Art After Dark: Behind Closed Doors
Posted by Kadijah
March 2, 2015
Art After Dark, is an annual student -directed production encompassing the talents of students from Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Clark Atlanta University. Art After Dark t analyzes black love, sexuality, black beauty, and spirituality through dance, singing, music, spoken word, comedy, and acting. This year’s theme, Behind Closed Doors, critically demonstrated that beauty, pain, and spirituality related to love can be filled with awkward moments that we can all relate too. As with many productions that occur on Spelman’s campus, the spectators were friends of the performers and did not hold back. They yelled out the names of their friends with pride and the audience laughed at times of humor. Kudos to the performers for sharing their talents and using their bodies to relay well-received messages.
The showcase which lasted approximately three hours touched upon several relationship stages. The first stage discussed courtship and the honeymoon phase of relationships. Everything is adorable and each day brings new surprises. In the second stage, you become more comfortable with one another. Suddenly, your partner points out that the socks you leave on the dorm floor and the smell of your feet are a problem. Suddenly, the little eccentricities your partner seemingly adored, now irritate the mess out of your partner. The third stage was the acknowledgement of love. The fourth phase, of course, is the break up. Anyone who has undergone or is currently in a relationship could find themselves in the characters on stage. The pieces related to lust and admiration had an undeniable humor and truth that touched the audience.
The cast did not shy away from sex by any means. (Sex Positivity.woot.woot). It was beautiful, interactive, and quite relevant considering never-ending conversations about the significance of black bodies in politics and as an art form. The combination of spirituality, sex, and art was powerful. Save it to say, I look forward to seeing the show next year’s show.
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