Play Exposing Retail Racial Profiling Brings Strong Close to Face Off Theatre's Virtual Series

By Face Off Theatre Company
 
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – It’s important to dismantle racism everywhere its ugly head rears, including in retail racial profiling. That’s the subject of “I’m Not Buying It,” the final show in Face Off Theatre Company’s 2020 Virtual Spring/Summer New Play Series at 7 p.m. EST Thursday, July 23.

Watch the production LIVE at Face Off Theatre Company’s Facebook page via Facebook Live for free! Kalamazoo writer Vickie G. Hampton’s 10-minute play takes us on the harrowing journey of self-discovery for a cashier on his first day at a high-end department store.
 
You, the audience, can post your thoughts in real time during this staged reading. The program concludes with a Q&A with the playwright who will answer your questions, plus some of ours!
 
'Will generate conversation'

Playwright Vickie Hampton says eliminating racism requires each of us do our part.
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“There is a crucial individual component to dismantling racism,” Hampton says. “I hope that, at the very least, ‘I’m Not Buying It,’ will generate conversations about our personal responsibility in examining our innermost beliefs about race and doing the hard work of confronting our own biases.”

In "I’m Not Buying It," a cashier is surprised by the deep-seated discomfort and fear that surface when he deals with his first customer on his first day on the floor of an upscale department store. During the seemingly innocuous encounter, the cashier learns that there is, indeed, something sinister and disturbing at work.

A brief post-play interview will be conducted by the play's director Earlene McMichael, an actress/writer who is Face Off Theatre’s brand marketing and social media manager. The company fully staged McMichael's “You’re Gonna Learn Today” new play at last summer's Black Arts Festival in Kalamazoo.
 
Then Micealaya “Mickey” Moses, Face Off Theatre’s season planning/new play development director and dramaturg, will ask Hampton the Facebook audience's questions. Moses holds a master’s degree in fine arts with a concentration in playwriting from Western Michigan University.
 
The play stars Beth Fields, Timothy Smith, Dwane Stiger and Ron Ware, all of whom have been in past Face Off Theatre productions. 

Thanks for your interest in Face Off Theatre Company! To help us put on future plays, please consider a CashApp donation to $BACCFOTC. FOTC is a division of the Black Arts & Cultural Center, known as the BACC.

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About Face Off Theatre Company
Face Off Theatre Company launched in 2015 as the theatrical arm of the Black Arts & Cultural Center in Kalamazoo. It is devoted to thought-provoking Black theater and the development of playwrights of color, drawing audiences from throughout Southwest Michigan to its performances at the Epic Center’s Judy K. Jolliffe Theatre and nearby artistic venues. Tickets may be purchased online about a month before the show, or at the door. For more: faceofftheatre.com
 
About the Black Arts & Cultural Center
The Black Arts & Cultural Center, headquartered at downtown Kalamazoo's Epic Center, is widely known for its annual Black Arts Festival since founding in 1986. The organization develops the potential and creativity in Blacks in the Kalamazoo area, advances the awareness of Black artistic ability, helps to preserve Black cultural heritage and enhance interactions among diverse groups. For more: blackartskalamazoo.org
 
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