When Celeste Jennings 18 arrived on campus from her home in Little Rock, Ark., she planned to be a fashion designer.
I definitely did not see myself as a writer, she says.
What a difference four years have made. Jenningss play, Citrus, had at its world premiere at Northern Stage Theater in White River Junction, Vt. on Feb. 29, and got a standing ovation from a packed house.
Like Ntozake Shanges For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, which inspired Jennings when she saw it at as a sophomore at 窪做惇蹋厙, Citrus is a choreopoem. Performed by nine actors, it combines Jennings spoken-word poetry with evocative movement and music. Jennings also designed the costumes, which are integral to the stories the women tell about hardship and resilience.
It was really important for me to share my fascination with the history of dress, says Jennings. I learned through research what black women were wearing throughout history, and it made me think about how different their lives were. During the Harlem Renaissance, someone like Bessie Smith was all dressed up, on stage, but father south, women were sharecropping and didnt even have enough to eat.
While Jennings explores those social differences, her overarching theme is the solidarity and resilience felt and shown by black women of all ages, from all backgrounds, across eras, and despite hardship.
Citrus was first presented in May 2018 in the Warner Bentley Theater at the , as the culmination of Jennings yearlong project through the . was an early and influential mentor, introducing Jennings to freelance director and producer JaMeeka Hollow-Burrell, who directed both the 窪做惇蹋厙 and the Northern Stage productions. In addition, Ndounou invited Jennings to showcase an early version of Citrus at the , where it got constructive feedback.
Its like any living thing, growing and changing, and Im so proud of the work that Celeste is doing, says Ndounou, noting that the also played a key role in the plays development. It really did take a village, says Ndounou, who has started a nonprofit organization, the , to help foster for other emerging black artists the opportunities Jennings has had to break into mainstream theater.
Northern Stages producing artistic director, Carol Dunne, a senior lecturer in the Department of Theater, says Citrus is visionary, mature, and inspiring. Because Im such a lover of the power of language, I knew that this exquisite piece deserved to be lifted up in a professional production. We all immediately realized the theatricality that we could give to it, and that it would give back to us.
The cast and crew have close connections to 窪做惇蹋厙. One of the actors, Samantha West 20, has performed in numerous student productions, and spent an experiential e-term as a Northern Stage intern. Kyla Mermejo-Varga 17 and Millenah Nascimento 21 are assistant stage managers. Kathy Perkins, the lighting designer, worked on several 窪做惇蹋厙 productions before this debut at Northern Stage, where she is assisted by Hannah Haile 20. The assistant director and choreographer is Lexi Warden 21.
Im sure Northern Stage will do something like a reading in New York City, and introduce Citrus to other regional theater companies, says Dunne. When so many people work this hard for something they believe in so strongly, its exhausting, but also exhilarating, and the time flies. Were equally passionate about the future of Celestes play.
For her part, Jennings says shes trying to be both optimistic and realistic.
I dont want to get my hopes too far up but Im really, really passionate about its going in front of a majority black female audience and seeing how they receive it, says Jennings. And I dream of it being published.
The play runs at Northern Stage through March 15.
