Public Square 2.0 - Bonus Episode 6 “SHADOW/LAND - The Clearing, Part 2: Imagining and Building New Structures"

 

In 2021, The Public Theater released an audio-only version of Erika Dickerson-Despenza’s play, shadow/land. Alongside that audio play were several podcast episodes of a series called “The Clearing,” that added additional context to the audio production. Now in 2023, shadow/land has come to the in-person stage of The Public, and we are re-releasing the episodes of “The Clearing” as a part of Public Square 2.0, with host Garlia Cornelia Jones bringing some additional context.

"The Clearing," references a space of healing in Toni Morrison's Beloved. In Beloved, the Clearing is a place in the woods where one of the characters, Baby Suggs, held her religious and spiritual gatherings. Baby Suggs called the black formerly enslaved community together to laugh, dance, cry and reclaim their bodies, bodies that had been used in the service of trans-Atlantic slavery. The ancillary episodes like shadow/land provide a space for healing and also call forth Congo Square, which is located at a clearing, apocalypse which is clearing, and the Yoruba deity Oya, who rules hurricanes and tornadoes and is known to clear the way. The Clearing, our ancillary episodes of post-show discussions, honors Toni Morrison and all the great black women writers and healers that have paved the way.

 

PART 2: IMAGINING AND BUILDING NEW STRUCTURES

Why are some areas and communities hit harder when disaster strikes? This episode considers how catastrophes are created and what imaginative and constructive work needs to be done to prevent them in the future.

This conversation includes: Soyica Colbert (host), Sheila Foster (legal scholar), Shana M. Griffin (scholar), Jack Moore (Director of New Artists) and Cara Page (scholar) join in the conversation.

 

 

"The Clearing," references a space of healing in Toni Morrison's Beloved. In Beloved, the Clearing is a place in the woods where one of the characters, Baby Suggs, held her religious and spiritual gatherings. Baby Suggs called the black formerly enslaved community together to laugh, dance, cry and reclaim their bodies, bodies that had been used in the service of trans-Atlantic slavery. The ancillary episodes like shadow/land provide a space for healing and also call forth Congo Square, which is located at a clearing, apocalypse which is clearing, and the Yoruba deity Oya, who rules hurricanes and tornadoes and is known to clear the way. The Clearing, our ancillary episodes of post-show discussions, honors Toni Morrison and all the great black women writers and healers that have paved the way.

 

SHADOW/LAND: AN AUDIO PLAY
Written by Erika Dickerson-Despenza
Directed by Candis C. Jones

Produced by The Public Theater
Featuring Te'Era Coleman (9-1-1 Caller), Lizan Mitchell (Magalee), Lance E. Nichols (9-1-1 Dispatcher and Caller), Lori Elizabeth Parquet (9-1-1 Dispatcher and Caller), Sunni Patterson (Griot), and Michelle Wilson (Ruth).