The First Breeze
of Summer
By Leslie Lee
Directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson
August 5-September 28, 2008

With
Harvey Blanks, Yaya DaCosta,
Sandra Daley, Crystal Anne Dickinson,
Brandon Dirden, Jason Dirden,
Quincy Dunn-Baker, Marva Hicks,
John Earl Jelks, Tuck Milligan,
Gilbert Owuor, Brenda Pressley,
Keith Randolph Smith
and Leslie Uggams

The struggles of three generations of the Edwards family collide over the course of one sweltering weekend in June. Gremmar, the family matriarch, looks back on her past and considers its legacy for her children and grandchildren as they confront the choices that will define their futures. Leslie Lee's Obie Award-winning play is a timeless portrait of family bonds and coming of age. (more)

Home
By Samm-Art Williams
Directed by Ron OJ Parson
November 11, 2008-January 4, 2009

Leaving behind his family's farm in North Carolina, Cephus Miles seeks refuge and prosperity in the North. Three actors portray more than twenty-five characters over the course of Cephus's epic journey from adolescence to adulthood, spanning the 1950's through the Vietnam War and Civil Rights eras. Samm-Art Williams' critically acclaimed work is a wonderfully theatrical tale of one man's struggle to stay true to himself amidst a rapidly changing and turbulent America. (more)

Zooman and the Sign
By Charles Fuller
Directed by Stephen McKinley Henderson
March 3-April 19, 2009

A random act of violence leaves Reuben Tate and his family questioning their friends and neighbors, but their once caring community has been scared into helpless silence. As young Zooman terrorizes the neighborhood from the shadows, Reuben makes a dangerous appeal which may tear their world apart. This powerful drama by Charles Fuller, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Soldier's Play depicts the devastating aftermath of violence on a family and an entire community. (more)

The NEC Reading Series

Signature continues to honor and celebrate the Negro Ensemble Company with a reading series presenting three more plays from the historic NEC repertoire. Curated by NEC Founding Artistic Director, Douglas Turner Ward, Signature Associate Artist, Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Signature Theatre Company staff, these plays will be read on stage at the Peter Norton Space on Monday evenings throughout the season. Join us for these rarely performed works and gain greater insight into the history of this vital and ground-breaking company.

Day of Absence
Staged Reading
Written and Directed by Douglas Turner Ward

Signature returns to the roots of the Negro Ensemble Company with a special staged reading of Douglas Turner Ward's Day of Absence, the seminal 1965 play that inspired the founding of the NEC.

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