The troupe also plans a performance on February 25 at Grand Rapids Community College at a time to be announced. The company will be under the direction of Michael Travis, Calvin's director of multicultural student development and an accomplished local actor. Last year, the Multicultural Student Development Office produced the play The Meeting' with local actors. Following the success of that production, the need for students to be involved was recognized. This specific play, consisting of separate vignettes, was chosen because of its adaptability to rehearsal schedules and number of characters needed as well as the fact that it has a powerful and important message.
Black theatre is an effective avenue for disseminating educational information.
Travis notes that the company has little stage experience, but tremendous potential. Rehearsals are on-going and Travis says the cast is growing individually and coming closer together as an ensemble an extra benefit from his perspective. Its satirical stories continue to strike a responsive chord with audiences. Other parts of the play deal with the search for identity, and the pain of lost identity, on the part of some African Americans. But an African American reviewer for The Village Voice disagreed.