“I who am the ancestor of Shakespeare, Chaucer and William the Conqueror, I went to London... I was the only Negro there.” Clara Passmore, the illegitimate daughter of a white man and a black woman in the American South, struggles to define herself even as she is denied and ostracized by the European culture she idolizes. Unable to claim her father’s heritage and unwilling to accept her mother’s, Clara is caught between time and place; history and myth. Characters and locations morph and overlap kaleidoscopically in this surreal and haunting drama. Kennedy’s experimental masterpiece about race and identity feels as raw and relevant today as when it premiered in 1965.
The Owl Answers
By Adrienne Kennedy
- Directed by David R. Gammons
- Scenic Design by Janie E. Howland
- Costume Design by Rachel Paula Shufelt
- Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg
- Sound Design by David Wilson
- Properties by Emily Hartig
- Stage Managed by Lauren Burke
- Dramaturgy by Rebecca Curran
- Choreographic Assistant: Margaret Canaday
- Assistant Director: Aislinn Brophy
FEATURING:
- SHE who is CLARA PASSMORE who is the VIRGIN MARY who is the BASTARD who is the OWL … Enosa Ogbiede
- BASTARD’S BLACK MOTHER who is the REVEREND’S WIFE who is ANNE BOLEYN … Me’Lisa Sellers
- GODDAM FATHER who is the RICHEST WHITE MAN IN THE TOWN who is the DEAD WHITE FATHER who is REVEREND PASSMORE … Sharmarke Yusuf
- THE WHITE BIRD who is REVEREND PASSMORE’S CANARY who is GOD’S DOVE … Marvin Merritt IV & LaToya Princess Jackson
- THE NEGRO MAN … Elijah De’Vaughn
- SHAKESPEARE … Colin McGinn
- CHAUCER … Caleb Spiegel Ostrom
- WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR … Jacob Roberts
October 13 - October 31, 2017
Department of Theatre, Dance, & Media
Harvard University
Farkas Hall
Photos: David R. Gammons