Blackademics by Idris Goodwin

(5)
Productions (14)
Comedy
|
55 - 65 minutes
3 W, 
Set: An empty cafe.

There's something strange about the trendy new restaurant in town. When Ann and Rachelle meet there for dinner, there's already tension in the friendship they've built on their common experience navigating academia as black women: While Ann just got tenure at her tony liberal arts college, Rachelle's struggling to find her place at the less prestigious state university. So at first it's easy to overlook odd things like the single water glass they're offered, or the mysterious server who keeps assigning points to their conversational gambits. But as the hunger sets in, the two professors find themselves the unknowing stars of an absurdist dinner theater performance of black plight. Somebody's got to get the first bite, after all. A sharp, surreal satire about who gets a place at the table.

Pricing Information

Min. Performance Fee* $85
Standard Edition $13.99
eScript Digital Edition $17.5
Stage Manager Edition $24.99
Archival Video License $150

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Play Details

There's something strange about the trendy new restaurant in town. When Ann and Rachelle meet there for dinner, there's already tension in the friendship they've built on their common experience navigating academia as black women: While Ann just got tenure at her tony liberal arts college, Rachelle's struggling to find her place at the less prestigious state university. So at first it's easy to overlook odd things like the single water glass they're offered, or the mysterious server who keeps assigning points to their conversational gambits. But as the hunger sets in, the two professors find themselves the unknowing stars of an absurdist dinner theater performance of black plight. Somebody's got to get the first bite, after all. A sharp, surreal satire about who gets a place at the table.

  • Comedy
  • |
  • 55 - 65 minutes
  • 3 W, 
  • Set: An empty cafe.
  • Standard Edition ISBN: 978-1-62384-716-6

Published Reviews

"By the end, the triangulating alliances...slyly underscore the way that 'let's you and her fight' has been used by the people with power to keep us from questioning why all we can hope for at life's banquet is a handful of seeds."

Kerry Read, Chicago Tribune

"Idris Goodwin's tight, provocative new play transcends the talkiness and didacticism that often impairs social-issue theater and opts instead for heated, engaging arguments between two fleshed-out character. Relevance and fresh ideas... are served up in large, savory portions."

Dan Jakes, Chicago Reader

"It jabs, pokes, and kicks its way toward a dramatically thrilling conclusion which is anything but anticlimactic.... at its best, Blackademics aims for the canon of wit-driven social comedy exemplified by Neil Simon and Noel Coward, before a dark turn into the unexpectedly macabre turns it into something else altogether."

Oakulture.com

"Idris Goodwin's wild and probing dark comedy...is a grimmer-than-Grimm fairy tale for adults, set up like a rap-energized topical cross between Waiting for Godot and No Exit."

SFGATE.com

Production History

MAR 15, 2024 - MAR 31, 2024
Fonseca Theatre Company
Indianapolis, IN United States
Fonseca Theatre Company Indianapolis, IN United States
OCT 06, 2023 - NOV 19, 2023
MPAACT
Chicago, IL United States
MPAACT Chicago, IL United States
MAR 02, 2023 - MAR 11, 2023
Beloit College Theatre and Dance Department
Beloit, WI United States
Beloit College Theatre and Dance Department Beloit, WI United States
FEB 03, 2023 - FEB 12, 2023
Windham Theatre Guild
Willimantic, CT United States
Windham Theatre Guild Willimantic, CT United States
JUN 19, 2022 - JUN 19, 2022
University of Florida Performing Arts
Gainesville, FL United States
University of Florida Performing Arts Gainesville, FL United States
MAY 20, 2022 - JUN 26, 2022
Vintage Theatre
Aurora, CO United States
Vintage Theatre Aurora, CO United States
MAR 30, 2022 - MAR 30, 2022
University of Florida Performing Arts
Gainesville, FL United States
University of Florida Performing Arts Gainesville, FL United States
FEB 26, 2022 - FEB 26, 2022
University of Florida Performing Arts
Gainesville, FL United States
University of Florida Performing Arts Gainesville, FL United States
MAY 22, 2021 - MAY 26, 2021
Cleveland Play House
Cleveland, OH United States
Cleveland Play House Cleveland, OH United States
MAY 12, 2021 - MAY 13, 2021
Smith College
Northampton, MA United States
Smith College Northampton, MA United States
NOV 10, 2017 - NOV 19, 2017
UCCS/Theatre & Dance
Colorado Springs, CO United States
UCCS/Theatre & Dance Colorado Springs, CO United States
APR 09, 2015 - MAY 02, 2015
Crowded Fire
San Francisco, CA United States
Crowded Fire San Francisco, CA United States
NOV 30, 2012 - NOV 30, 2012
MPAACT revival at Theater on the Lake
Chicago, IL United States
MPAACT revival at Theater on the Lake Chicago, IL United States
OCT 12, 2012 - NOV 25, 2012
MPAACT
Chicago, IL United States
MPAACT Chicago, IL United States
No upcoming productions.
MAY 22, 2021 - MAY 26, 2021
Cleveland Play House
Cleveland, OH United States
Cleveland Play House Cleveland, OH United States
APR 09, 2015 - MAY 02, 2015
Crowded Fire
San Francisco, CA United States
Crowded Fire San Francisco, CA United States
NOV 30, 2012 - NOV 30, 2012
MPAACT revival at Theater on the Lake
Chicago, IL United States
MPAACT revival at Theater on the Lake Chicago, IL United States
OCT 12, 2012 - NOV 25, 2012
MPAACT
Chicago, IL United States
MPAACT Chicago, IL United States

eScript Details

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