Until the Flood premieres nationwide Sunday, November 15 beginning at 6pm MST.
In partnership with ALL ARTS, the free broadcast and digital platform dedicated to the arts, DCPA Theatre Company, along with seven leading regional theatre companies will present the broadcast premiere of Until the Flood from acclaimed writer and performance artist Dael Orlandersmith. Based on extensive interviews following the 2014 shooting of black teenager Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson, this tour de force one-woman show, directed for the stage and television by Neel Keller, gives voice to a community haunted by injustice and a country yearning for change. Until the Flood premieres nationwide Sunday, November 15 beginning at 6pm MST and will be available for on demand viewing until the Fall of 2023. Until the Flood will be streamed at denvercenter.org/until-the-flood, on the free ALL ARTS app and allarts.org.
On August 9, 2014, Darren Wilson, a white police officer, shot and killed Michael Brown, an African American teenager, in Ferguson, Missouri. The shooting ignited weeks of social unrest, propelled the activist movement known as Black Lives Matter and prompted a controversial investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Traveling to the region a few months after the shooting, Orlandersmith conducted interviews with dozens of people who were grievously shaken by the shooting and its turbulent aftermath. From these intimate conversations, she has created eight unforgettable characters who embody a community struggling to come to terms with the personal damage caused by these complex events. Experienced in performance, these voices offer haunting reminders of America's continuing struggle with racism and justice.
Awarded a Critic's Pick by The New York Times and acclaimed by critics and audiences across the country, Until the Flood powerfully explores the roiling currents of American history, race and politics that exploded in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri and sent shock waves across the nation. Until the Flood is an unmissable drama that the Chicago Tribune raved "achieves a great beauty by bringing us together rather than driving us apart."
The broadcast premiere is sponsored by DCPA Theatre Company in Denver, A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle, Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Portland Center Stage, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in New York and Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.
Written and performed by Dael Orlandersmith, Until the Flood was directed for the stage and television by Neel Keller, with set design by Takeshi Kata, lighting design by Mary Louise Geiger, costume design by Kaye Voyce, sound design by Justin Ellington, and projection design by Nicholas Hussong.
Originally commissioned by Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Until the Flood was filmed in 2018 during the New York engagement at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater.
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