Snapshot Silhouette: Children’s Theatre Company

There are plenty of Somalis and African Americans who don’t particularly like each other and there’s no point pretending otherwise. Blacks who contend that we shouldn’t acknowledge tensions between us may as well describe the emperor’s new clothes. And white folk who wonder why being black isn’t reason enough for these two groups to get along, obviously forget the Irish and Italian once fought like hell. American history is full of culture clashes—one group having trouble with another particular group. Somalis and African Americans just happen to make for one such instance of squaring off. And, frankly, the more that’s said about it, the better chance there is of these people eventually re-learning what they think they already know about each other.

Which is where Kia Corthron’s “Snapshot Silhouette” at Children’s Theatre Company comes in. Corthron doesn’t put very many cards on the table, but she does take the important step of at least admitting that the issue is there. That, incidentally, is her thing: bringing up social issues to which theatre audiences tend to be under-exposed. “Force Continuum” (Atlantic Theater Company/NYC) is out the relationship between New York’s black community and the city’s police department. “Seeking the Genesis” (Goodman Theatre) concerns a single mother with two sons, a hyperactive eight-year-old and a fifteen-year-old who’s lost to guns and gangs. “Breath, Boom” (Court Theatre/London) looks at girl gangs. In “Snapshot Silhouette”, we have a tale of twelve-year-olds. Tay C has lived in the U.S. all her life, Najma, who just got here, is a guest in the home of Tay C and her mom, Laine. The two kids speak, dress, and act differently. Each, though, has lost someone dear. Unable to see eye-to-eye on anything at first, they end up surprising one another, finding enough humor, hope, and understanding to forge a friendship no one would have predicted. Least of all them.

Several seasons ago Marie-Francoise Theodore electrified Penumbra Theatre audiences as Angel in Pearl. S. Cleage’s “Blues for an Alabama Sky”. She hasn’t had a role that meaty since. However, Theodore does get to put her cast-iron chops to good use, playing Laine. She hits the ground running and makes it look much easier than it is, revving up a world of animation at the onset, brightening the show’s early moments with a rapid-fire delivery of long strings of dialogue many actors would have no trouble stumbling over. It’s also good to see CTC company member and Penumbra veteran Marvette Knight again get to hold a character, albeit in the minor role of Najma’s cousin Damac. Young ensemble member Erin N. Hampe, playing Alicia, one of the kids who go to school with Najma and Tay C, has sharp instincts and can deliver a gag with the best of ‘em. Sonja Parks, who’s been coming on the strong the past few years and was featured in “Antigone” at CTC Studio Theatre, has with “Snapshot Silhouette”, a tailor-made showcase for her brilliance. She is so convincing as 12-year old Najma, a fellow thought I was pulling his leg when I told him Parks is a grown woman.

There are on-going exhibits through the length of the show’s run. One is “Photographs by East African Teens”, presented in conjunction with the Hennepin History Museum, to explore the lives of Somali and other East African teens living in Minneapolis. Along with the photographs, audience members will be able to read journal entries about lives in these teens’ adopted home. The other exhibit is “Tree of Many Cultures”, a sculpture created by the students of Webster Elementary School in St. Paul (images are etched into tin hang from the tree, representing the diverse cultures and backgrounds of the students). All the events take place in CTC’s Red Lobby.

The world premiere of Kia Corthron’s “Snapshot Silhouette” runs through April 17th at Children’s Theatre Company, 2400 Third Ave. So., Mpls. Times: 7:30 p.m. Fri.; 2 & 7:30 p.m. Sat.; 2 & 5 p.m. Sun.; 7 p.m. Wed.-Thu. Tickets: $9-$28. Pay-what-you-can performance is Tues. April 6. ASL interpreted and audio described performance is Fri. April 9. Box office: 612-874-0400.