The Ties That Bind

Two fast-paced, contemporary plays united by the same theme: the ties that bind (and tear apart) black Americans. Watermelon Rinds: A satire that explores contemporary African-American attitudes about family and politics. At a family get-together to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, thoughts about the current state of King's dream are discussed, and, as the author describes it, 'the insanity of martyrdom and its relation to cannibalism and the Eucharist are revealed.' The play, also explores the universal theme of family ties, class tension and the denial of kin and kinship. Inside the Belly of the Beast: A black man tries to make it in corporate America, but what must he do to get there? We take the journey with him, first seeing him as a slayer of the beast. Then we see him swallowed by the beast, and learn what it's like inside the belly of that system. And finally, we watch as he recognizes that he is the beast—false to himself and turned inside out.