Test Flight Week #2: Showin’ Up Black
Written by Jeanne Madison*, 2021/2022 Nord Family Foundation Playwright Fellow.
Directed by Michael Oatman
January 26, 2023 - January 28, 2023
7:30pm, Thurs/Fri/Sat, James Levin Theatre.
EVERY TICKET is “Choose What You Pay” and will be offered online, over the phone, and at the Box Office.
On the eve of their daughter’s cotillion, the Hopegoodes, an affluent African American family, see their plans for the perfect debutante ball collide with a Black Lives Matter protest. And that’s not all that collides―their secrets and competing desires get shaken loose by the nearness of the protest, and tear at the fabric of this family, challenging what, exactly, it is to be Black. The stakes are high when the Hopegoodes come face-to-face with a reality they thought they had escaped by living in their gated community. With sharp, and witty dialog, this story will captivate from the first line to the surprise ending.
Content Warning: Contains depiction of gun violence.
Click here for COVID-19 Safety Protocols. (New! Thursday Covid-Conscious performances)
The James Levin Theatre is ADA-compliant featuring a patron elevator and an all-gender, wheelchair accessible restroom.
Ensemble Members:
Darelle Hill, Brooke Myers, Diane Scott, CorLesia Smith, Darryl Tatum
Click here to see a behind the scenes video!
About the Playwright
Jeanne Madison is the 2021/2022 Nord Family Foundation Playwright Fellow at Cleveland Public Theater (CPT), is a member of the Dramatist Guild. Her plays have been performed at CPT, and the Ensemble Theatre, where she is a member of Stagewrights. Jeanne is a recipient of the Cleveland Scene Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Comedy for Sassy Mamas at Karamu House. Favorite roles include the PBS broadcast of Greenwood, An American Dream Destroyed, The Velocity of Autumn at Karamu House; Picnic at Oberlin Theater, Left In Ink at Cleveland Public Theatre, and the award-winning Cleveland Shakespeare Festival.
Her on-camera work includes numerous TV commercials and films, including White Noise produced by Netflix. Jeanne’s education includes a BA and MBA from Case Western Reserve University and Master Classes at Cleveland Play House. She will teach a Master Class at Oberlin College in Spring ’23.
About Test Flight
Test Flight is a multi-week series that showcases new work on its way to full production. Test Flight provides both local and national artists with the keys to the theatre and the opportunity to co-produce original works-in-progress. The series encourages risk-taking and an entrepreneurial spirit towards creating new work while offering artists a structured support system. New Play Development.
