Dominique Morisseau

In light of the George Zimmerman verdict, The New Black Fest commissioned six very diverse playwrights to write 10-minute plays on the topic of Trayvon Martin, race and/or privilege. Facing Our Truth's purpose is to incite serious discussion in our collective communities around these urgent issues. The collection, Facing Our Truth: Ten Minute Plays on Trayvon, Race and Privilege is comprised of the following plays: THE BALLAD OF GEORGE ZIMMERMAN text by Dan O'Brien music by Que

Dominique Morisseau's most radical play yet follows two Black women living more than a century apart as they struggle to free themselves from parallel systems of oppression. Confederates tells the story of two women in what at first appear to be radically different circumstances. Sara is an enslaved rebel ferrying information from her master's house to nearby Union soldiers. Sandra is a political science professor enduring misogynoir at a predominantly white university. As the play progresses, the line between the past and the present blurs, leading the audience to question how far we have come since 1865--and how far we still have to go. In Morisseau's words, "I don't believe in the inhumanity of the enslaved." This play delves into serious themes with a satirical tone, never allowing the audience to forget the full complexity of enslaved people--their humor, their sexuality, and their intelligence--alongside their pain. In its thematic ambition and its finesse with sharply-contrasting tones, Confederates is a major work by one of America's most exciting playwrights.

Sara an enslaved rebel turned Union spy and Sandra a tenured professor in a modern-day private university are having parallel experiences of institutional racism though they live over a century apart. Confederatesleaps through time to trace the identities of these two Black American women and explore the reins that racial and gender bias still hold on American educational systems today.

Few institutions have as profound an impact on the American theatrical landscape as the Tony Award-winning Williamstown Theatre Festival, located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. New Plays from Williamstown Theatre Festival 2015-2021 provides a sample of the dozens of plays that have been created and/or premiered at the Festival during the Artistic Directorship of Mandy Greenfield. In addition to stories that shine a light into new or underexplored corners of the human condition, these plays frequently feature complex and boundary-pushing central roles for women actors. These six plays are manifestations of living, American playwrights grappling with and breathing dramatic life into the conflicts and questions at the heart of who we were, who we are, and who we will become. These plays imagine and interrogate pieces of the human experience we are still in the midst of unpacking and understanding. Complete with introductions by each of the authors reflecting on their work, these historic, award-winning, and groundbreaking plays now live in conversation with one another in this unique collection.

Few institutions have as profound an impact on the American theatrical landscape as the Tony Award-winning Williamstown Theatre Festival, located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. New Plays from Williamstown Theatre Festival 2015-2021 provides a sample of the dozens of plays that have been created and/or premiered at the Festival during the Artistic Directorship of Mandy Greenfield. In addition to stories that shine a light into new or underexplored corners of the human condition, these plays frequently feature complex and boundary-pushing central roles for women actors. These six plays are manifestations of living, American playwrights grappling with and breathing dramatic life into the conflicts and questions at the heart of who we were, who we are, and who we will become. These plays imagine and interrogate pieces of the human experience we are still in the midst of unpacking and understanding. Complete with introductions by each of the authors reflecting on their work, these historic, award-winning, and groundbreaking plays now live in conversation with one another in this unique collection.

Follow Me to Nellie'stakes place in the home of the infamous Nellie Jackson's where a hopeless blues singer is looking for a way out a brave freedom fighter is looking for a way in and a house of downtrodden women are looking for a new day. In 1955 Mississippi during the reign of segregation the price of attaining their dreams may cost them everything. Dominique Morisseau's play takes a harrowing look at those who risked everything so that all Americans could be afforded the opportunity to vote.

Two generations of sisters navigate class race love and family on "Mud Row " an area in the East End of West Chester Pennsylvania. Elsie hopes to move up in the world by marrying into "the talented tenth " while her sister Frances joins the fight for Civil Rights. Decades later estranged sisters Regine and Toshi are forced to reckon with their shared heritage and each other when Regine inherits granny Elsie's house." Morisseau gives exquisite voice to four women occupying the same four walls - and by doing so an entire community sings." - The Philadelphia Inquirer"Morisseau's writing is rich and authentic. Tense heartbreaking and ultimately inspiring Mud Row pulses with the the love Morisseau feels for her characters and the real life people who inspire them." - Talkin' Broadway"A tale so exciting and engrossing." - Broad Street Review

Blue a gifted trumpeter contemplates selling his once-vibrant jazz club in Detroit's Blackbottom neighborhood to shake free the demons of his past and better his life. But where does that leave his devoted Pumpkin who has dreams of her own? And what does it mean for the club's resident bebop band? When a mysterious woman with a walk that drives men mad comes to town with her own plans everyone's world is turned upside down. This dynamic and musically-infused drama shines light on the challenges of building a better future on the foundation of what our predecessors have left us.

Nya, an inner-city public high school teacher, is committed to her students but desperate to give her only son Omari opportunities they'll never have. When a controversial incident at his upstate private school threatens to get him expelled, Nya must confront his rage and her own choices as a parent. But will she be able to reach him before a world beyond her control pulls him away? With profound compassion and lyricism, Pipeline brings an urgent conversation powerfully to the fore. Morisseau pens a deeply moving story of a mother's fight to give her son a future - without turning her back on the community that made him who he is.

"Pipeline confirms Dominique Morisseau's reputation as a playwright of piercing eloquence." --Ben Brantley, New York Times With profound compassion and lyricism, Morisseau brings us a powerful play that delves into the urgent issue of the "school-to-prison" pipeline that ensnares people of color. Issues of class, race, parenting, and education in America are brought to the frontlines, as we are left to question the systematic structures that ultimately trap underserved communities.

"Detroit '67 is Morisseau's aching paean to her natal city. . . . A deft playwright, Morisseau plays expertly with social mores and expectations. She also reframes commonplace things so that we see them in new light." StarTribune on Detroit '67"A deeply moral and deeply American play, with a loving compassion for those trapped in a system that makes sins, spiritual or societal, and self-betrayal almost inevitable." The New York Times on Skeleton CrewThree provocative dramas make up Dominique Morisseau's sweeping examination of the sociopolitical history of Detroit: Detroit '67, which takes place during the race riots of 1967, Paradise Blue, set in a small jazz club in Detroit's Blackbottom neighborhood, and Skeleton Crew, which explores an auto plant on the eve of the 2008 financial collapse. These plays serve to showcase the economic and racial tensions the city has faced throughout the past century, which are often buried by recurrent headlines of poverty and misery that diminish Detroit's vibrant emotional past. With empathetic storytelling and an ear for the voice of her home community, Morisseau brings to light the race and class divides of not only Detroit but the nation as a whole. Dominique Morisseau's plays include Detroit '67, Paradise Blue, Skeleton Crew, Sunset Baby, Follow Me to Nellie's, Third Grade, Black at Michigan, Socks, Roses Are Played Out and Love and Nappiness. Morisseau is a recipient of the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama, two NAACP Image Awards, a commendation from the Primus Prize by the American Theatre Critics Association, and the winner of the 2012 Barrie and Bernice Stavis Playwright Award by National Theatre Conference."

At the start of the Great Recession one of the last auto stamping plants in Detroit is on shaky ground. Each of the workers have to make choices on how to move forward if their plant goes under. Shanita has to decide how she'll support herself and her unborn child Faye has to decide how and where she'll live and Dez has to figure out how to make his ambitious dreams a reality. Power dynamics shift as their manager Reggie is torn between doing right by his work family and by the re

A striking new ensemble drama based on the Jena Six; six Black students who were initially charged with attempted murder for a school fight after being provoked with nooses hanging from a tree on campus. This bold new play by Dominique Morisseau (Sunset Baby Detroit '67

Kenyatta Shakur is alone. His wife has died, and now, this former Black Revolutionary and political prisoner, is desperate to reconnect with his estranged daughter Nina. If Kenyatta truly wants to reconcile his past, he must first conquer his most challenging revolution of all - fatherhood. Sunset Baby is an energized, vibrant and witty look at the point where the personal and political collide. One of the most exciting and distinctive undiscovered voices in America.

Dominique Morisseau a rising star of the playwriting world and recipient of the 2014 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History takes the audience on a journey to 1967 in the city of Detroit. Motown music is getting the party started and Chelle and her brother Lank are making ends meet by turning their basement into an after-hours joint. But when a mysterious woman finds her way into their lives the siblings clash over much more than the family business. As their pent-up

It's 1967 in Detroit. Motown music is getting the party started, and Chelle and her brother Lank are making ends meet by turning their basement into an after-hours joint. But when a mysterious woman finds her way into their lives, the siblings clash over more much more than the family business. As their pent-up feelings erupt, so does their city, and they find themselves caught in the middle of the '67 riots. Detroit '67 is presented in association with Classical Theatre of Harlem and the National Black Theatre. Detroit '67 was awarded the 2014 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History

Kenyatta Shakur is alone. His wife has died, and now, this former Black Revolutionary and political prisoner, is desperate to reconnect with his estranged daughter Nina. If Kenyatta truly wants to reconcile his past, he must first conquer his most challenging revolution of all – fatherhood. Sunset Baby is an energised, vibrant and witty look at the point where the personal and political collide. One of the most exciting and distinctive undiscovered voices in America.