You Wouldn't Expect explores the staggering truths about the coercive influence of the government sponsored eugenics program in rural North Carolina in the mid-1960s.
"Ms. Anselmi succeeds at imparting her solid research on the subject through her sharp dialogue spoken by her strong characters."
Theater Scene - Darryl Reilly
September 19 - October 7, 2018
Erin Gilbreth* - Photo by Basil Rodericks
Erin Gilbreth*, Adiagha Faizah, Atiya Taylor - photo by Basil Rodericks
September 19 - October 7, 2018
Okema T. Moore* & Cherie Danielle - Photo by Basil Rodericks
Carl Fisk & Erin Gilbreth* -
Photo by Basil Rodericks
Ross G. Hewitt & Okema T. Moore - Photo by Basil Rodericks
Left to right: Malikh Mallette, Ross Hewitt, Carl Fisk, Okema T. Moore*,
Cherie Danielle, Adiagh Faizah, Atiya Taylor.
Seated -Erin Gilbreth*, Cezar Williams- Director
cast
Erin Gilbreth* - Mary Tom Walker
Okema T. Moore* - Temperence Hedgepeth
Cherie Danielle - Nilene Cooper
Malikha Mallette - Barbara Lynch
Adiagha Faizah - May Rivers
Atiya Yanique Taylor - Ginny Rivers
Ross G. Hewitt - Richard Banor
Carl Fisk - Mr. Kinley
*appears courtesy of Actors Equity Association
Production Team
Director - Cezar Williams Recent credits include the Off-Broadway premiere of Dancing on Eggshells (Billie Holiday Theatre), Crowndation: I Will Not Lie to David (National Black Theatre), The Hunting Season (Planet Connections Festivity), How To Be Safe (The Dirty Blondes in rep at the Kraine Theater), directing all seven short plays in the 8th Annual (The Fire This Time Festival), Free Will (The Arthur Seelen Theatre), Ghost Town and Tailypo (Detroit NY Festival), Lunchtime in Heaven (48 hours in Harlem), Nightfall and Slow Gin Fits (The Fire This Time Festival 2013 & 2014). He has worked at venues including The Actor’s Studio, Williamstown Theater Festival, 59 e.59th Street Theater, La Mama, The Cherry Lane, and the Bleeker Street Theater. Cezar is a graduate of New York University where he was the recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship. He is the Artistic Director of the Obie Award winning Fire This Time Festival and he is the co-founder of Robinson Williams Productions, a theater production company based in Yonkers, NY. Cezar Williams is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. For professional inquiries contact him at cezar@cezarwilliams.com.
Production Stage Manager: Belynda Hardin
Fight Choreographer: Carl Fisk
Marketing Maven: Lily Warpinski
Projection & Lighting Designer: Elizabeth Mak
Design team
Set Designer: Jamie Larson
Assistant Costume Designer:
Ty Andreson
Props Master: Liana Jackson
Costume Designer: DeShon Elem
Sound Design - Caroline Eng
Playwright Marilynn Barner Anselmi
in a post-show interview with Adam Szymkowicz
Links we think you will want to check out
Philip Yanos Ph.D.
Written Off Posted Jun 02, 2018
The Long Shadow of the Eugenics Movement - Its Influence Persists
Check out this great article about one of the Major themes in the play
We are so excited to have Philip Yanos join as a a guest panelist at our talk-back following the Saturday, September 22nd performance!
Between Choice and Coercion:
Women and the Politics of Sterilization in North Carolina, 1929-1975
article by Johanna Schoen
Between 1929 and 1975, the North Carolina Eugenics Board authorized over eight thousand eugenic sterilizations. By stressing the irreversible and permanent effects of sterilization, historians have emphasized the involuntary character of sterilization for poor and minority women.... It highlights that women were not merely victims of state sterilization policies, but tried to control their reproduction even if it meant taking advantage of less-than-perfect programs.