2017 Theatre Archive
CSU FERGUSON was a collaborative performance that echoed the oppression of all marginalized people, exploring how various forms of oppression are interrelated. This performance was comprised of music, spoken word pieces, poems, and skits. It also featured published works such as “No More Monsters” by Marcus Gardley and “How I Feel” from The New Black Fest’s HANDS
Students and alumni from CSUEB also shared their own dramatic/comedic testimonies of survival, perseverance, and resilience. These pieces focused on areas of race, cultural and sexual identity, interpersonal relationships, mental health, sexual assault, abuse, and the empowerment of women.
A critical component of this work was the community circle at the end of the performance when the stage was opened to audience members to voice their reactions, concerns, philosophies, and beliefs.
"Seeking to retrieve his runaway wife and the possessions she has taken with her, Coleman Shedman arrives at the rural meeting house of a southern Pentecostal sect with his lawyer in tow. However, he finds his wife Nancy, is unwilling to forsake the love and protection of her new "husband," the Reverend Obediah Buckhorn and return to the brutal, hard-drinking Coleman. When the strapping Reverend Buckhorn himself arrives, it is quickly evident that Coleman will not be able to take her back by force. Rich with atmosphere and the feel of southern rural life, the play blends humor and poignancy as it probes into the circumstances and stories of the various cult members--culminating in a gripping snake-handling scene in which the cynical Coleman, to his own amazement, is himself converted to a true believer."
Choreography by Nina Haft and student dancers
