Mixed Blood Theatre's 55454 SERIES Continues with AFRICAN AMERICA

The 55454 SERIES, Africans and Muslims in America, continues with AFRICAN AMERICA, written by Mixed Blood favorite Warren C. Bowles. In this 45 minute family show, a young professional African American woman, proud of her Afrocentric identity, is educated by a Pan-African interloper who helps her explore the complexity of the continent's disparate languages, cultures, races, and politics. This new friend introduces her to daily influences from South Africa, Somalia, Ethiopia, Libya, and Liberia. Debunking myths of a monolithic African culture, it includes Kikuyu morality tales, stories of indigenous clans and their marked differences, self-determination and sovereignty, and proud aftermaths of post-colonial independence. It is laced with surprises, education, and attitude. Ghanaian Ansa Akyea makes his directorial debut, leading a cast of Equity actors Aaliyah Habeeb, Hope Cervantes, and Sasha Andreev.

Artistic Director Jack Reuler: "On the block on which Mixed Blood has resided since its inception live 4000 people from 62 countries, speaking 93 languages and dialects. Many are African and Muslim. To avoid becoming an island in a neighborhood that it has long anchored, Mixed Blood's programming, staff, facility, and services have morphed. The 55454 Series in general aspires to more deeply connect Mixed Blood to its neighbors, and AFRICAN AMERICA - at home and on tour - tries more specifically to connect Africa and African Minnesotans to all Minnesotans."

Playwright Warren C. Bowles: "As our country, our state, our Twin Cities become more diverse and more African, and as African nations become a more potent political and economic force in the world, it is incumbent that we all become more informed about the continent of Africa and the diversity within that continent. So my intent in writing this play was to start understanding the vastness of the continent of Africa. It was also important to me that the young people taking the journey of exploration in the play be both white and black. We, no matter what our race, are all going to be living in this increasingly diverse society and, since Africa is the Cradle of Humankind, we all have a connection to her."

Director Ansa Akyea: "Minnesota has become a new home to so many African immigrants from every country within the continent. I believe African America is an example of the conversation about a growing and changing America, an America that continues to stand for opportunity, discovery, renewal, and growth building on the richness of the African communities now living in Minnesota, making it truly African America. It is important for people to experience this play, so they can learn how Africans continue to make Minnesota a uniquely vibrant and dynamic state."

The 55454 SERIES is a curated series of four plays about, for, and with Africans and Muslims in America. Each production runs one weekend only. The series also includes comic love story PILGRIMS MUSA AND SHERI IN THE NEW WORLD by Yussef el Guindi, running January 17-19, 2015, HIJAB TUBE by Seema Sueko, a play about Islam in America through the lens of a young American Muslim woman deciding whether or not to wear hijab running April 25-27, 2015, and YOUNG NEGRESS STEPPING OUT OF THE RIVER AT DAWN by Dean Poynor, running May 16-18, a world premiere about Rwandans living in America, struggling to survive the violent atrocities of their past, while planning a marriage and life in a new world.

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