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Summer 2002

'Women of Diverse Hues'

Commentary by Karen Jones on State St. Productions' performance of Ntozake Shange's for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf, performed at Changing Spaces in Albany

Photos by Lori Kane.

diverse hues

From left: Dionne Wheatley, Shannon Brown, Karen Jones, Amanda Bansgopaul, Christine Blaine

diverse hues

Clockwise from left: Amanda Bansgopaul, Karen Jones, Christine Blaine, Aminata Stephens, Dionne Wheatley, Shannon Brown, Aprilis Dublin

diverse hues

Dionne Wheatley, Aminata Stephens, Shannon Brown

diverse hues

Christine Blaine, Aprilis Dublin, Shannon Brown

diverse hues

Aminata Stephens, Dionne Wheatley, Shannon Brown, Aprilis Dublin

diverse hues

Karen Jones (director)

 

Commentary by Karen Jones, Director

i am on the other side of the rainbow / picking up the pieces of days spent waitin for the poem to be heard / while you listen / i have other work to do

Ntozake Shange New York, 1976

Ntozake Shange's choreopoem, "for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf," is a product of the poetry movement in early 1970s Berkley, California, when women of diverse hues were filled with wild and ripe words. Until that time, black women thirsted for venues of self-expression. Theatrical pieces about black America focused on their male counterparts.

Shange developed "for colored girls..." from the lack of our voice. She wrote and compiled pieces from various performances which changed the face of American theater. Due to its wildfire popularity, "for colored girls..." opened at New York's Booth's theater in September of 1976.

The piece is a collection of poems told by seven women, each character represented by a color. My personal experience with the piece is a circle.

As a child, I remember my parents going to a performance and being fascinated with the program. As a college student, I performed as Lady in Red with all of the intensity associated with that color.

Recently, I had the pleasure of producing, directing and performing the piece at Changing Spaces, a multi-media space in Albany, N.Y. "for colored girls..." awakened my spirit as a young girl. It lit a fire in me as an eager theater student.

My recent experience fills me with the power which is the focal point of the piece -- the power of expression utilized by black American women in words and movement.

Karen Jones