Workshops
• Workshops facilitated by AATAT students create an atmosphere to introduce theater performance and technique from a historical perspective • Students engage in various theater games and improvisations • Students participate in a discussion about higher education, social life, academics, and cultural awareness |
Lectures
• Provide an analytical perspective on plays and playwrights of color. • Educates students on the history of theater with an emphasis on African American playwrights, actors, directors and their presence in communities around the world. • Explores the historic context and humanity of characters, from experiences of anxiety, depression, and trauma to compassion, love, and resilience. |
Summary- A mother’s hopes for her son clash with an educational system rigged against him in PIPELINE, the riveting new play by Dominique Morisseau (Skeleton Crew).
Nya, an inner-city public high school teacher, is committed to her students but desperate to give her only son Omari opportunities they’ll never have. When a controversial incident at his upstate private school threatens to get him expelled, Nya must confront his rage and her own choices as a parent. But will she be able to reach him before a world beyond her control pulls him away? With profound compassion and lyricism, PIPELINE brings an urgent conversation powerfully to the fore. Don’t miss this deeply moving story of a mother’s fight to give her son a future — without turning her back on the community that made him who he is. |
Summary - Set in a West Indian hair salon in Toronto, ’da Kink in My Hair introduces us to a group of women who tell us their unforgettable, moving, and often hilarious stories. Mixing laughter and tears—and told in words, music, and dance—the stories explore the hardship, struggles, and joys of their lives.
About the Play - da Kink in My Hair premiered to a sold-out audience at the Toronto Film Festival in 2001. Since then, the play received four NAACP Theatre awards and was the first play centering Black women to be produced at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. It was named as one of the top ten plays in Canada’s theatrical history. da Kink has been seen in California, in London, and made its New York debut at Tisch School for the Arts at New York University in October 2010. Stick around after the show for a cast talk-back on Saturday, February 19th to learn more about their performance experience and character study through the lens of Black theater and mental health. |
“AATAT had a vision of African American students having their voices, histories, and communities represented....”The story of the African American Theater Arts Troupe (AATAT), is one of heroic struggle. Starting with a small group of students and one staff mentor, AATAT had no funds, office, or access to theater resources. But AATAT had a vision of African American students having their voices, histories, and communities represented. Today, AATAT performs to devoted audiences on the UC Santa Cruz campus, in local communities, and high schools throughout California. The African American Theater Arts Troupe (AATAT) is the only student African American theater troupe in the University of California system of ten campuses. For thirty years, AATAT has produced outstanding performances of playwrights such as Lorraine Hansberry, August Wilson, and Dominique Morisseau. |
“The story of AATAT is one of empowerment through uplifting others....”Equally important is a unique place created by AATAT where African American students of all majors connect with their histories and find their voices. The story of AATAT is one of empowerment through uplifting others. This calling has led each generation of AATAT students to create new forms of theater and service, including mentoring high school students and distributing over $100,000 in scholarships. The public is invited to this special, online celebration. Admission is free and RSVP by February 17th is required. For more information, please email cadrc@ucsc.edu |