半岛体育

And that鈥檚 exactly playwright Dominique Morisseau鈥檚 intention with her latest work, Pipeline, currently playing Off-Broadway through August 27. While the poem by Gwendolyn Brooks was not the inspiration for her play, its recitation and repetition anchors her script about one young black man in the reality of so many. Her story follows Omari, a black student at a predominantly white prep school, and his single mother who teaches at the district public school. When Omari attacks his teacher, Nya鈥檚 fears for her son push her to the edge and force audiences to question who is truly at fault.

Driven to write a play about race in education, 鈥淲e Real Cool鈥� entered Morisseau鈥檚 writing organically. Still, it鈥檚 Smallwood鈥檚 reading as Omari that gives it the staying power to affect her audience into action.

鈥淚鈥檓 a pole of the urgent question around us,鈥� says Morisseau who pushes the audience to confront the school-to-prison pipeline, the expectations of young black men, 鈥測oung black male rage and how that has been dehumanizing,鈥� and the self-fulfilling prophecy reflected in the poem.

鈥淭hat poem serves as the polar opposite to who Omari is, [but it鈥檚] who he can become if he鈥檚 not careful,鈥� Smallwood says of his character, and adds, 鈥淗ad I not had the upbringing I had, I could have been one of these young men.鈥�

鈥淥mari saying that poem in the way that he鈥檚 saying it is like Nya鈥檚 worst fears for her son,鈥� says Smallwood. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also any black woman who has a son, who has a grandson, who has a nephew, who has a boyfriend, who has a husband鈥攖hat鈥檚 their worst fear.鈥�

It鈥檚 Morisseau鈥檚 fear, too. Inspired by Mike Brown and the many black men and boys killed by police in recent years, Morisseau uses her play to explore the total humanity of these people. 鈥淲e really don鈥檛 see him as a boy, but he was 17,鈥� says Morisseau of Brown. 鈥淲hen were talking about Omari鈥檚 character and casting it 鈥� [I said] 鈥業 don鈥檛 want him to look like a little boy up there because that鈥檚 not going to help us. He needs to look like what everybody is afraid of.鈥欌��

In examining Omari as a whole person, that includes his rage. 鈥淲e think about rage as being criminal,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 such a thing as righteous rage. I think that we never talk about rage that is earned and deserves to be expressed.鈥�

Morisseau crafts a compelling portrayal of Omari鈥檚 frustration and Nya鈥檚 anxiety and suggests ways to escape the cycle of the system. She wants to start 鈥渆ngaging young people in their own salvation,鈥� she says. A teacher, Morisseau speaks from experience, 鈥淲hen I鈥檝e asked students and young people, 鈥榃hat can we do for you?鈥� [and] I鈥檓 truly invested in the answer to that question, they are, too.鈥�

And she plants this kernel in an interaction between Nya and Omari. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a moment of pain and desperation in the story when Nya begs for instructions [from her son about how to help him], but there is another moment of liberation when he comes back and gives her instructions.鈥�

While Pipeline doesn鈥檛 provide instructions for audiences to solve the 鈥渉ave and have-not鈥� ecosystem of American education, Morisseau hopes her suggestions begin a conversation in her audience of educators, non-educators, and youth while she has them in the same room. Or at the very least, when Omari struggles for air during one recitation of the poem鈥斺�淲e Die [gasp] Die [gasp] Die鈥濃�攕he hopes there is an understanding of the life-and-death stakes of his situation鈥攐ur situation.

鈥淚 will tell anybody that Dominique, the way her writing is, all you have to do is show up and tell the truth because she does the work for you,鈥� says Smallwood.

Yet Morisseau credits Smallwood with the impact of her words. 鈥淵ou find an actor like him once in a blue moon,鈥� she says. 鈥淔rom the first time I ever worked on [the play] with Namir, that was part of our conversation around how to do that [poem].鈥�

With the way the poem lingers with audiences, Morisseau and Smallwood may have created a starting point to change our ending.