2021 Diverse Voices Playwriting Initiative

Synopsis

Set in 1929, The DePriest Incident dramatizes an underexplored event in African American political history. Oscar DePriest, an outspoken civil rights advocate, has just been elected to represent Illinois in the U.S. House of Representatives—the first Black person to do so in the 20th century. He takes a hard line against racism, pushing for anti-lynching legislation and criticizing politicians who submit to Southern pressure. Oscar’s mind is also set on his wife, Jessie, attending the White House tea party hosted by First Lady Lou Hoover, a courtesy afforded to all Congressional wives. Oscar and his ally, Julia West Hamilton, plan to use Jessie’s White House appearance to send a message about racial equality and drive attendance at an upcoming NAACP fundraiser. However, it is unclear if Jessie will receive an invitation—or if Jessie even wants to go, knowing that she will be ignored and belittled by some of the white women. Through powerful characters and a gripping story, The DePriest Incident stages an important debate about the most effective political strategy for social change.

Artistic Staff

Director
Demitri Corbin
Stage Manager
Adam Bridges
Background and Sound Designer
Isabel Samuel
Dramaturg
Cheyenne Flores
Poster Image
Satomi Radostits
Video Trailer
Sanhawich Meateanuwat

Cast

Oscar Stanton DePriest
Victor D'Wayne Little*
Jessie Williams DePriest
Claron Sharrieff
Julia West Hamilton
Lisa Gaye Dixon*
Colonel Robert N. Harper
Don Shandrow
Fiorello LaGuardia
John Stefano
Robert Russa Moton
Demitri Corbin
Pearl Murray
Chynna Miller
Stage Directions
Elaine Hill

* The Actor appears through the courtesy of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

About the Playwright

Playwright Charles White is a founding member of Harlem Playwrights 21, a not-for-profit playwriting workshop. His play, Succession, was a finalist in the 2018 ScreenCraft Play Competition. Another play, Unentitled, reached the semifinals of the same contest the following year, and The DePriest Incident was a semifinalist in the 2019 Blue Ink Playwriting Award Competition. White has studied under Michael D. Dinwiddie, P.J. Gibson, Laurence Holder, Cassandra Medley, and Richard Wesley at the New Federal Theatre Playwriting Workshop, and is a graduate of Princeton University and NYU Law School.

Interview with the playwright

Synopsis

Artistic Staff

Cast

About the Playwright

2021 Finalists