Cal State University East Bay
Department of Theatre and Dance
in association with Theatre Rhinoceros
presents
BLOOD AT THE ROOT
by Dominique Morisseau
Directed by Darryl V. Jones
Streamed Performance Dates: November 6th at 7:30 pm
On-Demand Streaming November 7th until November 15th
Performance Location: Online Streaming of Recorded Zoom Movie
Check out our Blood at the Root Study Guide for more information about the play and the playwright.
BLOOD AT THE ROOT. A striking new ensemble drama based on the Jena Six; six Black students who were initially charged with attempted murder for a school fight after being provoked with nooses hanging from a tree on campus. This bold new play by Dominique Morisseau (Ain't Too Proud, Sunset Baby, Detroit '67, Skeleton Crew) examines the miscarriage of justice, racial double standards, and the crises in relations between men and women of all classes.
Moving, lyrical, and bold, Blood at the Root probes the complexities of race, individual freedoms, and what justice means when biases have been normalized. When the central character, a black female student named Raylynn, decides it's time for a change in her high school, she sits under a tree around which only white students regularly gather. In response—as was the case in Jena—nooses are subsequently hung from that tree, causing many black students to erupt in protest. Things come to a head when six black students, including Raylynn's brother, attack a white student and are brought up on trumped-up charges.
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