Race
is often a difficult subject for people to talk about, but University of
Delaware actor, writer and director Hassan
El-Amin thinks that using music and humor can help ease the way to productive
discussions.
He
showcases that approach in Talk About Race, an original audio production
he wrote and directed, which UD’s Resident Ensemble Players (REP) will perform in February for its world premiere. The
production will stream online, at no cost, from Friday, Feb. 5, to Sunday, Feb.
28, coinciding with Black History Month.
“People
are in their own corners, their own world” when it comes to the subject of
race, said El-Amin, who is a REP company member and a UD alumnus. “I think
music and humor is a way to get in. This production is part sketch comedy,
part satire, part history and part music.”
The show
is designed to be fast-moving, engaging and thought-provoking as it takes
an unflinching look at current racial relations in America and provokes a
range of emotions from amusement to outrage. It offers a mix
of vignettes, sketch comedy, obscure American history, rousing
contemporary and historical speeches and original musical numbers.
To El-Amin,
the music is especially important.
“Music allows for another way
of hearing because it dictates feeling,” he said. “Music can control your
emotions, and I look for that to happen.”
Talk About Race is the first production this semester in the REP’s 2020-21 season
and continues the imaginative audio performances the company has been offering
to adapt to the restrictions of the COVID pandemic. It also premieres at a time
of pronounced racial tensions in America.
"We want to examine this heavy subject in a way that actually makes a difference," El-Amin said.
Talk About Race will be available for streaming through the REP’s website.
