UrbanArias Premieres Filmed Opera DRIVING WHILE BLACK

UrbanArias has announced the premiere of driving While Black, a filmed version of Susan Kander and Roberta Gumbel's opera about the tales, traumas, and triumphs of Black motherhood.

Premiering online on April 23, the film will be available to stream at UrbanArias.org for $15 allowing viewers unlimited access through Fall 2021.

driving While Black is a solo chamber opera that examines the joys and trials facing Black parents as their children come of age in a society plagued by racism and inequality. In the central narrative, we meet the Mother leaving the hospital after the birth of her baby boy with him safely secured in his carseat. The dangerous world outside their car, however, is out of the Mother's control and anxiety builds in her mind and heart as her "beautiful brown boy" approaches manhood and his own much-desired independence.

This adaptation by filmmakers Du'Bois and Camry A'Keen will incorporate elements of modern dance, music video production, and intimate storytelling to bring the audience into the mind of the Mother.