About This Show
Intiman Theatre presents an American Cycle original play inspired by Richard Wright’s novel Native Son, created and performed by Rough Eagles students from Cleveland and Roosevelt High Schools.
The Rough Eagles project was launched in 2003 by students from Roosevelt, a north end high school, and the south end’s Cleveland High School, who were inspired to use the arts to break down barriers of race, class, economic disparity and physical distance. Throughout Intiman’s five-year American Cycle, a series of classic plays and civic dialogue now in its third season, Rough Eagles students are collaboratively developing original theatrical productions based on the themes of the works on stage. The productions are drawn directly from the students’ experiences and explore issues they face in their own lives, including race, economic disparities, their family histories and personal stories, and education.
The Rough Eagles performance is directed by Tyrone Brown. Playwrights Kathya Alexander and Vince Delaney and teaching artists from Intiman’s education staff are also working with the students to develop the play. The production is performed on the set of Intiman’s current production of Richard Wright and Paul Green’s play Native Son, adapted and directed by Kent Gash. Wright’s landmark novel about racism, class and economic inequality, originally published in 1940, is the centerpiece of numerous public programs that are inspiring dialogue about poverty, power and the state of race relations in America.
