ECC Theatre presents 'Blood at the Root' Nov. 2-11
On Friday, Nov. 2, Elgin Community College Theatre will open its production of "Blood at the Root," a play written by Dominique Morisseau and inspired by the Jena Six court case. The production is directed by Susan A. Robinson, ECC Theatre instructor and program coordinator.
Performances will be 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sundays at the ECC Arts Center located in Building H on the Spartan Drive Campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.
"Blood at the Root" is a powerful and electrically poetic play that explores the escalating racial tensions at a divided Louisiana high school. The play follows a group of high school students as they are faced with the very personal and immediate ramifications of racial double standards, prejudice and criminal injustice.
"Blood at the Root" is inspired by a series of real-life incidents, media reporting and social action that took place in Jena, Louisiana in 2006 and 2007. In December 2006, six African-American students from Jena High School were initially charged with attempted murder for a school fight after being provoked with nooses hanging from a tree on campus. The six students became known as the "Jena Six."
"When I read the play for the first time I was struck by how immediate Dominique Morisseau made the story. It's set in 2006 and 2007 and yet it could be today," says director Susan A. Robinson. "I chose the play because of the beauty in the words, the great roles for actors of color and I find the characters extremely relatable and accessible. The play tackles tough subjects but the characters who inhabit the play are fully formed flesh and blood people in all their complexity and the audience will be able to relate to and see themselves in them."
Robinson says the cast has embraced the hard-hitting issues that are presented in the play. "They dove right in-they are taking it very seriously and working very hard. They recognize how important it is to tell the story as truthfully as possible," Robinson said.
Morisseau was recently named a recipient of a 2018 MacArthur "Genius" Grant. She is also the author of "The Detroit Project" (a three-play cycle) and the book writer for the new musical "Ain't Too Proud - The Life and Times of the Temptations" which will premiere on Broadway in 2019. The Huffington Post calls Morisseau a "direct heir to the magical wordsmiths named Lorraine Hansberry, Tennessee Williams and August Wilson."
Tickets for ECC Theatre's production of "Blood at the Root" are $11 or $9 for students and seniors. Note: the performance contains mature content and language.
Tickets for all performances at the ECC Arts Center are available online at tickets.elgin.edu or at the ECC Arts Center box office. Box office hours are noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday. To purchase tickets by phone, call (847) 622-0300. All major credit cards are accepted.
The ECC Arts Center can be found at www.facebook.com/eccartscenter and on Twitter @ECCArtsCenter.
"Blood at the Root" is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French Inc.