'VICTIM OR VILLAIN' Talk Back to Address Racism After RASHEEDA SPEAKING at Theatre Memphis

A "talk back" will be held Thursday, April 20, 2017, around 9:15pm after the performance of Rasheeda Speaking, a shocking dark comedy running at Theatre Memphis in the Next Stage through April 23, 2017.

The tense workplace thriller examines the realities of office politics when two female co-workers, one black, one white, are driven apart by the implications and leading suggestions of their boss. Contention, bigotry and gross generalizations are prevalent in this show that displays racial paranoia that keeps you in its claustrophobic grips right up to the unexpected ending. The talk back session, "Victim or Villain? How Racism Drives the Conversation" will be monitored by local attorney Linda Harris and will include the cast members and director of the show.

Director Jerry Chipman talks about the show in terms of how it relates to today's social environment. "The play's characters display moments of hypocrisy that blow the lid off the self-congratulating idea that we live in a 'post-racial' America," Chipman explains. He continues, "There's an element of the characters shifting and interchanging the roles of victim and villain that unfortunately fairly reflect our current society. Manipulation becomes the order of the day." The cast includes leads Jessica "Jai" Johnson and Anne Marie Caskey as the two co-workers embattled in a stereotype, thinly veiled, racially driven situation fueled by Brian Everson as the doctor/employer and Dusty Walsh as the elderly, racist patient.

"Shows like Rasheeda Speaking are a perfect fit for our Next Stage," states Theatre Memphis Executive Producer Debbie Litch. A small cast is not necessarily to what Litch is referring. "Being a smaller venue in the Next Stage, we are able to take risks with newer scripts and really meaningful content," she says. "It is part of what we feel is our duty as a community theatre ... creating a dialogue regarding the issues in the community in creative ways. This talk back is just one more way to engage the community in a relevant conversation through the arts."

IF YOU GO:

Rasheeda Speaking

ADAPTED BY: Joel Drake Johnson

DIRECTOR: Jerry Chipman

VENUE AND ADDRESS: Theatre Memphis in the Next Stage, 630 Perkins Ext, Memphis, TN, 38117

RUN DATES: April 7 - 23, 2017

TIMES OF SHOWS: Thursdays @ 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays @ 8pm with matinees @ 2pm on Sundays

TICKETS: $25 adults, $15 student; $20 Military and 62 and older

BOX OFFICE: 901.682.8323

WEB: www.theatrememphis.org

Theatre Memphis is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization located at 630 Perkins Extended (corner of Perkins Extended and Southern) and is a community theatre whose mission is to provide outstanding theatrical experiences to enrich the lives of our audiences and participants.

Pictured: Co-workers trying to resolve a situation are portrayed by Anne Marie Caskey (seated) and Jessica "Jai" Johnson in the dark comedy Rasheeda Speaking in the Next Stage at Theatre Memphis, April 7 - 23, 2017.