HARRISBURG, Pa. — This weekend, The Gamut Theatre in Harrisburg wants the community to learn about local Black stories.
In partnership with the Sankofa African American Theatre Company, The Gamut Theatre will be presenting "Voices Of The Eighth Chronicles II: Stories from Harrisburg's Old Eighth Ward."
The theater said the performance is a collage of storytelling that fuses imagery, movement, sound and music to uplift the work of chainbreakers and changemakers from Harrisburg's demolished 8th Ward.
The play was written and directed by Sharia Benn from Sankofa African American Theatre Company. Benn said her production will pay homage to the resilient sprit of the nineteenth and twentieth century African American liberators, educators, orators and writers who fought to build a community of freedom and belonging.
This is the sixth year Sankofa African American Theatre Company sponsored a Black history play at the Gamut. Each year, Benn has written a play featuring stories from the Eighth ward.
Melissa Nicholson, the executive director of The Gamut Theatre, hopes these stories will teach the community more about local Black activists.
"Most students learn about Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks and Frederick Douglas," said Nicholson. "But this play gives you a chance to learn about important changemakers right here in Dauphin County, such as Alice Dunbar Nelson, Maude Colman, William Howard Day and Agnes Kemp."
The show will run Feb. 3 through the 12th, on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.
For ticket information, click here.
To learn more about The Gamut Theatre and the Sankofa American Theatre Company, click here.