About
THE RAISIN CYCLE originated as an assembled trilogy in 2013 at Baltimore's Center Stage. The trilogy contained A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris, and Beneatha’s Place, written in response to Clybourne Park by Kwame Kwei-Armah. The Wayne State University Department of Theatre and Dance produced this same trilogy in the winter of 2016 and it was their commitment to connecting the productions to their Detroit community which inspired my decision to bring this project to IU Northwest.
Theatre Northwest’s RAISIN CYCLE will include a full production of A Raisin in the Sun and a staged reading of Genesis by Chicago theatre artist Mercedes White in the fall. The project will conclude with a production of Clybourne Park in the spring. The inclusion of Genesis in our version of THE RAISIN CYCLE is rooted in the desire to focus on the themes of home, family, and community while grounding this exploration in our own Chicago/Northwest Indiana region.
By producing the three plays as a trilogy, we hope to highlight the connections between the plays and the generations of social issues facing the Younger family. Through THE RAISIN CYCLE, we hope to explore the parallels between past and present discriminatory housing policies and to learn about ways to build inclusive communities.
