Daughters of Lorraine Podcast

Some stories transcend time and continue to resonate across generations. Undoubtedly, one might consider The Color Purple as one of those stories. Hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley discuss this new movie musical adaptation of The Color Purple and delve into questions around the genre of the movie musical and the challenge and necessity of representing Black women stories on screen.

In this episode, hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley talk about a filmed production of the opera X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.

Hosts Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey discuss Woodie King, Jr.’s 1978 documentary, Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement. They explore the documentary’s different themes, its impact on Black theatre history, and what it means for our present and future. 

Hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley discuss the contributions made by Alice Childress and the historical and contemporary significance of her play, Trouble in Mind, including the filmed 2021 production at the National Theatre in London.

Hosts Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey dig into the dramaturgies and theories of Suzan-Lori Parks and discuss Canadian Stage’s production of Parks’s Topdog/Underdog.
 

This episode focuses on the iconic Negro Ensemble Company (NEC). Hosts Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey delve into the NEC’s founding and history, its track record of producing successful Black plays, and its legacy within Black theatre and performance.

This episode will discuss the age old questions of what is Black theatre? What is a Black play? How do you know one when you see it? Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey provide an overview of the some of the most popular commentary on this question from Black theatre theorists of the past such as W.E.B Dubois, Alain Locke, and Alice Childress.

In this episode, Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley look at the life and legacy of playwright Robbie McCauley, who recently passed away. They discuss her work as a pioneer of solo performance as a Black woman and how she impacted the world of Black feminist theatre.

In this episode, Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley interview artist/scholar Lisa B. Thompson. They discuss navigating life as a Black feminist artist/scholar, putting some respect on Black theatre, and why Black theatre is an integral part of Black Studies.

This episode is inspired by recent and current events regarding Roe v. Wade and their potential impact on birthing people. We think about the representation of reproductive justice (things such as abortion, contraception, and anything regarding decisions to birth or plan a family) especially from Black women playwrights. We discuss plays such as They That Sit in Darkness by Mary Burrill, Rachel by Angelina Weld Grimke, Come Down Burning by Kia Corthron, In the Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks, and Abortion Road Trip by Rachel Lynett.

In this episode, Leticia and Jordan finally explain what they mean when they say Black feminism, especially in theatre and performance. They engage Lisa M. Anderson’s tenets of Black feminist drama, alongside other contemporary scholars and artists expansion of Black feminist theatre. They discuss Black feminist theory, black feminist practice in creative work, and black feminist theatre theory.

This episode focuses on the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama winner, Fat Ham by James Ijames. Leticia and Jordan discuss the recent production at the Public Theater, its conversation and diversion from Shakespeare, representations of Black queerness, and what it means to be soft as a black person.

This episode honors the life and work of composer, writer, and performer Micki Grant, who passed away in August 2021. Grant was the first Black woman to write and compose a musical that made it to Broadway, and she is also the subject of Jordan's dissertation.

This episode explores the recent revival of Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf, directed and choreographed by Camille A. Brown. Hosts Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey contextualize the production, its ongoing relevance and legacy, and its resonance in Black feminist theatre, dance, and performance.

On this special episode of Daughters of Lorraine, hosts Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey sit down with Aleshea Harris and Whitney White, the playwright and director of the powerful, ritualistic play, What to Send Up When It Goes Down.

In this episode, Daughters of Lorraine Podcast hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley discuss how Black playwrights, such as Adrienne Kennedy, Tarrell Alvin McCraney, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Ntozake Shange, have experimented with form.

In this episode of the Daughters of Lorraine Podcast, hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley discuss "What is a Black musical?" using James Baldwin's Amen Corner and Angelica Chéri's Gun and Powder.

The Daughters of Lorraine Podcast returns for another episode where hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridely discuss Lorraine Hansberry's life, legacy, and other works of theatre and literature.

Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley discuss the transformative power of Aleshea Harris' What to Send Up When it Goes Down by centering Black rage, ritual, and healing on this episode of the Daughters of Lorraine podcast.

In this episode of the Daughters of Lorraine Podcast, Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley focus on representations of slavery on stage by Black playwrights beginning from the early 19th century to the 1960s.

On this episode of the Daughters of Lorraine Podcast, Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley review Arena Stage's production of August Wilson’s Jitney, directed by Black theatre legend, Ruben Santiago-Hudson.

For this episode of the Daughters of Lorraine Podcast, Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley focus on the histories and enduring legacies of lynching dramas, covering early twentieth century history of Black women playwrights using theatre for protest ends, and situating them in Black feminism and Black radical tradition.

On this first episode of Daughters of Lorraine Podcast, Leticia Ridley and Jordan Ealey discuss Woolly Mammoth's production of Fairview by Jackie Sibbilies Drury, its theoretical and theatrical interventions, as well as situate it in the historical and cultural contexts of Black theatre.