Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s African Community Theatre will host a production of Or Does It Explode?, an original piece written by former Â鶹ÊÓƵ student John Dayo-Alyia along with John Smith. Directed by Dayo-Alyia, Or Does it Explode? opens October 23, 2014 at 8 p.m. in the African Community Theatre, Room 230, Ritchie Hall, located at 225 Terrace Drive on Kent Campus.
This original production provides poetic, thought-provoking, and frequently confrontational language in its journey though the psychic and social conditions and contradictions of the contemporary Black urban male experience. This show includes dramatic vignettes utilizing music, poetry, and traditional theatrical forms. The play relays stories gathered from men, ages 16-35, in Akron, Ohio. The stories were turned into a play by co-writers John Dayo Aliya and John Smith. According to Marifrances Conrad who attended the premiere at Baltz Street in Akron last week, "tonight Dianne Lenihan and I were privileged to see this INCREDIBLE show, and I don't use the word INCREDIBLE lightly. This play opened my eyes to a lot of things that I had not thought about before. This play is as good or better than anything you're going to see in NYC, and it's going on right here in Akron."
. . . Or Does It Explode? is a collaboration between Ma’ Sue Productions, Center for Applied Theatre and Active Culture (C.A.T.A.C.), and Â鶹ÊÓƵ Department of Pan-African Studies. The play dates are as follows:
- October 23, 2014 at 8 p.m.
- October 24, 2014 at 8 p.m.
- October 25, 2014 at 8 p.m.
Due to strong language, this play is not recommended for sensitive Audiences.
Media contact: Amoaba Gooden, Ph.D. Â鶹ÊÓƵ, agooden@kent.edu, 330-672-2300
Thurayya UmBayemake, Ma’Sue Productions, 216-849-3794.