The theatre department’s student works series for spring semester is kicking off with a poetic look at life in American society through the eyes of women of color. “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf” by Ntozake Shange opens on Wednesday, Feb. 12 and runs through Sunday, Feb. 16 in Johnson Studio Theatre. The show is directed by senior theatre performance major Le’ianna Gladden.
The play is structured as a “choreopoem,” a form of drama which combines poetry, movement, dance and music. It tells the story of seven women, identified only by the colors of their clothing, who express sisterhood, beauty and unity while recounting the unique oppression and trauma of black women. “It’s just about their experiences, about love, about what it’s like to be a black woman in American society, what it’s like being a black woman in general. It’s about sisterhood, it’s about finding yourself,” Gladden said.
Gladden says she first discovered the play in high school, and feels that it is a story that deserves to be showcased. “Very often, the stories of black women are not handled with care or not shown at all. ‘For Colored Girls’ places our varied and honest experiences front and center, which is crucial for me because my work is dedicated to the honest exploration of black women’s experiences,” Gladden said.
This production is Gladden’s third time directing the show, as she was able to direct it twice while studying abroad last semester in Ghana. “I took a directing class there, so I did it there. Then I interned with a theatre collective and I did it for them also for their winter production,” Gladden said. “We incorporate a lot of different elements [at Winthrop] than when I first did [it] in Ghana. We’ve incorporated choreography, and it’s very music and light-heavy.”
Theatre major Kalaylah Chisolm plays The Lady in Yellow, one of the younger characters who is on a journey of becoming a woman. “Throughout the production, Lady in Yellow listens to the stories of the other women around her to realize that maybe she has become a woman, but she has found that she has been missing something that will make her anew,” Chisolm said.
Chisolm says the process of “For Colored Girls” has challenged her and her castmates to truly be vulnerable as actors, but has also created a unique bond. “This is my first time in an all African American cast, and all female as well,” Chisolm said. “It was nice to work with a group of women that share similar stories with me who understand how I feel about my journey through society and [that I got to] create an unbreaking bond with the group of ladies over the last several weeks.”
Gladden hopes that black women on campus walk away from the show “feeling seen and empowered knowing their stories matter,” and others come “with an open mind and an open heart,” and that they “come and they enjoy it, and they take something from it.”
“I believe that everyone should take the opportunity to see this production of ‘For Colored Girls’ because it is eye-opening and a fabulous production that has taken a lot of hard work and dedication,” Chisolm said.
Performances on Wednesday Feb. 12 through Saturday Feb. 15 begin at 7:30 p.m., with the Sunday matinee beginning at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $5 for Winthrop students and $10 for the general public for Wednesday and Thursday performances, and $8 for students and $15 for the general public Friday through Sunday. Tickets are general admission seating. The production contains mature content and language, and may not be suitable for young audiences.
Tickets can be purchased by emailing boxoffice@winthrop.edu, calling the box office at (803)323-4014 or visiting the box office in Johnson Hall. Box office hours are 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Monday – Friday during production week.
Photos: Marisa Fields-Williams/ The Johnsonian
