Plays written by Jahna Ferron-Smith
THE WOODS
RUNNING WHILE BLACK
Synopses:
THE WOODS (3M, 5W) explores our learned relationships to the “American” landscape– who’s taught to love it? Who’s taught to fear it? Who’s allowed to claim it?–and the consequences those cultural narratives have on young Black Americans, only just learning what being Black in today’s “American landscape” might mean for them. Going forward, might there be a way to manifest a more positive narrative surrounding the natural environment, for the sake of those next in line to inherit it?…
RUNNING WHILE BLACK (7w, 3m) Nicole is an unmarried, nearly thirty-year-old Black Creative living in Brooklyn, New York in 2019. How does she stay grounded? She runs. Running While Black follows one Black woman’s journey to becoming a consistent, recreational jogger and the circumstances that drove her to that point. The consequences of thirty years’ worth of coping mechanisms begin manifesting uncontrollably, as Nicole is finally overwhelmed by the one thing she can’t outrun: change.
BIO:
Jahna Ferron-Smith is a recent alumna of the Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Fellowship at the Juilliard School, the Obie Award-winning playwrights collective, Youngblood, as well as Interstate 73. Her plays have been performed at Ensemble Studio Theatre, Pendragon Theatre, and the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival. Jahna’s plays have also been developed with The Lark, Ojai Playwrights Conference, The Playwrights’ Center, Page 73 and Clubbed Thumb. Her plays include, THE WOODS. (Venturous Playwright Fellowship winner; written with support from SPACE on Ryder Farm), Running While Black (Ojai Playwrights Conference), Step Mom, Step Mom, Step Mom. (New York State Council on the Arts Grant recipient) and SIR. (published by Samuel French).
Website: www.jahnaferron-smith.com