Theatre Arts Professor Sidney Monroe Williams is directing his second production with the UofL Rep Company, “Zomo the Rabbit: A Hip Hop Creation Myth.” The play, which is a remix of a West African trickster tale, follows Zomo, a young rapping rabbit on a quest for power who learns the creative value of cooperation while unwittingly creating hip-hop culture. This interactive show fuses hip-hop music, playful costumes and Louisville landmarks which are sure to engage children and their families.

The cast for the production is comprised of this year’s second-year Master of Fine Arts candidates, including Tyler Tate (Zomo the Rabbit), Jordan Tudor (Sky God), Caisey Cole (Leopard), Alex Gordon (Wild Cow) and undergraduate Aliyah Brutley (Big Fish). The ‘MC’ of the production is undergraduate, CeCe Philips, who serves as the stage manager. Third-year MFA candidate, Xavier Harris, serves as the ‘B-Boy,’ creating 90s hip-hip choreography for the production. New faculty member Jerome Wills is the ‘graffiti artist’ and ‘DJ’ as he creates the set and sound design. The mastermind behind the 90s fashion is UofL’s costume-designer, Melissa Shepard.

“I have to express my gratitude for this fierce ensemble and crew that manage to cram flips, choreography, lightning set changes, rhyming and audience interaction into 60 minutes of pure goodness,” Williams said.

The show is recommended for youth in kindergarten through 6th grade. The debut is this weekend at UofL before the show hits the road for a number of area school performances along with other engagements, including a .

“Zomo the Rabbit: A Hip Hop Creation Myth” plays 11 a.m. Oct. 19 and 1 p.m. Sun., Oct. 20 at Thrust Theatre, 2314 S. Floyd St. Tickets are $5. to purchase tickets.��

“We’ve been waiting to share our love of hip-hop with you,” Williams added.��

The season’s five mainstage shows, along with a production, were either written by black playwrights, feature black characters or address race as a central theme.

“Our season is a rare, unique opportunity for the community to grapple with broad, wide-ranging African American experiences,” said department chair Kevin Gawley. “With few exceptions, regional theaters usually present only one minority play a season. Our season brings the African American experience to the forefront, delving deeply into crucial questions surrounding race, past and present.”

Johnny Jones, director of the African American Theatre Program, said the idea for the season got rolling in the classroom.

His students read “” by Suzan-Lori Parks, a creative essay that asks the question: What constitutes a black play? They also discussed August Wilson’s seminal speech “,” which makes the case that “African American theatre is distinct, distinguished and fully deserving of the kind of funding and respect too often reserved for white culture and institutions.”

His students researched the mix of plays offered at regional theaters around the country and found that each typically does only one minority play in a season.  

As the season’s theme emerged, so too did questions Theatre Arts hopes audience members and the community can consider together.

“I really want people to think about how these plays speak to America as a whole, not just one group of people — that really is the goal,” Jones said.

The department will offer programming with each show, like talk backs and panel discussions, to facilitate those kinds of conversations.

The season presents a unique opportunity for graduate students in the African American Theatre Program, as well. Most of them are earning Theatre Arts’ , a program of study like no other. Of the 12 grad students, 10 are of African descent.

The department has done thematic seasons before, with a season of women playwrights two years ago and last years’ lessons of the past, stories of the future theme which examined historic stories in a current context. But the uniqueness of the season is already turning heads.��

Jones said that when the department was at the National Black Theatre Festival this summer, someone compared ���Ǵڳ�’s current Theatre Arts to Yale’s drama department in the 1990s, when it was a particularly strong leader in drama exploring race.

“As a third-year MFA student, I am proud to be a part of a legacy that promotes the work of black artists,” said Kala Ross. “I am honored to tell the stories of my people as they are stories for all people. In August Wilson’s speech ‘The Ground on Which I Stand,’ he says, ‘All of human life is universal, and it is theater that illuminates and confers upon the universal [or] the ability to speak for all men.’ A theatre department that embraces blackness speaks to the social awareness of the program. A ‘season of black plays’ is another season of excellence.” 

A Season of Black Plays

• Sept. 19-29: “King Hedley II” by August Wilson. Directed by Baron Kelly. The ninth play in August Wilson’s 10-play cycle, the play examines African American life in the 20^th Century. The play tells the story of an ex-con trying to rebuild his life in 1985.

• Oct. 19-20: “Zomo the Rabbit” by Psalmayene 24. Directed Sidney Monroe Williams. ���Ǵڳ�’s , a troupe of graduate students who annually perform for dozens of schools, will present “Zomo the Rabbit,” a hip hop take on the classic African tale.

• Nov. 7-17: “Fires in the Mirror” by Anna Deavere Smith. Directed by Ariadne Calvano. The play explores Black and Hasidic Jewish people’s perspectives on 1991 riots in Brooklyn.��        

• Jan. 23-Feb. 2: “Detroit ’67” by Dominique Morisseau. Directed by Johnny Jones. Set to a Motown soundtrack, the play unpacks the 1967 race riots that ravaged Detroit.��

• Feb. 20-March 1: “Six Degrees of Separation” by John Guare. Directed by Geoffrey Nelson. Characters examine the premise that everyone is connected by a chain of six acquaintances.

• April 8-19: “Milk Like Sugar” by Kirsten Greenidge. Directed by Sidney Monroe Williams. Play follows a trio of teen girls who make a pact to get pregnant together.��

All plays are at Thrust Theatre, 2314 South Floyd St., except for “King Hedley II” and “Six Degrees of Separation” which will run at The Playhouse, 1911 South Third St. Evening performances start at 7:30 p.m. Sunday matinees are at 3 p.m.

Purchase season tickets, which are $50, . Tickets for individual performances also are available or call 502-852-6814. Additional events occur throughout the year. For the most up-to-date scheduling go online.��

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.��

“We’re inviting people to come and see themselves on stage, as the many, diverse women filling these roles,” Burton said.

• The season kicks off with the ’s rendition of “Miss Ida B. Wells,” 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.
• ���Ǵڳ�’s , a troupe of graduate students who perform for dozens of elementary schools each year, will do a free public performance Sept. 24 of “Magic Tree,” a play written by Burton and directed by Melissa Shepherd.
• “Our Country’s Good,” 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’ve been deported to the colony of Australia. They found themselves required to act in a production of George Farquhar’s comedy “The Recruiting Officer,” which was staged in the penal colony of New South Wales in 1789.
• In “Eurydice,” Jan. 26-Feb. 4, playwright Sarah Ruhl reimagines the classic myth of Orpheus through the eyes of its heroine. Jenn Ariadne Calvano directs.
• “Fabulation: or the Re-����ֱ�� of Undine,” 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 “The Long Christmas Ride Home,” 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 “Our Country’s Good” and “Fabulation: or the Re-����ֱ�� of Undine,” 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 .