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Hooded, Or Being Black for Dummies

Full-Length Play, Dark Comedy  /  3w, 5m

Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm

Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm's "bracingly timely" comedy-drama explores racial identity, privilege and pop culture with insight, passion and biting humor.

Hooded, Or Being Black for Dummies

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    3w, 5m
  • Duration
    Duration
    105 Minutes
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14-18)

Details

Summary
Marquis and Tru are both fourteen-year-old black boys, but they exist in two totally different worlds. Marquis is a booksmart prep-schooler living in the affluent suburb of Achievement Heights, while Tru is a street-savvy kid from deep within the inner city of Baltimore. Their worlds overlap one day in a holding cell. Tru decides that Marquis has lost his “blackness” and pens a how-to manual entitled “Being Black for Dummies.” He assumes the role of professor, but Marquis proves to be a reluctant pupil. They butt heads, debate, wrestle and ultimately prove that Nietzsche and 2pac were basically saying the same thing.
History
Hooded: Or Being Black for Dummies made its world premiere in a Mosaic Theatre Company production at Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC on January 25, 2017.
Keywords
Performing Groups
  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Additional Features No Intermission
  • Duration 105 Minutes

Media

“[A] breathtakingly on-point new comedy… bracingly timely.” – Washington Post

“‘Brilliant’ is barely adequate to describe Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies, which blurs the line between comedy and drama with the infinite precision, speed, and flash of a polished penny spinning on end. It’s funny, poignant, and remarkable in the way it marries pop culture, culture, and art to elevate a conversation to a place it should have reached long ago.” – DC Theatre Scene

“Undeniably compelling… unravels layers upon layers of intersectionality between race, age and identity, bouncing from comedy to tragedy.” – MD Theatre Guide

“The bracingly timely show… frequently bursts with the kind of laughs that have a ‘wow’ underneath as the characters stride onto dangerous turf. Chisholm has written the kind of idea-rich play that makes you want to hear lots of reactions afterward.” – Washington Post

“A constant fluctuation of subtle comedy, clarity, political commentary, tragedy, and biting wit... Hooded, Or Being Black for Dummies is a comedy for sure, but it is also an awakening… The show deserves every accolade it has earned.” – DC Metro Theater Arts

“Hilarious, sobering and most of all, uncomfortable… Chisholm skillfully weaves together a host of stereotypes and misunderstandings in a way that’s laugh-out-loud funny but also deeply tragic.” – Chicago Theater Beat

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £55 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm

Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm

Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm most recently presented his play Black Dick at the 2019 O’Neill National Playwrights Conference and premiered P.Y.G. at Studio Theater as both playwright and director; the play has previously been developed at the Magic Theater’s Virgin Play Festiva ...

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