PCS & ART's Co-production Of THE RIPPLE, THE WAVE THAT CARRIED ME HOME Opens Next Month
The production begins preview performances on October 8, opens on October 14, and runs through October 30, on the U.S. Bank Main Stage.
Portland Center Stage (PCS) and Artists Repertory Theatre (ART) will join forces on their third co-production, with the ripple, the wave that carried me home by PCS-commissioned playwright and recent Tony Award-nominee Christina Anderson. the ripple, the wave that carried me home begins preview performances on October 8, opens on October 14, and runs through October 30, on the U.S. Bank Main Stage.
Director Daniel J. Bryant makes his PCS and ART debut with this production. Multidisciplinary artist Lauren "Lo" Steele, who is currently performing at PCS as Susan in tick, tick ... BOOM!, returns to play Janice, the daughter coming to terms with her legacy. Making his PCS/ART debut is Gabriel D. Lawrence as Edwin, Janice's father, joined by Andrea White as Janice's mother Helen and Chavez Ravine as Janice's aunt Gayle.
"Black people's relationship to water is complicated," says Director Daniel J. Bryant. "In the ripple, the wave that carries me home, Janice is coming to terms with her legacy to water, her political inheritance, and the trauma of growing up as a child of civil rights activists, during a questionable, post-slavery era - when this country denied Black and Brown folx access to the essential element of water in public spaces. This poignant story offers a powerful return to the water, taking us on an incredibly personal journey of finding strength, freedom, and joy through forgiveness."
the ripple, the wave that carried me home centers around a family's lifelong work to integrate swimming pools in the fictional city of Beacon, Kansas. The play is making its world premiere this week at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, in a co-production with Goodman Theatre. Audiences in Portland will experience the second full production of the work, in a co-production between Portland's largest and oldest theater companies: Portland Center Stage and Artists Repertory Theatre, respectively. Both companies enjoy major milestones this year - with ART celebrating its 40th Anniversary and PCS its 35th Anniversary.
When Janice is pressed to return to her hometown and speak at a ceremony honoring her father, she has to reconcile with the childhood she's tried to distance herself from and forget - one defined by her parents' political activism and fight for the integration of their local swimming pools. Drawing on history that spans from 1930s segregation to the Rodney King trial and beyond, this deeply moving story explores the joys and challenges of forgiveness, justice, and the weight of one's family legacy.
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