DLAR | Speak Theater Arts

Three young actors, of different ethnicities, have created a hilarious hip-hop send-up of their personal struggle to craft an assured personal identity while living in America’s middle class culture. It is a theatre piece rich in irony and humor. For some, the title is challenging, but in the end, the racial epithet is revealed for what it is — a distraction that keeps us from understanding and appreciating the beauty of our diversity and the integrity of our individuality. Curricular-based workshops on the themes of N*W*C are central to the accompanying residency program and opportunities for valuable dialogue about the power and danger of racial stereotyping are many with this production — especially for college and high school age audiences.


	< Ngger Wetbck Chnk The flagship production of Speak Theater Arts, Ngger Wetbck Chnk: The Race Show, is a daring and hilarious look at the impact three racial slurs have had on the lives of three friends, each from a different ethnic background. Ensemble and monologue work are seamlessly woven together with slam poetry, stand-up comedy, and hip hop elements. The result is a constantly transforming, highly engaging, exceedingly accessible work with a powerful mission. The words are undeniably shocking in the opening scene—a complexly comedic and compelling chant of the slurs—but absolutely essential to the transformative process of this show. NWC (as the cast is collectively known) believes there is no reason why a word in itself should be capable of bringing a person to their knees. Many people in America still believe that the safest way to handle words like these is to hide them, put them away for good, and hope they disappear. Of course that only adds to their power and mystique—so when they do show their ugly faces, they cause even greater damage. We may have learned not to say these words in polite conversation, but silence is not progress. In silence we have no dialogue. NWC says: “We must talk about these words to create change. We have the right to use them, because they have been used against us. But our use is going somewhere new. We can tear these words apart—make them the jokes and relics of the past they deserve to be. And best of all, we can make people laugh while we do it.” “They present an inspiring vision of the world they’d like to see.” –Los Angeles Times “Supremely clever and nimble staging, and the infallible charm of NWC’s three leading men…break down the vagaries of their respective ethnic experiences with wicked humor and surprising heartbreak.” –LA Weekly “They strut and mug in one of the goofiest and comically in-your-face openings imaginable.” –LA Daily News