ON THE COVER
Antonio Duke
AT RIGHT
Shamayne Braman
PHOTOGRAPHER
Nance M. Musinguzi
“SELF-CARE AND HEALING AND ATTENTION TO THE BODY AND SPIRITUAL DIMENSION — ALL OF THIS IS NOW PART OF RADICAL SOCIAL JUSTICE STRUGGLES.”
— ANGELA DAVIS
Every year I speak with hundreds of people, providing support to them as they either embark upon or deepen their racial healing journey. I’ve been in this work a long time, both as a practitioner and someone who is working to heal myself, too.
Over the years I have come to believe that this truly is the essential work of our time. This is not to ignore or deprioritize the many other issues we face as a state, nation, and world right now. It is instead to say that when we commit to a devoted practice of racial healing, we actually equip ourselves with the tools needed to make transformative progress in everything else.
The reparative work we do in this space makes us more human. It strengthens our relationships to one another, to ourselves, and to the world around us. It fortifies our courage. It increases our window of tolerance to sit with the hard things. It instructs us in problem-solving techniques that are both cogent and compassionate. It instills in us a gentle ferocity of spirit that is clearheaded and focused. This work has made me a better leader, a better mother, a better friend. Thanks to my racial healing practice, I am stronger and more prepared to truly be with the work at hand, whatever it may be.
This season at Penumbra, we are rolling out new programming to invite you to join us on this path of healing. There are rich and diverse experiences for you to sample throughout the year from our arts, equity, and wellness programs. Wherever you join us, I hope that you too will find a journey of belonging, one that takes you deeper into your own self than you thought possible, and one that radiates outward from within you, making room for others to meaningfully belong as well.
This is the just the beginning. There’s more work to do and so many more exciting opportunities to come. Let’s journey forward, together.
Penumbra is a dynamic performing arts, wellness retreat, and learning center. Together we nurture ethical expressions of the human spirit to inspire creativity, enact justice, and build more compassionate communities. Our healing process is one of hopeful reinvention. We are opening space for that journey, individually and collectively. Wherever you are on your healing path, you have a place with us here.
Creating a more just world begins with healing ourselves. By infusing wellness throughout our programs, we’re helping our community detoxify from the stressors of living in a racially stratified society. That includes culturally-specific spaces for collective healing, residencies where healers can deepen their practices, and a range of wellness services for the public. Join us in this emergent work to start or sustain your own healing journey.
“HOW ARE WE GOING TO TAKE THE SONGS OF ALL OF THIS WONDERFUL FLOCK HERE AND WEAVE THEM TOGETHER TO CREATE THIS GREAT ORCHESTRA THAT WILL SING THE SONG OF HEALING?”
— SEITU KEN JONES
Starts Fall 2023
Each month, we will welcome Black community members, allies, and other affinity groups to explore racial healing through collective practices. Participants will engage in our racial healing work through culturally-informed healing modalities and practices. Explore, discuss, and heal with us.
Starts Fall 2023
Our inaugural wellness residency offers practicing healers the opportunity to integrate Penumbra’s racial healing framework into their modalities. Residents will have the opportunity to share their learnings with the public through Penumbra’s artistic productions, equity trainings, and through our wellness services.
Coming Soon
Penumbra welcomes the public to experience our culturally-informed racial healing wellness services. Look forward to a changing menu of offerings — including body work, energy work, and more — designed to heal and energize our community. We are creating flexible pricing to make these services as accessible as possible. Learn more about upcoming opportunities at penumbratheatre.org/well
“HEALING ISN’T A PRODUCT, IT’S A PRACTICE, AND PRACTICE IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS CONTINUOUSLY AND DEEPENS.”
— CAMILLE CYPRIAN, WELLNESS DIRECTOR
See Penumbra with fresh eyes. Our 2023-24 arts season uplifts the complexity of Black life across ages and eras. Enjoy world premieres by brilliant artists, find joy in classic performances, and bookend your journey with unexpected connections.
“WE HAVE TO MAKE JUSTICE THE MOST PLEASURABLE EXPERIENCE HUMANS CAN HAVE.”
— ADRIENNE MAREE BROWN
Whether you are seeing a show, practicing meditation, or learning how to make progress on equity goals, Penumbra approaches all of our work by centering Black people and culture. We welcome everyone to meet us in valuing not just Black people, but our ways of being, too.
We know how vitally important it is for young people to see themselves represented authentically and lovingly. Through ticket discounts, school outreach, and stories from a new generation of Black artists, we’re opening space for young audiences to feel at home, especially those new to theater, with enriching experiences designed especially for them.
New this season, Affinity Nights invite Millennial and Gen Z folx who identify as BIPOC to meet and mingle before and after our plays. Learn more on page 22.
“I’M HUGELY EXCITED TO BUILD ON PENUMBRA’S LONG HISTORY OF CENTERING, CELEBRATING, AND HOLDING SPACE FOR NEW BLACK STORIES.”
— CHRIS BERRY, ARTS DIRECTOR
Directed by Chris Berry
Memori Brooks heals people through their hair. At least that’s what her hands do as her mind careens through the dreams of her kin, past and future — their puzzle of memories informing a painful family saga. A poetic tour de force, Nambi Kelley’s one-woman show fuses personal stories with American history, from enslavement to Black Lives Matter, and asks “Are the struggles of our ancestors ever really in the past?”
OCTOBER 19, 26, AND NOVEMBER 2, 2023
Stay after the play for a moderated conversation with the to learn more about the work and hear the unexpected stories behind its creation.
NOVEMBER 30 THROUGH DECEMBER 24, 2023
Directed by Lou Bellamy
Musical direction by Sanford Moore with the Kingdom of Life Church Choir & Friends
Choreography by Gary Abbott
Penumbra’s homegrown Christmas show is a tradition like no other, welcoming families in our community since 1987. See Langston Hughes’ story brought to life with roof-raising soloists, soaring gospel vocals by the Kingdom of Life Church Choir, and breathtaking choreography by Gary Abbot of the UMKC Conservatory. Experience the warmth, love, and care that Black Nativity embodies — and may it inspire us all to attend to those in need this season.
From acclaimed writer Alice Childress comes a frank portrait of Black women’s identity, seen from outside and inside. As an uprising rocks his Harlem neighborhood, artist Bill Jameson is focused on finishing his latest work: paintings representing three types of Black womanhood. But the arrival of an unexpected muse challenges his artistic vision and reveals his shallow assumptions. With humor and heart, Childress takes on class, patriarchy, and the artist’s role within the community. This is the playwright at her most revolutionary and essential.
It’s 1997, the inaugural season of the WNBA. High school champion Starra Jones and her “Lady Train” teammates are leaving childhood behind as they make their full-court press into adulthood. But the realities of life in rural Arkansas are blocking their shot at greatness. Will their choices off the court bring their dream closer, or tear the close-knit team apart? In her funny and deeply moving play, Candrice Jones channels the true voice of teenagers pinning everything on a game they can’t afford to lose.
FEBRUARY 29, MARCH 7 AND 14, 2024
Stay after the play for a moderated conversation with the to learn more about the work and hear the unexpected stories behind its creation.
MAY 2, 9 AND 16, 2024
Stay after the play for a moderated conversation with the to learn more about the work and hear the unexpected stories behind its creation.
Our inventive artist-led equity programs have inspired thousands to imagine a more just world and learn how to build it. Now we’re aiming for even greater impact. Penumbra is preparing robust and engaging events to equip individuals to seed and support racial equity every day in their lives and organizations.
“JUSTICE IS WHAT LOVE LOOKS LIKE IN PUBLIC.”
— CORNEL WEST
Our innovative slate of equity workshops now includes 90-minute, half-day, and full-day modules across five key competencies for enacting racial equity. Led by trained facilitators and artists, our programs use tools of theater and holistic practices to provoke authentic reflection, understanding, and sustainable change — not only for organizations and teams but all who want to deepen their skills and literacy in this space. As a learning-focused organization, we strive to model the practices and values we teach in our workshops throughout our work.
Book a workshop for your team and learn about upcoming opportunities at penumbratheatre.org/equity
Start Fall 2023
Penumbra’s series of community conversations continues. Hear from experts on engaging issues that affect our community, from restorative justice to racial health disparities. Bring your curiosity, your empathy, and your voice to the discussion.
Sample the new equity menu at upcoming public workshops:
FUNDAMENTALS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2023
Unlock your growth potential through adaptive racial healing strategies that increase psychological safety to promote resiliency and efficacy.
AUTHENTIC BELONGING
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2023
Explore the transformative power of belonging in our lives, relationships, and organizations.
FOSTERING ALLYSHIP
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2024
Learn how to leverage the power and privileges within our intersectional identities to advance equity.
FOUNDATIONS FOR RACIAL HEALING
FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2024
Prepare the ground for transformative racial healing in a collaborative, creative space. We utilize holistic practices and a trauma-informed approach to support rich discourse and reflection.
STRATEGIES FOR BIPOC WELLBEING
FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2024
For those who identify as Black, Indigenous, or other People of Color, this session explores how we can more safely navigate environments geared toward dominant cultural norms and values. We create space to process and develop ways to support our wellbeing.
“I AM THRILLED TO EXPAND ON THE TREMENDOUS RESOURCES HERE TO DEVELOP A HEALING-CENTERED APPROACH TO OUR EQUITY WORK.”
— CHRISTINE SMITH, EQUITY DIRECTOR
Piloting 2024
Building racial healing into the fabric of our institutions, and society at large, takes intensive collaboration. In this five-day engagement, we invite a cohort of leaders from across the country to explore racial healing as a force for social change. Together we will study, embody, and rehearse new practices that can transform organizations and communities.
Launching 2025
Our Positive Racial Identity Development and Empowerment (PRIDE) curriculum, now in development, will support youth of all races as they learn about concepts and experiences of race, identity, and social justice at a critical time in their lives. Grounded in our decades of arts-based learning and equity work, the program will prioritize racial identity and racial healing alongside issues of gender, social class, disability, and other social differences for children ages 2-22.
As part of the Penumbra family of supporters, your commitment to racial healing contributes to a more just and compassionate world. Go deeper into our work, make new connections, and add to community and individual wellness through art, joy, and education. We’re so grateful to have you on the journey.
Starting Fall 2023
Join us for special events created for Millennial and Gen Z audience members who identify as BIPOC. Built around our mainstage shows, Affinity Nights are hosted by young adult leaders in the areas of arts, equity, and wellness who investigate the plays and current events in a curated, Black-centered environment. Affinity Night participants can purchase tickets at a discounted ticket rate or join a monthly-donation program to receive tickets as a benefit of their membership.
To learn more, visit us online at penumbratheatre.org/affinity
Build a philanthropic legacy that includes racial healing as you contribute to the future of Penumbra and your community. Whether it’s a one-time gift, a donation of stock or securities, or a legacy fund as part of a will or bequest, your generosity makes everything we do possible.
Visit penumbratheatre.org/support or contact Individual Giving Manager Martine McLellan at martine.mclellan@penumbratheatre.org to learn more about individual giving.
RE-MEMORI AFFINITY NIGHT
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2023
6:30pm reception; 7:30pm performance
BLACK NATIVITY AFFINITY NIGHT
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2023
6:30pm reception; 7:30pm performance
WINE IN THE WILDERNESS AFFINITY NIGHT
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2024
6:30pm reception; 7:30pm performance
FLEX AFFINITY NIGHT
THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2024
6:30pm reception; 7:30pm performance
“PENUMBRA’S CONNECTIONS ARE SO POWERFUL. WE’RE CONTINUING TO STRENGTHEN THESE TIES AS A FORCE FOR COLLECTIVE HEALING AND PROFOUND SOCIAL GOOD.”
— KHAMARA PETTUS, DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
Don’t miss a thing this season: visit penumbratheatre.org to learn about subscription and ticket packages and purchase by October 1, 2023 to get the advance sale discount.
Purchase event tickets online 24/7 at penumbratheatre.org/tickets.
Please call our Box Office at 651.224.3180 from 10am-4:30pm. Leave a message and we will respond within 48 business hours.
Lou Bellamy, Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus
Sarah Bellamy, President
Amy Thomas, Chief Operating Officer
Camille Cyprian, Wellness Director
Chris Berry, Arts Director
Dale Dorlin, Marketing Director
Khamara Pettus, Development Director
Anita Baccus Robinson, Audience Services Director
Christine Smith, Equity Director
Ron Schultz, Production Associate Director
Michael Jerome Francis, Senior Equity Manager
Tiffany Johnson, Senior Marketing Manager
Nathan Young, Senior Grants Manager
Angel Akurienne, Operations Manager
Eshay Brantley, Wellness Manager
Martine McLellan, Individual Giving Manager
Whitney Blount Smith, Patron Services Manager
Sarah Bellamy
Paul Acito
Javonté Anyabwelé
Jeannine Befidi
Shamayne Braman
Matthew Branson
Mary Delorié
Melanie Douglas
Marcus Fischer
Carson Funderburk
Marcus Hill
Duane Johnson
Kevin Maler
Mark A. McLellan
Layla Nouraee
Jeffrey N. Saunders
Tim Sullivan
Joe Wald
David L. Welliver
Mary Delorié
Kevin West
Haseena Hamzawala
Sara Wernick Schonwald
Michelle de Joya
Antonio Duke
“TOMORROW BELONGS TO THOSE OF US WHO CONCEIVE OF IT AS BELONGING TO EVERYONE; WHO LENDS THE BEST OF OURSELVES TO IT, AND WITH JOY.”
— AUDRE LORDECLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT
