Dates: March 20–23, 2020
Running Time: Approximately 60 minutes
Location: The Lalie
Written by Lexi Chipman and Maya Burton, Raisins in a Glass of Milk 2020, is a brand new one-act play created directly from the words, poetry, and stories of Artists of Color. This play is a catalyst for the conversation about how white supremacy affects the way we make art, which ultimately affects how we live our lives. If there is anything the last four years in this country have taught us, it’s that the need to showcase the experience of People of Color will never go away. We are tired of seeing white people telling the stories that don’t belong to them. Tired of the three dimensional, joyful, powerful, and incomparable lives of People of Color being reduced to suffering and shame. The complexity and depth of these issues should not be ignored.
What we do is radically simple. The RAISINS series dares to listen. Then with mindful expertise, we tell the stories of Artists of Color through a safe and anonymous theatrical lens. We believe when we listen to others’ experiences told loudly and proudly from center stage, it shows us that we are not alone in this fight and that there is strength in speaking your truth. By the end of the play, our entire audience should feel ready to join the conversation, which is how change happens.
Cast
Amelia Love Clearheart
Jesse Calixto
Fathiya Ritter
Stefan Richmond
Kathy Hsieh
Nikki Suyama
Creative Team
Malie Fujii, Stage Manager
Sophie Franco, Director
Alyza DelPan-Monley, Choreographer
Maya Burton and Lexi Chipman, Co-Creators/Co-Producers
Maya Burton and Lexi Chipman originally created Raisins in a Glass of Milk as a one-act play based on interviews with Theatre Makers of Color. Since their original script premiered in 2016, it has toured venues across the country. But as time went on it became clear to Maya and Lexi that their work was not done and many more stories needed to be told. So they created RAISINS.
RAISINS is an annual series based on 20–30 fresh interviews done with Artists of Color where the writers ask, “What does it mean to be an Artist of Color and how does white supremacy affect the way you make art?” The first show of the series, Raisins 2019, was a huge success and Maya and Lexi are ready to do it again with Raisins 2020.
In their own words, “In a decade perhaps, we will be able to look back at Raisins in a Glass of Milk 2020 and clearly see if progress towards equality has been made, directly from the words of the people who lived it. For generations, stories that belong to People of Color have been grossly overlooked or mishandled. RAISINS takes those stories out of the darkness and into their well-deserved place in the spotlight.”
Photo Credit: Brett Love
This show is recommended for patrons aged 13 and older.
For detailed information about show content and possible triggers, please contact communications@dev.acttheatre.org.
“It’s a game changer.”
“[Raisins] is a road to a deeper kind of empathy and a stronger desire to check and manage my own privilege afforded by the system. I came away thinking better.”
“…gut-wrenching verbatim theater…”
“…a beautiful and necessary show.”
“[Raisins is] hard and good and joyful and convicting and smart and funny and heartbreaking and messy and angry and hopeful and so, so, so much, much more.”