Mixed Race Studies

Sister Act
 
Gazette.Net: Maryland Community News Online
2011-03-02

Topher Forhecz, Staff Writer

Montgomery College and Doorway Arts Ensemble presents the sisterly story ‘Tether’

When Julie Taiwo Oni wrote the play “Tether,” she did so not only to examine her relationship with her twin sister Jessica Kehinde Ngo, but also to answer a recurring question.

“My whole life everyone’s like ‘What’s it like to be a twin?'” Oni says. “I wanted to write a play about it.”

Co-Produced by Doorway Arts Ensemble and Montgomery College’s Arts Alive Theatre Series, “Tether” premiered at the Studio Theater in the Cultural Art Center at Montgomery College on Feb. 18 and runs through March 13. Set on a tetherball court during the 1990s, “Tether” tells the story of biracial teenage twins Lach (played by Gwen Grastorf) and Lam (Jade Wheeler) as they learn about religion, boys and race. Although they are similar in many ways, Lach’s skin is white and Lam’s is black. Oni gave the twins different skin colors after reading an article on the condition…

Read the entire article here.

Doorway Arts Ensemble and Arts Alive Theatre present: “Tether”

Doorway Arts Ensemble
February 2011

Emily Morrison, Publicist
Office: 703-892-0801

sex, race, religion, tether ball… twin sisters are coming of age [2011-02-18 through 2011-03-13]

Bethesda, Maryland Doorway Arts Ensemble presents Tether, a World Premier play by Julie Taiwo Oni, co-produced with Arts Alive Theatre Artistic Director, Perry Schwartz as part of Montgomery College Silver Spring Arts Alive Theatre Series. This production marks the first presentation by a professional theater organization of a script that received development and a stage reading as part of the 2009 Inkwell’s Inkubator Festival in Washington, DC.

In Tether, Lach and Lam are 15 year old mixed race twins. Lach is white, Lam is black and both are obsessed with tether-ball. In this rhythmic drama, life is a back-and-forth game of rules and regulations, kissing boys, movie-talk and the roots of their religious upbringing. As the sisters come into their maturity and men enter the game, they must learn to tether without their counterpart. When an obstacle swings between them, they must begin to face and embrace the differences between each other in order to be true to themselves

The odds against of a couple having twins of dramatically different color are a million to one, each twin fertilized by different sperm with different genetic input from their parents. The phenomenon is extremely rare… there are only about 5 sets of mixed race twins living in the world today.

Runs February 18 through March 13, 2011.
Performances: Thursday-Saturday at 8pm and Sunday Matinee at 2pm
Monday, March 7 at 8 PM – Special Performance

Friday Feb 18 – Press Night – followed by reception (press are welcome to all performances)
Saturday Feb 19 – Q&A follows performance featuring the dramaturg, director, playwright and actors

TICKETS: $10 for general admission/$7 for students and seniors/$5 for MC Students, Faculty and Staff. Call 240-567-5775 or order online at www.tickets.com. All performances opening weekend are Pay What You Can.

LOCATION: The Studio Theater in the Cultural Art Center at Montgomery College Silver Spring 7995 Georgia Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20910 [map & directions]…

For more information, click here.