Brownie Points Much More Than Color

Ever feel singled out? It could be because you’re the one who’s different in some way. Maybe it’s your hair color. Or your eye color. Or your accent. Or the type of clothes you wear. Or the fact you’re even wearing clothes at all (think nudist colony, dear hedonists).

In short, we’ve all been there at one time or another – and the play Brownie Points allows its audience to witness it once again, albeit indirectly. Currently making its West Coast première at the Taproot Theatre Company from May 18 through to June 18, 2011, Brownie Points is a play first and foremost about race and motherhood. It was written by playwright Janece Shaffer, who won the Gene-Gabriel Moore Playwriting Award for Brownie Points in November 2010. This play explores the teamwork of motherhood and pits it against the tensions of different races – in this case, between black and white – all the while asking, which is stronger? (Your Hedonista recently attended as a media invite.)

Directed by Associate Artistic Director Karen Lund, Brownie Points takes place in a cabin in the wooded mountains of North Georgia on an overnight camping trip for a club for young girls. But only the mothers/camp leaders ever show themselves. The 5-member cast of mothers are, in order of appearance: Casi Wilkerson (Allison), Nikki Visel (Sue), Amy Love (Jamie), Karen Ann Daniels (Nicole), and Faith Russell (Deidre). Throughout this play, storms brew and rage both inside and out of the cabin. And, just like all storms, this one eventually blows itself out. However, it’s the resulting damage one worries about…. (Note: Forsyth County, located just 30 miles north of Atlanta, is surrounded by forests, mountains, and Lake Lanier. This area also has a violent history of racial tension and injustice.)

But this play is about so much more than the issues of race and the challenges of motherhood – it is about women who are good people at their cores, who seek love and acceptance among their peers, and who have their children’s best interests at heart. Still, all that doesn’t mean misunderstandings don’t take place – particularly when hot-button issues are raised and sensitivities rise in an unfamiliar, remote, and weather-wicked place. And yet, regardless of whether it is socioeconomic status, marital status, race, religion, or the health of the characters and their children that makes them different, in the end, it is revealed that the similarities win the day: motherhood, love, friendship, and humanity. Audience laughter often competed in terms of decibel levels with both the howling wind and the arguments among these women. In the end, any damages are repaired, new friendships are found, and important lessons are learned: tolerance, schmolerance – embrace diversity! One hopes so, at least – for, as the character Jamie said to Deidre, “That’s what we have: our mutual ‘hope so’s’.”

Tickets range from $20-$35 each, with $10 tickets for those 25-years-old and younger and a $3 senior/student discount on regular shows and their tickets (previews are excluded). Tickets are available for $20 for senior matinées and discounts are available for parties of 8 or more. And Wednesday nights are “Post-Play Discussions” nights (again, preview nights are excluded). And Thursday nights will host “Conversations” – collaborative discussions hosted in partnership with the John Perkins Center for Reconciliation that will explore the themes of race, motherhood, and self-identity as represented in Brownie Points.

So consider embracing diversity and learning from it – the process can be very hedonistic.

(FYI: Taproot’s next play will be Something’s Afoot, which will run July 13th through August 13th, 2011.)

Note: In order to comply with FTC Act 16 C.F.R. 255, Heed the Hedonist would like to disclose that it does receive media “comps” and/or media discounts – but not in exchange for favorable coverage, or for withholding unfavorable coverage, of the given venue/meal/performance/product/service.