Dallas (WBAP/KLIF) – Ayvaunn Penn, adjunct professor in the Department of Theatre, has written and is directing what she hopes will be an agent of social change. ‘For Bo: A Play Inspired by the Murder of Botham Jean by Police Officer Amber Guyger,’ utilizes contemporary free verse poetry, rhythm and percussion.
Penn stresses that her work is a fictional narrative inspired by the events, not an exact account.
The first staged reading of the play was held this month as part of Black History Month events on campus.
Other readings are slated around Dallas this month:
*Urban Arts Center (Dallas, TX) – February 24th, 7PM
*KD Conservatory College of Film and Dramatic Arts (Dallas, TX) – Date TBA
Penn got the idea for the project by something that played out at the start of the Amber Guyger trial.
“As I watched the Amber Guyger trial play out on national television along with the rest of America, this play was quickened in my spirit,” Penn said. “The exact moment was when I heard Judge Tammy Kemp say, ‘Why are the people locked out? This is the people’s court. Let the people come inside.’ There was something so magnificent about the way she said it. Something so true. Let the people witness. Let the people hear. Let us come together in this room and deal with this tragedy as a community. It was in that moment, that the seed for this play was planted.”
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