Snowflakes at UMass' New Play Lab

UMass Curtain Theater
Directed by Gabriel Harrell

This winter, I was able to return to my alma mater, the University of Massachusetts Amherst to be a part of their New Play Lab season with Dustin Chinn's new work, Snowflakes, or Rare White People. 

In a futuristic world where white people have become a protected "species," nearing extinction, this show flips the script on how we as a society talk about race. The show analyzes white fragility, racism, xenophobia, and tokenism through its tongue in cheek depictions of race relations in the 23rd century. 

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I was lucky enough to be a part of this ensemble working directly with playwright, Dustin Chinn to further improve upon the script. As a diverse ensemble of young actors, we were able to voice our various opinions about our characters and the world they live in by examining each of our own experiences with race relations in the present day. As one of the two white members of this cast, I was humbled to have been included in several intense and necessary conversations about race with my cast-mates of color. I am indebted to them for sharing their stories, their truths, and their activism with me in order to fully realize the reality of living in the world of the play as an ethnic minority.