Nikkole Salter | IN THE CONTINUUM

IN THE CONTINUUM

BY: Nikkole Salter & Danai Gurira

THE STORY: In the Continuum, an OBIE

award-winning and Pulitzer Prize nomin-

ated drama in monologue, puts a human

face on the devastating impact of AIDS

in Africa and America through the lives

of two unforgettably courageous women.

Living worlds apart, one in South Central

Los Angeles and the other in Harare, Zimbabwe, each experience a kaleidoscopic weekend of life changing revelations in this surprisingly comic story of parallel denials and self-discoveries.

FULL SCRIPT

Full Length - no intermission
2 Women
Minimal Set

For amateur production information, contact Samuel French, Inc.

IN THE CONTINUUM

PRIMARY STAGES PRODUCTION, Robert O'Hara, dir. photo credit: James Leynse

IN THE CONTINUUM

PRIMARY STAGES PRODUCTION, Robert O'Hara, dir. photo credit: James Leynse

IN THE CONTINUUM

PRIMARY STAGES PRODUCTION, Robert O'Hara, dir. photo credit: James Leynse

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Created and first performed at NYU Grad Acting Paul Walker Theatre as a part of their third year FREEPLAY program, Feb. 2004. It was workshopped at the Mud/Bone Theatre Collective in the Bronx, NY (Michael Wiggins, Artistic Director) and developed in part at the Ojai Playwright's Festival Robert, Egan, Artistic Director.

IN THE CONTINUUM received its world premiere production in an extended run at Primary Stages, (Casey Childs, Executive Producer; Andrew Leynse, Artistic Director; Elliot Fox Managing Director) Sept. 11 - Oct. 30, 2005, in New York City, directed by Robert O'Hara assisted directed by Gus Danowski. The original production continued in a 5 month commercial Off-Broadway run at the Perry Street Theatre (produced by Perry Street Theatricals David Elliot and Martin Platt; Patrick Blake, Cheryl Wiesenfeld and Richard Jordan) beginning Nov. 2005. The original production toured form April 2006 through August 2007 to the following venues: Harare International Festival of the Arts, Harare, Zimbabwe; Baxter Theatre, Cape Town, South Africa; Market Theatre, Johennesburg, South Africa; Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Scotland; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Washington, DC; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati, OH; Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles, CA; Yale Repertory, New Haven, CT; Philadelphia Theatre Company, Philadelphia, PA; Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL; and the Grahmstown National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa. This original production featured work from following designers: Set, Peter R. Feuchtwanger; Lighting, Colin D. Young, Costume, Sarah Hillard; and Sound, Lindsay Jones; and Props Jay Duckworth. The Stage Managers were Kate Hefel and Samone B. Weisman. The Cast was as follows: Danai Gurira as ABIGAIL, et al.; Nikkole Salter as NIA, et al.; and Tinashe Kajese and Antu Yacob as understudies. (MS. Kajese played the role of ABIGAIL in the Cincinnati production) IN THE CONTINUUM was featured at the 2007 Theatre Communications Group Conference and had a cultural exchange tour sponsored by the US Dept. of Cultural Affairs and Bloomberg the summer of 2007.

Graphic by Carrie Osgood

REVIEWS: (partial list from the World Premiere and Int'l Tour)

"A doubly rare breed, "In the Continuum" is a political drama that teaches without preaching and a heartbreaker that stirs without schmaltz. Credit for both goes to the extraordinary writer-stars, Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter, two recent NYU grads who decided the theater should say more about the staggering number of African and African-American women living with HIV. The resulting statement is stark, frightening and altogether engrossing.." - Mark Blankenship, Variety Oct. 3, 2005

"Both Guira and Salter are actresses of extraordinary range and skill, and they have crafted a play that works both as politics and literature, finding voices for each of the characters that ring ...For such young playwrights and performers, it is a piece of startling maturity.Among the many brilliant moments, the one that stands out is Nia's prayer near the end of the piece. Done as a rap, it turns the form that often celebrates male dominance and glamorizes riches, acquisition, stardom, and the objectification of women into its direct inverse and shows the corrosive spiritual effect such attitudes have. - Christopher Byrne for Gay City News Oct. 6-12, 2005

"...But Ms. Gurira and Ms. Salter write the story in flesh and blood - in the medium of life, which is realized most immediately onstage...As they move among these characters, the actresses display the breadth of their acting skills as well as the meticulous attention they've paid to the construction of character. Each portrait comes through in sharp, photographic detail..." - Charles Isherwood, New York Times Oct. 10, 2005

"Thanks to some carefully observed comic portraits, Gurira and Salter keep the atmosphere light for as long as they can (even a bit too much). But once each actor begins her third-act breakdown, the drama is as continuously engaging as the comedy." - Helen Shaw, Time Out New York Oct 6-12, 2005