Warriors Don’t Cry
by Donnetta Lavinia Grays
TheaterworksUSA & Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, January 8 - February 22 2020
Director: Tamilla Woodard. Set & Costume: Jean Kim.
Lighting & Projection: Elizabeth Mak. Sound: Kathy Ruvuna.
Photography: Roger Castonguay & Elizabeth Mak. Videography: Ryan Glista
The year is 2020, and teenaged activist Ya Girl has been agitating for greater gun control since her high school was the target of a shooter the year before. She’s exhausted and disillusioned with the lack of visible change and from the relentless online attacks, ready to call it quits on leading her millions of Instagram followers in the fight for social justice. Then Melba Pattillo Beals, one of the Little Rock Nine, steps out of history and into Ya Girl to share the story of her battle for school integration.
When the Bushnell Center approached TWUSA to co-produce a new adaption of Beals’ memoir with the same title, they were really interested in introducing historic images of the fight for school integration to a new generation of teenagers. The challenge became how to transform a seemingly dated story into one that had relevance and urgency to the youth of today. The design team wanted to draw parallels between Black Lives Matters and March for Our Lives with the acts of courage from the generation prior, to show that young people have always been on the frontlines for the force for change.
As the play progresses, Ya Girl learns to see herself in Melba. Online trolls, the NRA, the KKK, fascists; there have always been forces ready to protect their own interests and destroy any forward movement towards a better, safer, and more just society for all.
It was important that the projection design reflect Ya Girl’s reality — from the endless rallies, to constant text messages, to the online Twitter and Reddit conspiracy theories about the Parkland activists, to the lingering trauma of having gone through an active shooter shooter situation — so that when we shifted to Melba’s reality, our youth audience could see parallels in the very real danger that Melba also faced by putting her hand up and volunteering to be a target.
Warriors Don’t Cry is a call to action to all young warriors to raise their hands and make a difference, no matter how small. Part historical memoir and part how-to guide on how to stand up for change, practice self-care, and find allies, this production is currently touring around America trying catalyze deeper discussion about social responsibility, civil discourse, social media, and community engagement.