In Hooded or Being Black for Dummies, the fear of being arrested is a latent remainder of the pervasive view on race, no matter the social and economic status of a person of color.
Marquis (Jalen K. Stewart) is a black adopted child whose parents are white and live in a posh neighborhood identified in the play as Achievement Heights. Marquis attends a private school and his best friends are Fielder (Ezekiel Goodman) and Hunter (Vincent Doud), two white kids with unique views and family issues. In an incident where the three of them were trespassing, Marquis is the one who gets arrested and taken to the police station. When Marquis’ mom Debra (Tasha Ames), who is also a lawyer, gets to the station and confronts Officer Borzoi (Robert Hart) to set her son free, she sees Tru (Brent Grimes), a black kid who is also detained. After learning of Tru’s situation, she feels compelled to defend him and demands Officer Borzoi to let him go as well. She then takes Tru home so Marquis can have a black friend to teach him more of the black lifestyle.
As both start talking about their respective situation and their points of view, it becomes clear to Tru that because of Marquis’ white upbringing, he lacks of a black identity. They exchange opinions, and while Marquis is influenced by Nietzsche, Tru is influenced by 2Pac. It is here where the story turns even more intense, as Tru gets to meet Marquis friends Hunter and Fielder, not to mention their love interests Prairie (Tasha Ames), Meadow (Clare Margaret Donovan), and Clementine (Betsy Stewart, on Sunday’s performance, it was played by McKenna Slone), all of them with their own ideas on privilege and race. It is now Tru’s job to teach the boys how to get the girls.
Tru’s manual on how to be black is intended for Marquis to read, but instead, it lands on the hands of Hunter, who takes the material very seriously, so much that now he becomes a black kid trapped on a white body, much to Meadow’s confusion and amusement. The whole transformation is a hilarious representation of what many call cultural appropriation. In this play, however, the transformation ends in tragedy.
The play explores issues related to privilege, social disadvantage, racial identity, pop culture, love in the teenage years, and the good intentions of people wanting to understand their fellow human beings, no matter on what side they happen to be. Playwright Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm shows his stellar writing skills in dealing with deep subject matter, all while making things humorous and thoughtful. The direction of Ahmed Best makes it easy to translate the text and subtext into engaging actions that convey the powerful message of the story. This play is a highly entertaining gem not to be missed. The casting is a group of very talented actors with performances that will make you think, laugh, and appreciate the excellence of the local LA theatre scene.
Hooded or Being Black for Dummies
Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90039
March 12 – April 18, 2022
Tickets: https://www.echotheatercompany.com/hooded-or-being-black-for-dummies/
