Pipeline
Feb 1Mar 3, 2019
By Dominique Morisseau

Summary

Nya, an inner-city public high school teacher, is committed to her students but desperate to give her only son, Omari, opportunities her students will never have. When a controversial incident at his 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 poetry, Dominique Morisseau’s (Skeleton Crew, Detroit ’67, and the Broadway-bound Ain’t Too Proud) Pipeline brings to light a powerful and important conversation about parenthood, the state of our public school system, and the prison pipeline that claims so many of our inner city youth.

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Artists

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Dominique Morisseau, Playwright

Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Director

Cast

Tyla Abercrumbie, Nya
Janet Ulrich Brooks, Laurie
Ronald L. Conner, Dun
Matthew Elam, Omari
Aurora Real de Asua, Jasmine
Mark Spates Smith, Xavier

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Production Team

Andrew Boyce, Scenic Designer
Kristy Hall, Costume Designer
Eric Southern, Lighting Designer
Josh Schmidt, Sound Designer & Original Music
Liviu Pasare, Projection Designer
Joe Foust, Violence Director
Eleanor Kahn, Props Designer
Skyler Gray, Dramaturg
Laura Alcalá Baker, Casting Director
Amanda Davis, Production Stage Manager
Majel Cuza, Production Manager
Andrew Glasenhardt, Technical Director
Dean Gnadinger, Asst. Technical Director
Ben Zeman, Production Engineer
Colin Covarik, Asst. Sound Designer
Elly Hunt, Wardrobe Supervisor
Molly Morgan, Asst. Costume Designer
Danny Fender, Floor Manager
N. Emil Thomas, Asst. Director / Directors Inclusion Initiative Fellow

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Press 

  • ★★★ “Powerful… bristles with zest and indignant life.”
    Chicago Tribune
  • ★★★ “Great writing… absolutely deserves to be seen.”
    Chicago Sun-Times
  • RECOMMENDED “Undeniably powerful.”
    NewCity
  • HIGHLY RECOMMENDED “Deeply moving…exceptional.”
    Buzz Center Stage
  • “Direct, bold and poetic.”
    Third Coast Review
  • “A brilliant ensemble.”
    Picture this Post
  • RECOMMENDED
    Let’s Play

Gallery

Public Programs

Post-Show Conversation
After every performance of Pipeline (unless otherwise noted)

Join us for one of our intimate post-show conversations led by members from the Victory Gardens community, reflect on what you’ve seen, and share your response.

Post-Show Conversation
Feb 6 | Wednesday | 9:00 pm

Made possible by the support of The David Rockefeller Fund

What happens when a minor classroom disruption is punished with arrest? In the school-to-prison pipeline, students of color face the threat of being punished at far higher rates than their white peers. With the data showing systemic racism to be a very real problem, what is the emotional toll on the people behind the numbers? How can we keep students in the classroom and out of the prison system? Join us as we discuss the personal side of the relationship between the educational and penal systems in America.

Post-Show Conversation
Feb 7 | Thursday | 9:00pm
Recently, a number of local authors of color have had the unique opportunity to examine the city through the lens of student, teacher, and scholar. Through their writing they explore how our city propels students out of the classroom and into the jail cell. In investigating this national epidemic and the people impacted by it, what have they discovered is unique about Chicago’s school-to-prison pipeline? How do their own experiences and observations help them extract meaning from an arsenal of dispassionate data and student statistics? Join us as we discuss the challenges and revelations in writing about the Chicago school-to-prison pipeline with local authors.

A Weekend Festival featuring Black Businesses, Beauty, and Wellness
Feb 9 and Feb 10 | Saturday and Sunday | 2:00pm – 10:00pm; 1:00pm – 6:00pm

Event is Free and Open to the Public

The Black Beauty Festival has been Victory Gardens’ Black History Month Celebration for 2 years. With Dominique Morisseau taking the world—and Broadway—by storm as a 2018 MacArthur Fellowship winner, we’re throwing our biggest festival for Black excellence yet! Join us for our third annual festival that celebrates everything about Black wellness, beauty, and excellence. Presented in Partnership with Black Women’s Expo and Black Owned Chicago, enjoy a showcase of Black owned businesses specializing in beauty and wellness products, special performances, and post-show conversations.  

Post-Show Conversation
Feb 15 | Friday | 9:00 pm

Made possible by the support of The David Rockefeller Fund

As class sizes grow faster than school funding can handle in Chicago, teachers must foster student success on standardized tests in order to obtain state resources. With students taking an average of 112 standardized tests in their K-12 education, there is not much time left for teachers to address individual student needs, leaving many students behind. How can teachers work with state learning standards while also addressing students’ unique learning needs? How harmful is Chicago’s School Quality Rating Policy, and what neighborhoods does it target? Join Chicago teachers and administrators as we discuss the impact of quantifying student success in a system where educators are bound to testing scores and numbers.

Post-Show Conversation
February 23 | Saturday | 4:15pm

Made possible by the support of The David Rockefeller Fund

What happens after young people have been affected by the school-to-prison pipeline? And how can they learn to heal and grow from their experiences? Those questions can be best answered by Storycatchers Theatre, an organization dedicated to using the arts to provide court-involved young people opportunities to change their lives and communities. Join the Storycatchers Theatre youth as they share their personal stories and discuss how they use theatre to make sense of their world after engaging with the justice system.

Post-Show Conversation
Feb 26 | Tuesday | 9:00 pm

Made possible by the support of The David Rockefeller Fund

In Pipeline, a video of an altercation at school threatens to change Omari’s life forever once it is shared online. Social media is a powerful tool in our modern legal system: it can expose injustices, capture video evidence, and eliminate hearsay from an investigation. However, smartphones and social media can also be used for intrusive and non-consensual surveillance. As we see more people using video to expose the truth, what is the role of technology and social media in legal practices today? What are the dangers and legal ramifications of posting, sharing, or recording something that shows an injustice in action? Join us as we navigate our changing landscape of privacy and accountability.