The SUNY New Paltz Department of Theatre Arts will present “Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies,” a comedic drama by playwright Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm that explores racial identity, privilege and pop culture, as the next installment of the 2023-24 Mainstage Production series.
Performances will be given from Nov. 17-19 and Nov. 30 – Dec. 3 at Parker Theatre. The production is directed by Lester Mayers ’19 (Theatre Arts), a New Paltz alumnus, dramaturg, published writer, performance artist, choreographer and educator.
Tickets for “Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies” are available now at this link.
Please note: This play engages topics that may be uncomfortable for some audiences, including issues related to race and racism. It contains graphic language, including racial slurs.
About “Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies”
The play revolves around Marquis and Tru, 14-year-old Black boys from two totally different worlds: Marquis is a book smart 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 stories intersect one day when they meet in a holding cell.
Note from Director Lester Mayers: “‘Hooded, or Being Black for Dummies’ is a dark comedy materialized with the power of long-traditional effects of racism and the fears, pain, confusion, and wasteful global loathing it leaves behind. Centering the duality of identity through the gaze of a 14-year-old Black teenager named Marquis, “Hooded” explores the cycles of racism, gun violence, and the murder of unarmed Black Americans, particularly those in the middle passage of their adolescence, beginning with Trayvon Martin; this masterpiece reminds us, one is too many, and it takes a village to save a village but most importantly, justice is still due! You will laugh, you will cry, you may be angered and confused, but you will go through. We have crafted a show that cares for everyone who opens their hearts to witness it. This community of cast, crew, and production team are mountains of paramount talent loving this necessary story to understanding.”
“Hooded, Or Being Black for Dummies” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. Originally produced by Mosaic Theater Company of DC, Ari Roth, Artistic Director; Serge Seiden, Managing Director; Jennifer Nelson, Resident Director.
About the Director
Lester Eugene Mayers is a Brooklyn native, SUNY New Paltz Department of Theatre Arts alum, and MFA graduate of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics. As a storyteller, he goes where the story is: director, published writer, performance artist, dramaturg, choreographer, and professor. In spring 2023, Mayers published “Swallow from Both Ends; An Experience Not Written from A Distance,” a sex choreopoem that received endorsement from the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.
