The Sum Of Us Banned Books Festival Returns to Bishop Arts Theatre Center, Featuring Author Heather McGhee

Bishop Arts Theatre Center (BATC) has announced that New York Times bestselling author Heather McGhee will be traveling to Dallas to attend BATC's banned books festival inspired by her book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone And How We Can Prosper Together. Production dates are February 29- March 17, 2024 at the Bishop Arts Theatre Center. 

The Sum Of Us One-Act Festival is a collection of short plays penned by six playwrights inspired by McGhee's award-winning book. The production will include audience talkbacks led by several of Dallas's most prominent community leaders including Quodesia Johnson and Jerry Hawkins, Executive Director of Dallas Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation. McGhee will attend the March 15th performance as well as both matinee and evening performances on March 16th.The author will also participate in a post-show conversation and book signing.

Last season, BATC commissioned nine playwrights for the Banned Books Festival to write short plays inspired by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones' 1619 Project in a much-acclaimed production. 

The Sum Of Us One-Act Festival continues our third annual festival and will feature one act plays by Shyama Nithianada, Alex Lead, Olivia de Guzman, Roger Calderon, Kathleen Culebro, and Rickey Wax. The production will be directed by Becki McDonald.

McGhee designs and promotes solutions to inequality in America. Her first book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone And How We Can Prosper Together spent 10 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was long-listed for the National Book Award and Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, among numerous other awards. In the summer of 2022, The Sum of Us was adapted into a Spotify podcast by Higher Ground, the production company of Barack and Michelle Obama. The Sum of Us will be adapted into a young adult readers' version by Random House Children's in February 2023. McGhee's 2020 TED talk, “Racism Has a Cost for Everyone,” reached 1 million views online in just two months.

Ticketing Information

The Sum of Us One-Act Festival runs February 29 – March 17, 2024, for three consecutive weekends at the Bishop Arts Theatre Center at 215 S Tyler Street, Dallas, TX 75208. Tickets for The Sum of Us One-Act Festival can be purchased online at the button below or by calling the box office at 214.948.0716 Monday through Friday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Prices range from $18 - $55 and all seats are general admission. Discounts are available for seniors, students, and groups of 15 or more. 

This production will be sponsored and supported by Dallas Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (DTRHT). DTRHT is one of 14 major American cities focused on a comprehensive, national, and community-based process to plan for and bring about transformational and sustainable change and to address the historic and contemporary effects of racism. 

About Bishop Arts Theatre Center (BATC)

The Bishop Arts Theatre Center is an award-winning, multidisciplinary arts organization in the heart of Dallas' Oak Cliff community. Founded in 1993, the organization's mission is to cultivate a diverse and vibrant arts community committed to social impact while creating opportunities for local and emerging artists to develop new, contemporary, and lasting works that celebrate the diversity and resilience of our community. The theatre will celebrate its 30th anniversary season beginning October 2023. BATC offers an entire season of in person and virtual theatre performances, jazz concerts, a speaker series, and year-round arts education programs. Each year, the theatre impacts nearly 35,000 people nationwide.

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