The title of an upcoming play by St. Louis’ Tesseract Theatre is a loaded question: “Am I Black Enough Yet?”
It's a challenge that could cause discomfort but the play aims to make fun of the query with a playful approach. The first order of business is to proclaim that the entire audience is “black.” Those who were already black get to be “uber-black.”
In our latest Cut & Paste arts and culture podcast, we talk with “Am I Black Enough Yet?” director Bre Love and Tesseract’s founding artistic director Taylor Gruenloh about this production that uses humor to spark difficult conversations.
Here’s a bit of what you’ll hear in the podcast:
- Gruenloh on how the play upends assumptions: “The actors switch race and gender in certain skits. So sometimes the skit starts and you don’t realize who is the black character.”
- Love, who is African-American, of Tesseract’s casting techniques: “No one else would have cast me as a Scottish midwife.”
- Gruenloh on why now is a great time to be involved in St. Louis theater: “The number of plays that have never been done before that are getting done, and the diverse acting pool that’s here and that’s being celebrated.”
Look for new Cut & Paste (#cutpastestl) podcasts every few weeks on our website. You can also view all previous podcasts focusing on a diverse collection of visual and performing artists, and subscribe to Cut & Paste through this link.
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