With an attention ‑grabbing title and culturally relevant theme, “The Electronic Nigger” tackles race and education through an interactive performance at the Music and Dramatic Arts’ Studio Theatre through Feb. 27.
The tragic comedy examines the miseducation of African Americans and the subsequent ramifications through the journey of black intellectuals who struggle with the effects education places on their racial identity.
“The Electronic Nigger” explores how rhetoric can be empowering, esoteric and excessively absurd,” said Jacquelyn Craddock, director of development at Swine Palace.
Renaldo McClinton, performance theater senior, made his directorial debut with “The Electronic Nigger” on Tuesday and said it was an honor directing a work by Ed Bullins, legendary African-American playwright, and wanted to do justice to the heavily titled piece.
“The performace represents the constraints of certain ethnic groups who can’t escape being identified by their skin color rather than their education,” McClinton said.
No matter the education and knowledge acquired by an African American, they are usually identified by their race first, McClinton said about the performance’s context.
“The Electronic Nigger” features an ensemble cast of eight actors. Michael Scott, performance theater senior, and Le’Brian Patrick, sociology instructor, lead the performance.
Scott plays Mr. Ray Jones, a first-time writer with a successful novel who also teaches at a university and clashes with a student, Mr. Carpentier, played by Patrick.
“Mr. Jones feels education, and books are the best ways to grow as a human being,” Scott said. “While he’s educated, he becomes disconnected from his ethnic roots.”
The audience centers around the performance, with a setting similar to students in a classroom, Scott said.
“People in general ‘should’ realize they must delve into the content before judging based on a title,” Patrick said in an e-mail. “This piece speaks to more than just race, for those that are able to grasp more than surface-level details.”
The interactive setting and unusual subject matter make “The Electronic Nigger” a must-see, McClinton said.
Once people are able to move beyond the mere comedic and absurdist aspects of the piece, it will prove an interesting phenomenon that has real world applications Patrick said.
“Theater is storytelling with human interaction,” Scott said. “The context of the performance has roots in black ideals but contains universal ideas that anyone can take from.”