{"id":535,"date":"2021-04-12T19:17:56","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T19:17:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waterfrontsouthcamden.com\/?p=535"},"modified":"2021-04-12T19:26:52","modified_gmt":"2021-04-12T19:26:52","slug":"broadstreet-reviews-take-on-pipeline-at-south-camden-theatre-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waterfrontsouthcamden.com\/?p=535","title":{"rendered":"Broadstreet Review’s Take on Pipeline at South Camden Theatre Company"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pipeline<\/strong><\/em>, Dominique Morisseau\u2019s compelling exploration of the modern education system and those it does and doesn\u2019t privilege, showcases the pluck and polish of South Camden Theatre Company (SCTC). The 16-year-old company, based across the river from Philadelphia in Camden\u2019s Waterfront South neighborhood, delivers one of the strongest streaming productions I\u2019ve seen from a local theater since the pandemic shutdown.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Nya (Sasha Allen) confronts a system that doesn\u2019t serve people who look like her and her son (Brian Neal.) (Photo courtesy of SCTC.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morisseau\u2019s work has been well-represented on area stages in recent years, particularly at People\u2019s Light in Malvern, which hosted the world premiere of her brilliant Mud Row is 2019. Pipeline, which debuted at New York\u2019s Lincoln Center Theater in 2017, in a production that was later shown on PBS, receives its regional premiere here. It\u2019s gained a fair amount of traction on regional stages since its first appearance, likely due to the timely social issues it addresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The power of education?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The title refers to the \u201cschool-to-prison pipeline,\u201d a well-established concept that connects harsh educational policies with a tendency to criminalize young people, especially those from marginalized communities. Morisseau considers the issues from two sides. Nya Joseph (Sasha Allen), her protagonist, is a passionate public-school English teacher. Although not ignoring the systemic disadvantages that her students face, she believes in the power of education as a force for social good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nya also sends her son Omari (Brian Neal) to a predominantly white boarding school several hours away from their home community. The play\u2019s inciting incident, described but not seen, involves Omari lashing out at a teacher for making a comment he perceived as racist. As Omari faces expulsion, Nya confronts how the system she works within does not support students who look like her son, or herself, regardless of their location or prestige.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big-picture drama<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I first saw Pipeline several years ago, I found it thought-provoking and sincere, though somewhat lacking in dramatic thrust. That feeling remains. Morisseau\u2019s focus sits squarely with the big-picture elements of the story, sometimes to the detriment of character development. Even though Nya and Omari are given significant stage time, they can feel somewhat thinly drawn; other supporting characters, like Nya\u2019s distant ex-husband (Nathan Alford-Tate) or Omari\u2019s well-meaning girlfriend (Shawneka Ponder), are even less fleshed out. Laurie, a foul-mouthed colleague of Nya\u2019s who remembers the days of corporal punishment with fondness, verges on caricature, despite a restrained performance from Libby White.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The play clocks in at 85 brisk minutes, and it\u2019s the rare case of a recent dramatic work that could benefit from some extra length. Morisseau\u2019s best writing shows that she is capable of addressing the macro- and micro-elements of this issue with equal finesse, as in a tense scene between Omari and his estranged father. And when Nya gives a lesson on Gwendolyn Brooks\u2019s \u201cWe Real Cool,\u201d we sense her skill at reaching students, even though it largely unfolds as a monologue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seamless and engrossing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite my reservations about the play, SCTC\u2019s production, under Raymond Croce\u2019s tense direction, is virtually faultless. Allen conveys Nya\u2019s enthusiasm and her world-weariness, often adding layers that aren\u2019t in the script. She and Neal communicate a strong parental bond. And when Neal finally gives voice to the episode that led to Omari\u2019s breaking point, his performance is heartbreaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The production itself was filmed on the stage of SCTC\u2019s longtime home, the Waterfront South Theatre, and it felt so welcome to see the performers interacting together inside an auditorium. An SCTC spokesman told BSR that the rehearsal process began virtually before moving to masked, socially distanced in-person run-throughs and that all personnel received rapid Covid tests on the day of filming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cinematography and editing create a seamless, engrossing experience. Morisseau wrote projections into her script, and they are rendered here as interstitial montages, which add context and clarity to the surrounding scenes. I don\u2019t know SCTC\u2019s budget, but I came away more impressed on a technical level than I have from offerings by other, more well-established companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The success of Pipeline bodes well for SCTC\u2019s other planned digital productions, which include Daphne\u2019s Dive\u2014a Philly-set play by locally born writer Quiara Alegr\u00eda Hudes\u2014and The Brothers Size, by Academy Award-winner Tarell Alvin McCraney. It also serves to remind audiences they should always keep an eye on what the smaller theaters in our region are getting up to. You may be pleasantly surprised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pipeline, Dominique Morisseau\u2019s compelling exploration of the modern education system and those it does and doesn\u2019t privilege, showcases the pluck and polish of South Camden…<\/p>\n

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