Something sinister lurks beneath the surface during Marcus and Bentley’s annual fishing trip. The two brothers face rough waters, buried trauma, and the challenge to change in this supernatural drama.
Info
$ 99
Per MonthWritten by: Michael Jones
Directed by: Jamaque Newberry
Previews
October 11 – October 13
Friday & Saturday @ 8:00pm, Sunday @ 3:00pm
Production Run
October 18 – November 23
Friday & Saturday @ 8:00pm, Sunday @ 3:00pm
Additional performances: Saturday November 9 @ 4:00pm, Thursdays November 14 and 21 @ 8:00pm
Run time: 90 minutes, no intermission
Tickets: $30
Cast
$ 99
Per Month| Bentley | Jelani Julyus |
| Marcus | Malachi Marrero |
| Bentley U/S | Reginald Hemphill |
| Marcus U/S | Damondre Green |
Crew
$ 99
Per Month| Playwright | Michael Jones |
| Director | Jamaque Newberry |
| Stage Manager | NaVada Reed |
| Asst. Stage Manager | Hanna Smaglis |
| Assistant Director | Melbin Borrero |
| Costume Designer | Marquecia Jordan |
| Fight Designer | Stephanie Mattos |
| Production Manager | Timothy Amos |
| Production Manager | Kamille Dawkins |
| Scenic Designer | Hunter Cole |
| Props Designer | Charlotte Elena |
| Sound Designer | Peiran Zhao |
| Lighting Designer | Ryan Tunheim |
| Scenic Painter | Eric Houghton |
| Technical Director | Sylvia Gamber |
Playwright’s Notes
Director’s Notes
In 2022 we had our Factory Theater retreat where our moderator, Hank Boland, gave us the prompt, “I want to see a show on The Factory stage about BLANK” and asked us to write our responses on sticky notes. We all hung our answers on the board and he said, “These are all new shows for future Factory seasons.” The next day, he broke us into groups and said, “You’re gonna pitch this show to the rest of The Factory.” I was handed my paper, which read, “Black People.” I then told my group how this was influenced by how so many critically acclaimed black dramas have to deal with the police and slavery. I was tired that, “I don’t have a ‘why don’t my daddy love me?’ play like white people get to have.” I then pitched this show you are about to watch.
If that ain’t The Factory Theater, I don’t know what is.
This one is for my brothers, Harwood and Thomas Jones.
When we first came together to read this play about these two brothers, a word that constantly ran through my mind was “Tradition”. What is the tradition between these two brothers who go on this same trip every year? As humans we become accustomed to rituals, things we set in place for ourselves and those we love weather we realize it or not. Sometimes, it’s not until the tradition is broken that you realize it even existed in the first place. Which leads us to this night, this boat, and this relationship. Marcus and Bentley have a layered and very complicated history with this word, and it has shaped their two different perspectives and how they see the world. This play shows what happens when both sides of a broken tradition attempt to heal when they have no choice because its only them, the night sky, and the water. Things unsaid aways seem to float to the surface. When they can’t go any deeper. I want you to think about your traditions you have with the ones you and how they help shaped your view of the world around you, rather it be experiencing trauma of breaking those traditions or through the joy and wonder of creating them because It helped define who you are in this moment.
I dedicated this play to my father Jeffery Newberry Sr.,My brother Jeffery Newberry Jr., and my nephews KJ and Landon Newberry because I know we never got the chance to start building traditions together growing up but we do have the pleasures of picking up the broken pieces together and creating new ones for those next in our bloodline to follow.
