Sleep Deprivation Chamber
by Adam P. and Adrienne Kennedy
The Station Theatre
March 23 – April 8
All performances at 8pm
THE PLAY
In this autobiographical drama, a broken taillight leads to the brutal beating of a highly educated, middle-class black man by a policeman in suburban Virginia. The Kennedys interweave the trial of the victimized son (accused of assaulting the offending officer) with the mother’s poignant letters in his defense and her remembrances of growing up in the 1940s, when her parents were striving “to make Cleveland a better place for Negroes.” They have created a gripping examination of the conflicting realities of the black experience in twentieth-century America. The play was published in 1996. The incident occurred in 1991.
Smile Politely PREVIEW: Allison McKay
News Gazette Review: Tricia Stiller
Director: Latrelle Bright
Scenic Designer: Jaclyn Zimmerman
Costume Designer: Thom Schnarre
Lighting Designer: Brian Hagy
Sound Designer: Rex Bennett
Fight Choreographer: Zev Steinberg
Assistant Fight Choreographer: Maya Prentiss
Fight Captain: Jace Jamison
Assistant Fight Captain: Chris Senepole
Projection Design: Anja Hose
Rehearsal Stage Manager: Carolyn Kodes
Production Stage Manager: Shane Rogers
Assistant Stage Manager: Dustin Yocum
CAST
Suzanne Alexander: Rhonda Henderson
Teddy Alexander: Preston Roseborough
March Alexander: Cedric Jones
David Alexander: Prince F. Robertson
Mr. Edelstein: Thom Schnarre
Ms. Wagner: Kimberly Schofield
Officer Holzer: Dave Krostal
Ensemble: Jess Schlipf, Jace Jamison, Chris Senepole, Estella Samii ad Meaguell Gaines