ALTOONA – Blood at the Root, a new play by rising star Dominique Morisseau (Detroit ’67, Sunset Baby) will be performed by students in the Graduate Acting program at University Park.
Under the direction of Steve Broadnax, the company will perform at campuses throughout the Penn State system this spring, followed by an international tour in the summer.
A performance at Penn State Altoona will be April 17 at 8 p.m. in the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts. Free tickets will be available beginning March 31 in the Office of Student Life.
The work, commissioned by the School of Theatre, is inspired by the “Jena Six,” a group of young African-American men in Jena, LA who were charged with attempted murder after assaulting a Caucasian student at their high school in 2007.
Previous assaults on African-American students had gone largely unpunished, and the conviction and sentencing of the Jena Six serve as a strong reminder of racial injustice in the United States. Blood at the Root follows six high school students at fictional Cedar High, as they learn to look past their own experiences in order to see things from a different perspective.
The company will perform Blood at the Root at the Downtown Theatre in State College from March 28 – April 5. More information about ticket reservations may be found on the School of Theatre Web site at theatre.psu.edu. p