Valencia (CA), February 19--In the Red and Brown Water, a lyrical play by acclaimed playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, will be presented by the California Institute of the Arts' School of Theater. Directed by Associate Dean of CalArts School Theater Nataki Garrett-Meyers, In the Red and Brown Water is a poetry-infused coming-of-age story exploring decisions of life, love, and self. Performances will be held in Ensemble Theatre II (E407) at the California Institute of the Arts, located at 24700 McBean Parkway, Valencia, California, 91355.
Performances are scheduled with a preview performance Friday, February 20, 2015 and four supplemental performances through Tuesday, February 23, 2015. All evening shows are scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. and the Saturday matinee will begin at 3 p.m.
For ticketing and performance information, please visit www.calartsticketoffice.eventbrite.com
The play tells the story of Oya, a rising star in track and field who dreams of a collegiate athletic future outside of her home in Louisiana's San Sere housing projects. As Oya's mother falls ill, she must choose between caring for her and pursuing her own dreams. The characters of In the Red & Brown Water are grounded in the spirits of African orishas, showcasing the inner spirituality of a community of people. We follow Oya, and the community that she inhabits, as she makes decisions as a young woman, growing into her own.
IN THE RED & BROWN WATER
Preview
Friday, February 20, 2015 at 8 p.m.
Performances
Saturday, February 21, 2015 at 3 p.m.
Saturday, February 21, 2015 at 8 p.m. (Opening)
Monday, February 23, 2015 at 8 p.m.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015 at 8 p.m.
About the Director
Nataki Garrett is the Associate Artistic Director of CalArts CNP and the Associate Dean and the Co-Head of Undergraduate Acting for CalArts School of Theater. She is a recipient of numerous awards and residencies, including the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. For CNP, she directed the world premiere of Carl Hancock Rux's Smoke, Lilies and Jade and Oliver Mayer's Joy of the Desolate. Nataki is the co-Artistic Director of BLANK-THE- DOG PRODUCTIONS (BTD), a Los Angeles/New York-based ensemble theater company. Among her most recent BTD projects is The Carolyn Bryant Project. Described as new mythology, Carolyn Bryant focuses on the decades-long silence of the woman for whom Emmett Till was brutally murdered in Mississippi in 1955. The Carolyn Bryant Project was previously performed at REDCAT Winter Studio 2009, and co-workshopped with Highways Performance Space in 2011, and will be co-produced by the CalArts Center for New Performance in 2015. Additional premieres: Bulrusher (LA Premiere) with Skylight Theatre Company and Lower Depth Theatre Ensemble; Ochre and Onyx: The Langston Hughes Project at Watts Village Theatre Company; Black Women State of the Union: An Evening of Plays by Black Women (World Premiere), nominated for a NAACP Theatre Award for Best Director, at Company of Angels in Los Angeles; Sucktion Libretto by Doug Kearney, composed by Anne Lebaron (REDCAT NOW FEST); They Call Me Wanjiku by Mumbi Kiagwa at The Martin E. Seagal Theatre Center in Manhattan (in development); Coffee Will Make You Black adapted by Michael Shepperd at Celebration Theatre; Wet, an opera written by Terese Svoboda and composed by Anne Lebaron, which premiered at Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT); Couples Counseling by Carey Lovelace, which opened at the REDCAT; and Canada Lee by Mona Smith produced by The Lee Strasberg Theatre in Los Angeles.
About the CalArts School of Theater
As one of the preeminent theater training programs in the country, the CalArts School of Theater is dedicated to the development of new voices and new forms. The training provided is designed to educate the whole person and to prepare fully equipped theater artists to enter and transform the field. The School of Theater offers programs in the areas of performance, writing, design, production, and management.