Dallas Children's Theater Presents NOTHING RHYMES WITH JUNETEENTH

On the heels of the successful WATER GUN SONG, Dallas Children's Theater (DCT) continues its commitment to using the power of theater to spark important conversation about race with the second in a series of plays by award-winning playwright, poet, and changemaker Idris Goodwin. NOTHING RHYMES WITH JUNETEENTH will be available completely free of charge at dct.org/socialjustice/digital/ starting this Friday, October 16th.

NOTHING RHYMES WITH JUNETEENTH (recommended for ages 9 and up) finds a parent and child trying to complete a rap for a school presentation. It will be directed by the experienced singer, producer, composer, music director, and songwriter Cherish Robinson, and star young actress Alexis Muturi, alongside Booker T. alum, and grammy-nominated songwriter Geno Young. Alexis Muturi states of this incredible team: "I'm so excited to be doing a show with my mentor (Ms. Cherish), but also with my mentor's mentor (Mr. Geno), which is totally unreal!"

Alexis continues, "I'm so thrilled to be able to showcase one of the most important yet overlooked holidays in American history, Juneteenth. I'm so ecstatic that I get to educate others about Juneteenth through this amazing show!"

As with the previous Social Justice play, two talkbacks will be available on, one on October 17th, and one on October 23rd. All are welcome to sign up here. During the Saturday sessions, parents and children will be separated during a portion of the gathering. Both groups will be asked the same questions. When the whole group reconvenes, they will compare answers. Lee feels that allowing children to speak freely in their own room gives parents a glimpse at more honest responses from their children. Two separate devices (iPhone, iPad, laptop, desktop), one for the children in the household to share, and one for the parent is highly recommended for the Saturday session. For those that would prefer to participate entirely as a family unit, they are encouraged to sign up for the Friday session. All are asked to have a dark marker and several pieces of paper to write on for the more participatory exercises.

Dallas Children's Theater reached out to local actress Denise Lee to produce this series and lead the talkbacks. While Lee has previously acted in shows at DCT, it was her creation of the movement, Change the Perception, after the 2016 Dallas police shootings that made her an ideal choice for this project. Lee says, "As the founder of Change the Perception, I am very honored to identify the talented directors to present these plays and just as importantly, I am excited to be conducting the talkbacks for this very special project along with Change the Perception Board Vice-President, Thomas Collier. Conversations about racism are very difficult, but so very necessary to have in today's climate. We hope that parents and their children will use these experiences to begin a dialogue about racism that fosters a belief system that they will be able to build on well after the talkbacks are over."

The third and final show #MATTER (recommended for ages 14 and up) features two former high school friends debating matters of life and race and will be directed by Feleceia Benton. It will be available for viewing on November 6.

Details

Dallas Children's Theater

Presents

Idris Goodwin's
Social Justice Play Series

NOTHING RHYMES WITH JUNETEENTH

Written by Idris Goodwin

Directed by Cherish Robinson

THE CAST

Alexis Muturi .... Pete

Geno Young... Jean

Denise Lee.... Project Producer and Lead Talkback Facilitator

Robyn Flatt, Artie Olaisen, Nancy Schaeffer.... DCT Project Artistic Producers

Janel Villatoro.... DCT Production Manager and Show Stage Manager

Josh Smith.... Technical Director, Editor

Lyle Huchton.... Costume Shop Supervisor

Brian Christensen.... Sound Engineer, Editor

Cherish Robinson.... Original Theme Music

Thomas Collier.... Talkback Facilitator

This project is made possible in Dallas thanks to

The Melinda and Jim Johnson Family

Additional funding also provided by Deborah and Craig Sutton

About Idris Goodwin

Across two decades Idris Goodwin has forged a multi-faceted career as an award-winning playwright, Break Beat poet, director, educator, and organizer. Idris is the newly appointed Director of The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College. A catalyst for culture, Goodwin uses his full creative powers to galvanize people to the community square. He is a creative voice for change, impassioned by art for social good. His critically acclaimed plays like And In This Corner: Cassius Clay, How We Got On, and Hype Man: A Break Beat Play are widely produced across the country at professional theatres, college campuses, and non-traditional spaces alike. He's been honored to receive developmental support from institutions like The Kennedy Center, The Eugene O'Neill Conference, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Arena Stage, and The Playwrights' Center. In addition to the recently released poetry collection Can I Kick It?, he's had several publications from Haymarket Books including Inauguration co-written with Nico Wilkinson, Human Highlight: Ode To Dominique Wilkins co-written with Kevin Coval, and the play This Is Modern Art also co-written with Kevin Coval. He's appeared on HBO Def Poetry, Sesame Street, NPR, BBC Radio, and the Discovery Channel. Passionate about cultivating new audiences in the arts, Goodwin served two seasons as Producing Artistic Director at StageOne Family Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky. He actively serves on both the advisory boards of Theatre for Young Audiences USA and Children's Theatre Foundation Association.

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