Ain't Nothing But a Thang

The Fazes family, like many others, has been thrown curves by life as long as they can remember. Now they must once again step up to the plate. Fourteen-year-old Amber is HIV-positive, and she only wants to know if someone cares if she lives or dies. Her brother, Matt, is the oldest of three siblings and is estranged from the rest of the family. He's consumed by guilt and shame for having left home, although he really had no other options. Kintai, the middle child, is a "dealer in higher plains of existence," also known as a "dopeman." While her children struggle with their lives, Rachel, the matriarch, fights her own demons. This gripping drama is the story of one black family struggling to survive and remember that each new curve life throws them "ain't nothing but a thang" with which all of them must deal. This play is the winner of the 1999 National AIDS Fund/CFDA-Vogue Initiative Playwriting Award.