Molière in the Park, in partnership with the Prospect Park Alliance and LeFrak Center at Lakeside, has announced guest speakers for “In Conversation,” a live post-show series following select virtual performances of Christina Anderson’s riveting maritime drama pen/man/ship, directed by Molière in the Park’s Founding Artistic Director Lucie Tiberghien.
Sunday, April 18 following the 7pm show
A specialist of early modern French literature, Dartmouth Professor of French and Women’s Gender Studies, Faith Beasley, will host a conversation on how women have used literature to engage with social issues of their time.
Wednesday, April 21 following the 2pm show
Author, Theologian & Activist, Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, and Actress & Community Advocate, Kaliswa Brewster, discuss the intersection of theology and civil rights in the late 1800’s, beginning of the Jim Crow era — when pen/man/ship takes place.
Thursday, April 22 following the 7pm show
Award-winning Playwright, Cori Thomas, Liberian Writer, Womi Neal, and Liberian Actor/Producer, Emery Bright, dive into the political history of Liberia and the colonization movement.
Saturday, April 24 following the 7pm show
Award-winning Playwright, Lynn Nottage, and pen/man/ship Playwright, Christina Anderson, discuss the inspiration behind the play.
For info on the In Conversation series visit www.moliereinthepark.org/virtual-programs.
pen/man/ship runs April 16 - 24, 2021. Live virtual performances (all ET) take place on Friday, April 16 at 2pm, Saturday, April 17 at 7pm, Sunday, April 18 at 7pm, Wednesday, April 21 at 2pm, Thursday, April 22 at 7pm, Friday, April 23 at 7pm, and Saturday, April 24 at 7pm. The running time is approximately 2 hours including a 5-minute intermission. Tickets are free. Reserve at www.moliereinthepark.org.
1896. When Ruby, a young Black woman fleeing the American South, boards a ship bound for Liberia, she finds herself at odds with her companion’s domineering, God-fearing father andhis mysterious expedition. Unwilling to sit passively below deck, she befriends the crew, becoming entangled in a mutinous uprising that threatens them all. Performed live with breakthrough technology and expansive visuals that put the audience aboard the troubled vessel, pen/man/ship is a heart-pounding story of truth-seeking at all cost and a powerful reminder of the dangerous limits of self-righteousness.
Molière in the Park is an inclusive and antiracist theater organization. Their mission is to bring high-caliber English language productions of Molière’s timely masterpieces, as well as carefully chosen contemporary plays that focus on language and question today’s world through the lens of history, to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park annually, and the online theatergoing community, free of charge. For info visit www.moliereinthepark.org, like MIP on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MoliereInThePark, follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MoliereBKPark and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/moliereinthepark.
