Kiara Bynum

On Thursday April 27th, Penn State Abington held a staged reading of In the Blood, written by Suzan-Lori Parks. The performance was directed by Assistant Professor of Theater and Performance Studies Jack Issac Pryor, Ph.D. 

The staged reading of the Black feminist theatrical riff focused on the concept of here and now. The drama is centered around a woman who goes by the name of Hester (played by Clara Lorraine Cobbs, Bethel Abe, Wen Gu, Madison Branch, Ezra Fahmy, and Juanita Sierra Woodson ) who is raising her children as a single parent while also being homeless. This play focuses on her trying to get a “one leg up” while facing challenging obstacles in her life.

The other characters in the story are archetypes that happen to be played by the same actors, who also played the children. These characters were Doctor, Welfare lady, Reverend, Amiga Gringa, and Hesters childhood love Chili. The characters were placed to show the violence and trouble she endured all while trying to help herself get “one leg up.” Suzan-Lori parks made this story to represent “real life” and a world of Illusion.

What I loved about the play the most was the suspense that it left the audience. Using “rest” and “spells,” moments meant to be suspended action created anticipation. It left the audience with the takeaway of knowing that for Hester, who was in a place of hardship and thinking that she could count on others who are supposed to help, is in fact cheated and taken advantage of. Many of the characters treated her as if she weren’t a person, using and abusing her and leaving a heavy weight on her shoulders. With no one else to turn to, she is led her to make a terrible mistake. The audience was shocked because throughout the story, they expected more of her, and though she tried her best to make a difference, unfortunately the pressure caused her to snap.

Due to this story being so dark and chilling I asked the students who read  what the most difficult thing about bringing the staged reading to life was. They all agreed that, at first, the staged reading was something that they all considered not doing, as they thought it might be too controversial a piece. As they read on, they began to like it and found that implementing some of their own personalities and practicing changing their tones of voice and putting themselves in the places of the characters helped them make the story come alive.