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The Spotlight Reading Series will run March 15 - 17, 2023 from 6:30pm - 8:30pm at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E 60th Street. Optional pre-show Communal Activations begin at 5:30pm, doors open for seating at 6:00pm, and the readings begin at 6:30pm.

All events as part of this year’s Spotlight Reading Series are free and open to the public, and reservations are required.

Photo of Sonia Sanchez by Jack Mitchell/Getty.

Since 2016, Court’s Spotlight Reading Series aspires to redefine—and ultimately expand—the canon of classic theatre by presenting readings of rarely produced plays by authors of color. Originally curated by Ron OJ Parson as a series of readings throughout the year, this year’s Spotlight Reading Series is a three-day event celebrating playwright Sonia Sanchez. Each day will feature the reading of a play by Sonia Sanchez, a corresponding optional pre-show Communal Activation, and a post-show conversation. A list of past readings is available here.

To enhance your experience, check out this Sonia Sanchez tribute playlist, curated by artist and panelist Jamila Woods.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6yXaecxqVaYzjz717tqX0c?si=e2d9e749abc7495b&nd=1

This playlist speaks to the moods and themes of Sanchez's works, and even features a poem reading by Sonia Sanchez herself. It is a great way to engage with Sanchez, the featured plays, and other artists inspired by, or in conversation with, Sonia Sanchez's work. Give it a listen, and carry the Spotlight Reading Series with you.

The Spotlight Reading Series is sponsored by the Poetry Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, and Allstate.

Header image: Krista Franklin, Post No Bills (Fly, Robin, Fly), 2019. Pulped album covers with collage inclusions, library catalog card, deconstructed painting, and vintage magazine page in handmade paper. (Photo: LATITUDE)

Sister Son/Ji - March 15, 2023

A woman travels through time and space to tell the story of all the women she has had to be and is forever becoming. Drifting gracefully from scene to scene, she shares her labors, her joy, and her pain. She is longing for a strong and safe male presence to rely on in a world where the contributions of Black women, their tangible physical presence, and their needs are often rendered peripheral – if not entirely invisible. Even when the world can’t see her, Sister Son/Ji sees herself and, in telling her story, makes herself real.  

Communal Activation: Sister Son/ji takes us through a journey of memories, using the items in her drawer as a conduit to access moments in the past. In this maker activity, explore the idea of memory using images and words to create a mini scrapbook page.

Materials will be provided onsite at the Spotlight Reading Series, though attendees are invited to bring printed images from their home collections as well. Take your scrapbook page home with you after the event, or leave it behind as a contribution to the Altar Call on the final evening of Spotlight (see the 2x2 Communal Activation to learn more). Attendees are invited to participate in this optional Communal Activation between 5:30pm - 6:30pm.

The Bronx is Next - March 16, 2023

In 1968, a nation on fire was set ablaze by the assassination of both Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert F. Kennedy as the Vietnam war raged on. This is the backdrop for an unlikely encounter in Harlem nearby a tenement building soon to be evacuated. A white police officer, departing from the company of his Black mistress, is confronted by the neighborhood’s strong men, who invite him to take part in a game of improvisation where the tables are turned. When the motives of his mistress are interrogated by this street corner judge and jury, she sets the record straight. 

Communal Activation: Erasure. Effacement. Revision. Redaction. Before attending a reading of The Bronx is Next, explore these related themes through the lens of blackout poetry. Choose one or more interconnected texts—reports, speeches, articles—and turn them into something new through redaction.

All materials will be provided onsite at the Spotlight Reading Series. Take your poem home with you after the event, or leave it behind as a contribution to the Altar Call on the final evening of Spotlight (see the 2x2 Communal Activation to learn more). Attendees are invited to participate in this optional Communal Activation between 5:30pm - 6:30pm.

2x2 - March 17, 2023

A widow, mother, and grandmother - Beverly Smith - holds on for dear life as she struggles to shield her grandchildren from their mother’s battle with drug addiction. Beverly and her daughter, Ramona, clash over generational and ideological rifts in a world where Black girls are unsafe and Black men die too soon. Ramona’s children, caught in between, adapt and survive as their mother wanes in her sobriety. The family’s matriarchs arrive at a tenuous peace once mother and daughter come to terms with how shame, disillusionment, and loss have irreversibly tarnished their once brilliant dreams.

Communal Activation: In 2x2, generational differences and family dynamics converge. Ancestry and inheritance take center stage as a mother and daughter profess their frailties and extend amends. For this Communal Activation, we invite you to partake in an Altar Call. Bring objects or mementos to honor an ancestor, an elder, or a womanist hero. You may also choose to compose a response to the question What needs forgiving?

Supplementary materials will be provided onsite at the Spotlight Reading Series, in addition to any items you choose to bring from home. Maker activities from the first two Spotlight activities may also be contributed to the altar. Take your Altar Call item home with you after the event, or leave it behind to make a lasting contribution. Attendees are invited to participate in this optional Communal Activation between 5:30pm - 6:30pm.

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Kamilah Rashied by Zakkiyyah Najeebah Dumas O'Neal

I was riding in the car with my mother one afternoon—I could not have been more than twelve or thirteen at the time—when she asked me to open the glove compartment and take out the book inside. Without much explanation, she said, “It’s time for you to read this.”

My mother was a voracious reader who made us take good care of our books, so I held it like a gift, assuming the text held some necessary information crafted just for me. It would become a ritual between us for the better part of two decades. I would come home for a visit, and she would hand me a slightly worn book and say, “It’s time for you to read this.” My mother relied on these stories to impart the things she wanted me to know about becoming that she could not express. Eventually, without her prompt, I took on the habit of searching for meaning in the words of writers I admired myself. Now I live with the assurance that if I ever get lost, Zora Neale Hurston, or Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, or Gwendolyn Brooks will send for me, providing sustenance through their words. When people say that representation matters, this is what it means to me.

I learned through my mother and the writers she introduced me to, how important it is to have access to stories that represent lived experiences not unlike my own. I learned, from this ritual of passing stories down, how feeling seen and understood in those narratives is integral to the process of becoming who we are. Now, I carry the spirit of that same tradition whenever I walk into a room as a leader in the arts. I will always serve from a place of understanding that my real occupation is legacy work.

Sonia Sanchez by Jack Mitchell/Getty.

In my new role as the Director of Engagement, I am most energized by envisioning how we will deepen and grow the scope of our programs, not only in schools but with our peers and partners in the community. As part of my charge, I have the privilege of advancing the work that Ron OJ Parson began at Court as our visionary and beloved Resident Artist, including the Spotlight Reading Series. I wanted to begin with reimagining this series in particular because it’s all about legacy, shining a light on unsung Black writers to honor them, and passing their work down to the next generation. This coming spring, the Spotlight Reading Series will be celebrating the works of Sonia Sanchez, a personal hero of mine. It feels fitting to me that a pioneering woman—who was so central to the Black Arts Movement as an artist, activist, and a lifelong educator—would usher me into this next chapter of my work with Court Theatre.

Kamilah Rashied is the Director of Engagement at Court Theatre. Rashied is an arts administrator, producer, educator, and artist with 20 years of experience in cultural production, education, and community outreach. Cultivating a broad range of programs for the public, ranging from youth initiatives to live events and talks, Rashied has contributed to the development of new and ongoing programs at many venerable arts and culture organizations in Chicago including: the Art Institute of Chicago, the School at the Art Institute, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Library, Illinois Humanities, Arts Alliance Illinois, Rebuild Foundation, OTV (Open Television), Hyde Park Art Center, Young Chicago Authors, Writers Theatre, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater, among others.

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It’s Time for You to Read This

Director of Engagement, Kamilah Rashied, shares her personal connection to this year's reimagined Spotlight Reading Series, featuring the works of Sonia Sanchez.

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