By Sondra Roney
For over 10 years, The South Dallas Cultural Center has been working with young Black playwrights and performance artists in Dallas to support the creation of original works that speak substantively and profoundly to the Black experience.
One such writer will see his work fully staged in January following an 18 month theater workshop for the production “My Tidy List of Terrors”
Jonathan Norton is a promising and inspiring light on the theatrical horizon, someone well worth watching in the coming years. My Tidy List of Terrors has already gotten critical notice this year, having gained Semi-Finalist status for acceptance in the Eugene O’Neill Playwriting Conference in Connecticut and an invitation to receive a professional reading and further critique as a part of the Texas Black and Latino
Playwrights Conference at Texas State University. The story is a coming of age drama set within the backdrop of The Atlanta Child Murders. My Tidy List of Terrors originated from an idea Jonathan had to write a play inspired by the art of the renowned Saar women, Betye, Alison and Lezley.
Their exploration of memory, ancestors and family history served as the foundation upon which Jonathan began to build his tale of a horrific event in the history of America that is still today, an unsolved mystery.
What is so impressive about this new work is how carefully crafted the dialogue is and the meticulous development of the characters. Jonathan has the artistic courage to step outside of his comfort zone to embrace the seriousness of this tragedy and to flesh out the characters he puts on the stage so as not to create easy stereotypes of the “ghetto dweller” or the “bougie socialite”! Instead he delves into issues of humanity and how easily it can be compromised when fear and ignorance drive one’s actions.
My Tidy List of Terrors premieres Thursday, January 18 and runs through January 21st. It concludes Thursday, January 25th until January 28th . Tickets will be $15 and $10 for students and Seniors.
Other events at the SDCC include the theatrical production of Seven Spools of Thread, on December 31st. This Soul Children’s Theater play will be presented in honor of Kwanzaa. There will be a reception and vendor expo following the performance. Showtime is at 7pm and it’s absolutely free.
Also, in the gallery, art lovers are invited to check out 2 photographic collections: “Gatherings” by Dallas artist Charley Mitcherson and “Blueberry Sky”, by Chicago native Sakin Hill. Both exhibits are free and open to the public until January 21st.
Come one come all to the South Dallas Cultural Center. The SDCC is a program of the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs and located at 3400 S. Fitzhugh Avenue Dallas TX 75210. For more info or to schedule a tour Tues-Fri 1pm-9pm, Sat 9pm-5pm, call 214-939-2787, log onto www.dallasculture.org/SDCulturalCenter or like us on Facebook.
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