Summary

Evaristo begins Chapter 4 — “Four: drama, community, performance, politics” (115) — by reflecting on how her female friendships formed her professional theater career: It was with two friends she met while attending Rose Bruford College — Paulette Randall and Patricia St Hilaire — that she began Theatre of Black Women. Paulette and Patricia were from Caribbean families and more connected with their parents’ cultures than Evaristo.

Evaristo considers that if she had solely studied acting, she would have been extremely limited in her options for jobs as a Black woman. By taking on education with a broader focus, she was empowered to start her own company with her friends. This in turn allowed them to produce plays that aligned with their personal visions and politics. Paulette soon left the company to become a trainee director at the...