Trouble in Mind

by Alice Childress

Directed by Dara Malina

A challenging play with a sense of humor and tragedy, Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress explores racism, sexism and hierarchy inside of a Broadway rehearsal room in 1957.

Written in response to the lack of quality acting roles for Black women, Alice Childress set out to write a play featuring the story of a middle-aged Black actress, Wiletta Mayer. In Trouble in Mind, we see Wiletta navigating the injustices of the rehearsal process for the so-called “anti-lynching” drama, Chaos in Belleville, directed by Al Manners, a white director.

The play is set against the socio-political climate of the late 1950s referencing major events in the history of Civil Rights such as the Little Rock School Desegregation in 1957 and the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955-56.

Famously, this play was set to be the first play written by a Black woman on Broadway. When Alice Childress refused to change the ending of her play to satisfy the white producers, the play did not make it to Broadway that year and did not have its Broadway debut until 2021.

Just like Alice Childress, we see Wiletta risk a professional opportunity and challenge the system when she speaks her mind, and unveils the structure for what it really is…

In working with the company of Barnard students and professional artists, we are utilizing our rehearsal space as a laboratory for discussion and dramaturgical investigation while learning how to navigate this play together. We are asking, what does it mean to work on and present this play today at Barnard/Columbia in 2024?

Tickets

• $12 general admission
• $6 with BC/CUID

Performances

• Thursday, October 17, 8pm — GET TICKETS
• Friday, October 18, 8pm — GET TICKETS
• Saturday, October 19, 3pm — GET TICKETS
• Saturday, October 19, 8pm — GET TICKETS