When Celeste Jennings 鈥18 arrived on campus from her home in Little Rock, Ark., she planned to be a fashion designer.
鈥淚 definitely did not see myself as a writer,鈥 she says.
What a difference four years have made. Jennings鈥檚 play, Citrus, had at its world premiere at Northern Stage Theater in White River Junction, Vt. on Feb. 29, and got a standing ovation from a packed house.
Like Ntozake Shange鈥檚 For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, which inspired Jennings when she saw it at as a sophomore at Dartmouth, Citrus is a choreopoem. Performed by nine actors, it combines Jennings鈥 spoken-word poetry with evocative movement and music. Jennings also designed the costumes, which are integral to the stories the women tell about hardship and resilience.
鈥淚t was really important for me to share my fascination with the history of dress,鈥 says Jennings. 鈥淚 learned through research what black women were wearing throughout history, and it made me think about how different their lives were. During the Harlem Renaissance, someone like Bessie Smith was all dressed up, on stage, but father south, women were sharecropping and didn鈥檛 even have enough to eat.鈥
While Jennings explores those social differences, her overarching theme is the solidarity and resilience felt and shown by black women of all ages, from all backgrounds, across eras, and despite hardship.
Citrus was first presented in May 2018 in the Warner Bentley Theater at the , as the culmination of Jennings鈥 yearlong project through the . was an early and influential mentor, introducing Jennings to freelance director and producer JaMeeka Hollow-Burrell, who directed both the Dartmouth and the Northern Stage productions. In addition, Ndounou invited Jennings to showcase an early version of Citrus at the , where it got constructive feedback.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like any living thing, growing and changing, and I鈥檓 so proud of the work that Celeste is doing,鈥 says Ndounou, noting that the also played a key role in the play鈥檚 development. 鈥淚t really did take a village,鈥 says Ndounou, who has started a nonprofit organization, the , to help foster for other emerging black artists the opportunities Jennings has had to break into mainstream theater.
Northern Stage鈥檚 producing artistic director, Carol Dunne, a senior lecturer in the Department of Theater, says Citrus is 鈥渧isionary, mature, and inspiring. Because I鈥檓 such a lover of the power of language, I knew that this exquisite piece deserved to be lifted up in a professional production. We all immediately realized the theatricality that we could give to it, and that it would give back to us.鈥
The cast and crew have close connections to Dartmouth. One of the actors, Samantha West 鈥20, has performed in numerous student productions, and spent an experiential 鈥渆-term鈥 as a Northern Stage intern. Kyla Mermejo-Varga 鈥17 and Millenah Nascimento 鈥21 are assistant stage managers. Kathy Perkins, the lighting designer, worked on several Dartmouth productions before this debut at Northern Stage, where she is assisted by Hannah Haile 鈥20. The assistant director and choreographer is Lexi Warden 鈥21.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure Northern Stage will do something like a reading in New York City, and introduce Citrus to other regional theater companies,鈥 says Dunne. 鈥When so many people work this hard for something they believe in so strongly, it鈥檚 exhausting, but also exhilarating, and the time flies. We鈥檙e equally passionate about the future of Celeste鈥檚 play.鈥
For her part, Jennings says she鈥檚 trying to be both optimistic and realistic.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to get my hopes too far up but I鈥檓 really, really passionate about its going in front of a majority black female audience and seeing how they receive it,鈥 says Jennings. 鈥淎nd I dream of it being published.鈥
The play runs at Northern Stage through March 15.
