First Floor Theater is pleased to launch its seventh season with the Chicago premiere of Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm's wild, social commentary HOODED, OR BEING BLACK FOR DUMMIES, directed by Mikael Burke, playing October 20 - November 17, 2018 at FFT's resident home, The Den Theatre (2B), 1331 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at firstfloortheater.com. The press opening is Wednesday, October 24 at 7:30 pm.
HOODED, OR BEING BLACK FOR DUMMIES will feature Company Member Andrew Cutler with Jalen Gilbert, Caroline Hendricks, Jayson Lee, Lauren Pizzi Montgomery, Casey Morris, Brian Nelson Jr. and Maggie Scrantom.
Marquis and Tru are both fourteen year old black boys, but they exist in two totally different worlds. Marquis is a book smart prep-schooler living in the affluent suburb of Achievement Heights; while Tru is a street savvy kid from deep within the inner city of Baltimore. Their worlds overlap one day in a holding cell. Tru decides that Marquis has lost his "blackness" and pens a how-to manual entitled "Being Black for Dummies." He assumes the role of professor, but Marquis proves to be a reluctant pupil. They butt heads, debate, wrestle and ultimately prove that Nietzsche and 2pac were basically saying the same thing.
The production team for HOODED, OR BEING BLACK FOR DUMMIES includes Sotirios Livaditis (scenic design), Olivia Engobor (costume design), Eric Watkins (lighting design), Grover Holloway (sound design), Jennifer Wenau (properties design), Sid Branca (video and projections design) and Kayla Menz (stage manager).
Photo Credit: Sam Doyle Photography
Jayson Lee and Jalen Gilbert
Jayson Lee and Jalen Gilbert
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