Dark phrases

The play opens with seven women dressed in the colors of the rainbow plus brown, running onto the stage from various directions and then freezing in place. The spotlight picks out the lady in brown, who comes to life and performs the poem "dark phrases," which speaks of the trials of a young black girl growing into womanhood in America. The other six women chime in after the lady in brown says "let her be born" as being from "outside Chicago," "outside Detroit," "outside Houston," and so on. The melancholy mood shifts to a playful rendition of "mama's little baby loves shortnin" and dance ("let your backbone slip") and a game of freeze tag, which is interrupted by the next poem.

Graduation nite

A theme of male assault combined with longing for male companionship is introduced, as the lady in yellow narrates, with some pride, how...