The Inside presents us with a piercing take on race, academia, art, and sexuality, all viewed through the prism of this highly original character. By turns amusingly ironic and heartbreakingly vulnerable, Emma serves up her interior life with astonishing honesty. “It was your typical, painfully liberal, pre-professional anti-establishment artistic event”. So recalls Emma, a Black college student who comes to crisis at a party given by, and populated with her white peers. Challenging the distinctions separating performance art and traditional narrative, The Inside utilizes a unique format that blends monologue and ensemble work. Emma speaks directly to the audience, aided by a chorus of actors who serve alternately as an extension of herself, or as voices from her past, her present, and her fantasies.
The Inside
Playwright: Lydia Diamond
World Premiere: 1998 - Originally produced by MPAACT, Chicago Illinois.
Place: Chicago, Illinois. One setting minimally suggested: An apartment party,
Time: The late 1990’s
A full length drama
3 F Many roles are doubled for dramatic effect.
$12/script
$75/performance