What to Send Up When It Goes Down
- Written by Alesha Harris
- Directed by Whitney White
Presented by
Playwrights Horizons and BAM
In association with The Movement Theatre Company
What to Send Up When It Goes Down is a play, a ritual, and a home-going celebration that bears witness to the physical and spiritual deaths of Black people as a result of racist violence. Setting out to disrupt the pervasiveness of anti-Blackness and acknowledge the resilience of Black people throughout history, Aleshea Harris’s acclaimed, groundbreaking play blurs the boundaries between actors and audiences, offering a space for catharsis, discussion, reflection, and healing.
The play was created for a Black audience, but all are welcome. The intention of the play is to create a space for as many Black-identifying audience members as possible.
This production is part of the Playwrights Horizons’ Redux Series, which expands audience reach for vital new plays that premiered to limited runs elsewhere. Redux productions are programmed in addition to our regular season offerings. The Redux Series is not included in any of our season packages.
What to Send Up When It Goes Down is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com.
Rachel Christopher
One/MadeUgo Chukwu
Six/MissKambi Gathesha
TwoDenise Manning
Eight/Song LeaderJavon Q. Minter
SevenAdrianna Mitchell
ThreeBeau Thom
Five/Man/DriverCreative Team
Yu-Hsuan Chen
Scenic DesignQween Jean
Costume DesignCha See
Lighting DesignSinan Refik Zafar
Sound DesignAlesha Harris
Original SongsGenevieve Ortiz
Production Stage ManagerCarolina Arboleda
Assistant Stage ManagerCha See (Lighting Designer) (she/her) is an Obie Award-winning lighting designer from Manila, Philippines. Playwrights Horizons: Wet Brain (with MCC; Obie Special Citations, Lortel nomination for Outstanding Lighting Design), What to Send Up When It Goes Down (with BAM, also at A.R.T. and the Public Theater). Other highlights include Oh Mary! (Lyceum Theatre); Babbitt (La Jolla Playhouse); JORDANS (Public Theater); Is It Thursday Yet? (La Jolla, PAC NYC); You Will Get Sick (Roundabout), On That Day in Amsterdam (Drama Desk and Lortel Nominations for Outstanding Lighting Design), The Seagull/Woodstock, NY, and one in two (The New Group); Sorry for Your Loss, The Fever, and Lucy (Audible Theater); soft (MCC). MFA NYU Tisch.
Sinan Refik Zafar (Sound Designer) (he/him). Playwrights Horizons: What to Send Up When It Goes Down, Wish You Were Here. Additional credits include What the Constitution Means to Me (Broadway, National Tour, NYTW); English (Broadway); What to Send Up When It Goes Down (National Tour); English (Obie Award) and Shhh (Atlantic Theater Company); Letters from Max (Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel nominations, Signature Theatre); Which Way to the Stage, All the Natalie Portmans (MCC Theater); Lunar Eclipse, To My Girls (Second Stage); The Vagrant Trilogy, Cullud Wattah (The Public Theater); Montag (Soho Rep). M.F.A., Yale School of Drama.
Aleshea Harris turns theatre into a monument, ephemeral but real, to ongoing pain. You can’t tear down a statue that never shows up outside.
Ferociously vital and shouldn’t be missed!
