鈥淔abulation鈥� is a social satire about an ambitious, haughty African-American woman, Undine Barnes Calles, whose husband suddenly disappears after embezzling all of her money. Pregnant and on the brink of social and financial ruin, Undine retreats to her childhood home in Brooklyn’s Walt Whitman projects, only to discover that she must cope with a crude new reality. Undine faces the challenge of transforming her setbacks into small victories in a battle for self-affirmation. Written by Lynn Nottage, 鈥淔abulation鈥� is a comeuppance tale with a comic twist.

is the visiting director for the production. Thompson hails from St. Louis, where she’s an actress, director and听assistant professor of acting and directing at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.听Thompson is also a UofL alum, having earned her Masters in Fine Arts in Acting and graduate certificate in African American Theatre in 2012. UofL’s Theatre Arts Department offers the only such graduate certificate in the country.听

Thompson is excited to be back and shared some thoughts with UofL News about the production.听

UofL News: What makes this production of ‘Fabulation’ unique?

Thompson: The cast of this production make it special. We have a cohesive ensemble including undergrad and grad students and alumni. The rehearsal space has been filled with such enthusiastic energy. They have supported and encouraged each other and continue to lift each other up in process. This bond created a safe artistic space for actors to grow and take risk. 听

UofL News: What makes this show timely and relevant for audiences now?

罢丑辞尘辫蝉辞苍:听At the core of ‘Fabulation,’ we find the consequences of lack of authenticity. In today’s climate of social media, we see displays of听 people showing听 their ‘fabulated’ lives through filters and snapshots. This story illustrates what happens when the representative self gets stripped away.听听 听

UofL News: What has been challenging and/or rewarding about this show for you?

罢丑辞尘辫蝉辞苍:听I have the deepest gratitude for the opportunity to come back to direct. It’s one of those full circle moments that creates pride and allows you to examine your own growth. It’s been surreal walking through the halls of the department, taking in how everything has changed, yet remained the same. It still feels like home.听听听

UofL News: You鈥檙e a graduate of the African American Theatre Program, what brought you to the program initially?

罢丑辞尘辫蝉辞苍:听In my undergad at Clark Atlanta University, several of my classmates came to the program. When searching programs, I contacted many of them and became interested in the AATP. The fact that it’s the only graduate certificate in the country for African American Theatre was impressive. 听

UofL News: How did the program help shape you as a performing artist and theatre maker?

罢丑辞尘辫蝉辞苍:听Graduate students are given a myriad of responsibilities, all of which provide experience and training to be multi-faceted in a vast area of the arts after graduation. An essential element for sanity in juggling all of this is discipline, organization and planning. Last September, I taught and was in rehearsal for a show I was directing during the day and in rehearsals for a show as an actor in the evenings. This is typical for an artist but prior to the skills I required from the program, being able to manage all of those projects would have been impossible.

UofL News: Any lessons you learned as a student at UofL that you bring to this show now?

罢丑辞尘辫蝉辞苍:听I learned to trust the process and to trust myself. The听 program has allowed me to boldly stand on my creative choices and freed up the doubt that plagues many young artist of not feeling equipped to compete in this industry. A phrase I have shared with the cast and one that is a guiding principle for my life: ‘You are enough.’

The show starts at 8 p.m. Feb. 23 and 24 and at 3 p.m. Feb. 25. It resumes at 8 p.m. March 1-3 and at 3 p.m. March 4 in the Playhouse Theatre, 1911 S. 3rd St. Tickets are $8 for UofL students, $12 for other students and alumni, faculty, staff and seniors and $15 for general admission. to purchase tickets.听

The fact that they all happen to be women ended up shaping the 2017-18 season.

“When we were selecting plays for the season, we noticed there were an abundance proposed that were written by women,” said Nefertiti Burton, department chair. “We thought, why not make it a theme and commit to it.”

So, the season became five plays, written by women.

“It’s a way for us to celebrate the new energy in our department,” Burton said.

The selections cover a wide range of experiences, perspectives and theatrical forms.听

鈥淲e鈥檙e inviting people to come and see themselves on stage, as the many, diverse women filling these roles,鈥� Burton said.

• The season kicks off with the 鈥檚 rendition of 鈥淢iss Ida B. Wells,鈥� Sept. 22-Oct. 1. The two-woman play, written by Endesha Ida Mae Holland and directed by Burton, powerfully depicts the life of Wells, a civil rights activist and journalist who led the fight against lynching at the turn of the century.
• 鲍辞蹿尝鈥檚 , a troupe of graduate students who perform for dozens of elementary schools each year, will do a free public performance Sept. 24 of 鈥淢agic Tree,鈥� a play听written by Burton and directed by Melissa Shepherd.
• 鈥淥ur Country’s Good,鈥� Nov. 10-Nov. 19, written by Timberlake Wertenbaker and directed by Baron Kelly, is based on the true life story of a group of convicts who鈥檝e been deported to the colony of Australia. They found themselves required to act in a production of George Farquhar’s comedy 鈥淭he Recruiting Officer,鈥� which was staged in the penal colony of New South Wales in 1789.
• In 鈥淓urydice,鈥� Jan. 26-Feb. 4, playwright Sarah Ruhl reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. Jenn Ariadne Calvano directs.
• 鈥淔abulation: or the Re-成人直播 of Undine,鈥� Feb. 23-March 4, from the African American Theatre Program, tells the story of a businesswoman whose life spirals out of control after her husband steals her money and leaves her. It was written by Lynn Nottage, the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice.
• The season wraps up with 鈥淭he Long Christmas Ride Home,鈥� April 13-April 22, in which the past, present and future collide on a snowy Christmas Eve for a troubled family of five. Geoff Nelson and Charles Nasby co-direct the play by Paula Vogel, who is also a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

All plays are at Thrust Theatre, 2314 South Floyd St., except for 鈥淥ur Country鈥檚 Good鈥� and 鈥淔abulation: or the Re-成人直播 of Undine,鈥� which will run at The Playhouse, 1911 South Third St. All plays start at 8 p.m. with 3 p.m. Saturday or Sunday matinees.

To order tickets or for more information, call 502-852-6814 or click .