The Ensemble Theatre Brings National Conversation To Stage In PIPELINE By Dominque Morisseau

The Ensemble Theatre's performance of Pipeline by Dominque Morisseau and directed by Rachel Hemphill Dickson elevates awareness of the national conversation about the educational system and the school-to-prison pipeline.

"We want to join Dominique Morisseau in sparking the conversation about the state of our educational system, the importance of the whole child being considered and the incongruities of our penal system," says Hemphill Dickson. "The pain every one of the characters in Pipeline feels, begs the question: what is really the source of this school-to-prison path?"

According to Texas Appleseed, a nonprofit justice center, zero tolerance disciplinary policies, increased reliance on law enforcement and courts to address student misbehavior, and hostile school climates all contribute to a school-to-prison pipeline in Texas.

Pipeline tells the story of Nya, an inner-city public high school teacher, who 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?

Featured Cast members include: Teacake Ferguson (NYA); Tanner Ellis and Isaiah Holloway (OMARI); Brianna Odo-Boms (JASMINE); Curtis Von (XAVIER); Dealdon R. Watson (DUN); Marcy Bannor (LAURIE).

The Ensemble Theatre's 2018-2019 Season is sponsored in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. United Airlines is the official airline sponsor for The Ensemble Theatre.

The Ensemble Theatre was founded in 1976 by the late George Hawkins to preserve African American artistic expression and to enlighten, entertain, and enrich a diverse community. Forty-two years later, the theatre has evolved from a touring company operating from the trunk of Mr. Hawkins' car to being one of Houston's finest historical cultural institutions.

The Ensemble is one of a few professional theatres in the region dedicated to the production of works portraying the African American experience. The oldest and largest professional African American theatre in the Southwest, it holds the distinction of being one of the nation's largest African American theatres owning and operating its facility and producing in-house. Late Board President Emerita Audrey Lawson led the capital campaign for The Ensemble's $4.5 million building renovations that concluded in 1997. The Ensemble Theatre has fulfilled and surpassed the vision of its founder and continues to expand and create innovative programs to bring African American theatre to a myriad of audiences.