A.C.T. Out Loud and MoAD present a Trouble in Mind Audience Exchange
A.C.T. and the Museum of African Diaspora (MoAD) invite you to a live, virtual discussion on Alice Childress’s Trouble in Mind. Moderated by San Francisco’s Director of Cultural Affairs Ralph Remington, guests include A.C.T. Artistic Director Pam MacKinnon, Trouble in Mind director Awoye Timpo, and Childress scholar and resident dramaturg at CLASSIX, Arminda Thomas. The discussion will last 30-minutes and will take place on the Zoom video conference platform.
Alice Childress’s Trouble in Mind
Directed by Awoye Timpo
Time: 1957. Place: New York City. Six actors gather in a Broadway theater to rehearse an anti-lynching play, written and directed by white artists. Newcomer John believes in the sanctity of theater, ingénue Judy insists there’s only the human race, and veteran actress Wiletta is torn between getting along and delving into the authentic truth of her character. As the actors get on their feet and small talk turns into discussion on motivation and theme, tension begins to run high, ultimately reaching a point of no return. A boulevard comedy with undeniable dramatic force, Alice Childress’s masterpiece would have been the first play by a Black woman produced on Broadway if she had agreed to the producers’ demands that she soften its message. Funny, incisive, and poignant, this play-within-a-play is an unflinching examination of white fragility and liberalism in the theater industry.Â