row.


How did you come to be involved with theatre (or the arts generally)?

I was introduced to the theatre arts by my mother. I grew up in Washington, DC and my mother was an elementary school teacher. Once during the summer, we would get up at the crack of dawn, take the train to New York to see a Broadway play and return to DC that same day. This fostered a love of theater in me. I first came to People’s Light as a patron. My wife and I have attended 5-6 performances over the past five years or so and we enjoyed the variety and the quality of the productions.  I was introduced to the Community Ambassador role by Leigh Jackson who is a friend from Washington, DC who told me that she had connected with People’s Light by serving as a Community Ambassador for a previous production.

Read the full interview

Announcing the 2019 line-up for Community Matters!

Community Matters is a series of free events presented in partnership between People’s Light and numerous local organizations to spark dialogue about vital issues in our community. Performed readings of new plays are the centerpiece of each evening, followed by a facilitated discussion with community partners and special guests.

The events are free, but seating is limited. Please RSVP using the buttons below.

Tuesday, July 2 at 7pm

The Crushed Earth

A first glance into Sanjit De Silva & Deepa Purohit's New Play Frontiers commissioned play.

“Our play follows the intersecting lives of three complex characters who all have roots in eastern Pennsylvania: an 18th century Lenape woman, Hannah, in search of her ancestral homeland; a present day Indian-American college student, Gayatri, who was born in India and is in jeopardy of being sent back; and Frederick, an African-American Sheriff who, amidst a winter storm in July, unexpectedly uncovers the truth of his past. The play explores the question: Who has a right to decide what places we claim as our home?"

— Sanjit De Silva & Deepa Purohit

Monday, August 19 at 7pm
Where You From?

By Nadira Beard, New Voices Program Director, in collaboration with the New Voices Ensemble.

“Pain lives there too. Because the city is so small, drugs and violence has probably affected almost every home in it. Go to any home, knock on the door, and ask the people inside. They’ll tell you about their classmate, friend, cousin, uncle, auntie, nephew, niece, father, mother, son, daughter, or grandchild. Something easy to dismiss in your local newspaper or on a thirty second broadcast. And something hard to digest if you’re living in it.”

— excerpt from the script

Workshop Spotlight

Bayard Rustin: Inside Ashland

Before diving deep into rehearsals as director of Mud Row, Steve Broadnax pivoted into playwriting mode. He and a team of artists set up shop at the Charles A. Melton Arts & Education Center to explore and further develop Bayard Rustin: Inside Ashland, a Harmony Lab/New Play Frontier hybrid production set to premiere at People’s Light next summer.

In this workshop, we built on connections with West Chester-rooted community partners (many of whom have been involved in the evolution of Mud Row), including Dr. Clifford DeBaptiste (former Mayor of West Chester), who we learned had presided over Rustin’s funeral at Bethel AME Church in West Chester decades earlier.

We learned more from Miss Penny Washington about the role West Chester played in Bayard Rustin’s formative years and in the shaping of the activist he became. Keep an eye out for more details about Bayard Rustin: Inside Ashland, which is part of our 2019-2020 season.

Miss Penny "setting the record straight"

Casting Call: Community Choir for Our Town

Have you wondered what it might feel like to perform on the Leonard C. Haas Stage? If you'd like first-hand exposure to what making a production at People's Light is like from the inside, we have an opportunity for you.

Our upcoming summer production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, directed by Abigail Adams, will feature a Community Choir comprised of adult singers - all experience levels and voice parts welcome. We invite your submission – in the form of a brief application & a song left on Marcie's voice-mail – through June 25th. We look forward to hearing from you!

"Light a Spark" Indeed! Auction Update

Thank you to everyone who lit up the Pavilion in celebration of our 2019 Auction “Light a Spark,” and helped us raise $135,000+ in support of our arts education offerings. Our 30-year-strong signature education program, New Voices, featured prominently with a powerful and entertaining presentation by program alums Jocelyn Manigo and Michelle Haskins, who returned to recount stories of their involvement beginning in 1990. Both Jocelyn & Michelle spoke of the impact the New Voices Ensemble had on their development as individuals and on their professional trajectories.

Dray Clark, Jocelyn Manigo, Michelle Haskins

Many thanks to our gregarious event MC, Dray Clark, NBC10 Weekend anchor, who grew up and currently resides in Chester (and was a classmate of our New Voices alums). And to our Auction Committee, led by Committee Chair Romona Riscoe Benson, who is both a theatre Trustee and Director of Corporate and Community Relations for PECO.

Production Sponsor: West Chester LLC

Mud Row is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. This project was supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

People's Light thanks the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for its generous multi-year support of the New Play Frontiers initiative.

Special thanks to the Charles A. Melton Arts & Education Center.

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