Origin
Sign In My Cart
Search
alphabetical author index
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Hooded, Or Being Black for Dummies

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

More information

Description

  • Full Length Play
  • Dark Comedy
  • 105 minutes

  • Time Period: Contemporary
  • Target Audience: Teen (Age 14 - 18), Adult

  • Performance Group:
  • College Theatre / Student, Community Theatre, Blackbox / Second Stage /Fringe Groups, Professional Theatre
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.
REVIEWS:

"[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

Premiere Production: 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.

Characters

  • Casting: 5M, 3F
  • Casting Attributes: Role(s) for Black Actor(s), Roles for Teens

  • THE CHILDREN
    MARQUIS – 14, M, Black
    TRU – 14, M, Black
    HUNTER – 14, M, White
    FIELDER – 14, M, White
    CLEMENTINE – 14, F, White
    PRAIRIE – 14, F, White
    MEADOW – 14, F, White
    NEW BLACK KID – 14, M, Black

  • THE ADULTS
    OFFICER BORZOI – M, Black
    DEBRA – Marquis’ Mother, F, White
    HEADMASTER BURNS – M, White
    APOLLO – M, Black
    DIONYSUS – M, White
    CONCERNED CITIZEN – M, White

  • The play requires a minimum of 8 actors (3 Black Males, 2 White Males, 3 White Females) with the following suggested double casting:
    MARQUIS / NEW BLACK KID TRU
    OFFICER BORZOI / APOLLO
    CLEMENTINE
    MEADOW
    PRAIRIE / DEBRA
    HUNTER / HEADMASTER BURNS
    FIELDER / DIONYSUS / CONCERNED CITIZEN

    • Available Material

    Name Price
    Hooded, Or Being Black for Dummies Script This is optional. Order Now

    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.

    		$24.95

    Related Works