Picture this: It’s the 1940s in North Richmond, California. The city is home to juke joints filled with the sounds of music. This is the setting for the new play Richmond Renaissance – written and performed by the youth at RYSE Center in Richmond.
Playwright DeAndre Evans and director Donte Clark hope this multimedia theatrical performance can counter the narrative of poverty and brutality in Richmond by highlighting the community’s rich cultural past.
CLARK: It's mostly focusing on those connections that we have, and how we have to be accountable to each other no matter those obstacles in any time period. Because, this play takes place in 1949, but it mirrors 2017, 2015, 2012. So it really hasn't changed much.
Richmond Renaissance is opening this weekend at El Cerrito High School Performing Arts Theater. For more information, click here.
