Pepperdine Fine Arts Division Presents POLAR BEARS, BLACK BOYS & PRAIRIE FRINGED ORCHIDS

Pepperdine University's Fine Arts Division will present the play Polar Bears, Black Boys & Prairie Fringed Orchids by playwright Vincent Terrell Durham on Thursday, October 1 and Friday, October 2, 2020 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 3, 2020 at 2 p.m.

Tickets for this performance are free but registration is required. A viewing link will be sent to all registered attendees in advance of the performance. Please visit arts.pepperdine.edu for more information.

There will also be a virtual talkback immediately after the Saturday, October 3 performance featuring the cast and creative team as well as the playwright, Vincent Terrell Durham. A separate viewing link for the talkback will be sent to registrants for all performances.

A liberal white couple host a cocktail party at their renovated Harlem brownstone. The guests include a Black Lives Matter activist, his white partner, a Harlem native named Shemeka, and the mother of a slain 12-year-old black boy. As the precarious party devolves into a tempest of assumptions and accusations, topics range from underweight polar bears, saving the planet, and gentrification, to racial identity and protecting the lives of black boys.

Visiting Professor of Theatre, Acting, and Directing Nic Few directs the cast, which features Sam Brock, Karese Frizell, Jada Henry, Britain Hope, KJ Powell, George Preston, and Indiana Wilson.

"When I chose this show I couldn't have ever expected it to be more relevant than it is today. The world has longed for a brave, inclusive and objective conversation of our history and the effects that our prejudices and privileges have on how we coexist. Vincent Terrell Duram answers this call with this play. A provocative, nuanced, and raw show, it asks our communities to explore our beliefs about each other, investigate our intentions, and face the deep-rooted fears that we share about one another. I believe that healing is possible and what better way than through the arts can we start the process toward healing. It is my prayer that this show not only entertains but educates and invokes thoughtful and empathetic conversations concerning fairness, unity and love for all," Few said.

This play contains profanity; recommended for ages 13+. Free, ticket reservation via arts.pepperdine.edu.