 | While doing research for "Breath, Boom," playwright Kia Corthron says she was struck by the "unspeakably ugly" violence gang members inflict upon each other. |
The fortunes of a violent girl gang leader unfold in "Breath, Boom," the next offering in the Yale Repertory Theatre's 2002-2003 season.
This is the New England premiere of the play, which was written by Kia Corthron and will be directed by Michael John Garcés. "Breath, Boom" will run Oct. 25-Nov. 16.
The play looks at 14 years in the life of Prix, an African-American teenager whose life has been punctuated by violence and who is trying to free herself from a cycle that has taken her from the streets of New York City to a juvenile reformatory and back again. Prix finds hope only in the beauty of the fireworks she designs.
"I think most Americans, and particularly women, are fascinated by girl gangs -- the idea of females taking charge, taking things into their own hands," said Corthron in a recent interview. Her research for the play revealed "either the violence the girls inflicted on others, or the violence by others (usually the boys of the gang) inflicted against the girls, was so unspeakably ugly there was no room for hero worship, even on the smallest subconscious level," she noted, adding, "... I didn't just want to write a play about how 'fascinating' violent girls are. I wanted to address where that violence comes from. Children do not become violent in a vacuum."
The play was commissioned by the Royal Court in London, which staged it in 2000. One reviewer wrote of that production: "The tone of 'Breath, Boom' is largely the tone of its characters: ballsy, streetwise, and contemptuously unamazed by a world where it's par for the course never to have known your father and to be raped at five by the lover of your mother who is later flung in jail for his murder where she develops a drug-habit and AIDS. This is the CV of the central figure, Prix, ... But Corthron does not pour liberal solicitude over these girls. Whatever the political agenda the play has must, admirably, be deduced on the wing."
The Yale Rep previously staged Corthron's "Splash Hatch on the E Going Down." The playwright's other works include "Force Continuum," "Digging Eleven," "Seeking the Genesis," "Life by Asphyxiation" and "Come Down Burning." Her latest works, "The Venus de Milo Is Armed" and "Snapshot Silhouette," will premiere later this year.
This is the second work by Corthron that Garcés has directed. He was previously director of the world premiere of her "Force Continuum" at the Atlantic Theatre in New York. He has worked at such theatres as Repertorio Espanol, The Directors Company, The American Place, The Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, The O'Neill Playwrights Conference and Sna Jtz,ibajom in Chiapas, Mexico. He is currently producing artistic director at Intar.
Prix will be played by Opal Alladin, who appeared Off-Broadway in "Marco Polo Sings a Solo" as well as numerous regional theater productions. The other cast members are Donna Duplantier, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Jan Leslie Harding, Carla J. Hargrove, Yale School of Drama students Phyllis Johnson, Tijuana T. Ricks and Billy Eugene Jones, Afi McClendon, Heather Alicia Simms, Kellee Stewart and Marilyn Torres.
The design team is composed of three Yale drama students -- Wilson Chin (sets), China Lee (costumes) and Torkel Skjaerven (lighting) -- and sound designer Martin Desjardins.
"Breath, Boom" will be staged at the Yale Repertory Theatre, corner of Chapel and High streets, on the following schedule: 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, with Saturday matinees at 2 p.m. There is a special Monday evening performance on Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. and a Wednesday matinee on Nov. 13 at 2 p.m.
Special events being held during the run of "Breath, Boom" include "Yale Night" on Friday, Oct. 25, featuring free pizza and soft drinks for students from area colleges and universities; "Opening Night" on Thursday, Oct. 31, with a post-performance celebration at Hot Tomato's; "Re-Play," a question-and-answer session with the cast and crew, following the Saturday, Nov. 2, matinee; and "Senior Matinee" on Wednesday, Nov. 13. In addition, the Yale Rep will offer a sign-interpreted performance on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 2 p.m. and a audio-described performance on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 2 p.m.
Tickets range from $25-$40. Special rates are available for seniors, students and groups, and there are a variety of subscription packages for the 2002-2003 season. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Yale Rep box office at 1120 Chapel St., by calling (203) 432-1234 or online at www.yalerep.org.
T H I S
Bulletin Home
Yale Rep's next play looks at a girl
trying to break a cycle of violence
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Retired chemical engineer wins Nobel Prize for work he did at Yale
Defeating terrorism will require 'last drop of resolve,' . . .
In Focus: Duke Elllington Fellowship
Former U.N. official urges an 'ethical globalization'
Author hopeful despite 'weight of memories' about Holocaust
MEDICAL SCHOOL NEWSProgram will train new experts in vector-borne diseases
Rakic honored for discovering principles of neuronal migration
Study: Physical therapy program curbs decline in elderly
Internal Medicine to host reunion of residents, fellows
Yale Rep's next play looks at a girl trying to break a cycle of violence
A classic is reborn in drama school production
Alumni will discuss 'ideal' undergraduate experience
Alumni will gather to celebrate 150th anniversary of Yale Engineering
Two Yale affiliates win the Frederick Douglass Book Prize
Soil expert Garth Voigt dies; helped establish environmental studies at Yale
Memorial service for King-lui Wu
Yale Books in Brief
Campus Notes
|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News|Bulletin Board
Yale Scoreboard|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines
Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs Home|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page