Lenelle Moise is an award-winning poet, playwright and performance artist. Her play MERIT tells the story of Mona, the only black student and Southerner in a prestigious graduate fiction program in rural Vermont.
When Mona befriends her divorced literary hero, sexy secrets, betrayal and ferocious rivalries ensue. Classmate conflicts and parental concerns round out this incisive comedy about academia, sexuality and artistic integrity. MERIT won the 2011-2012 Ruby Prize for female playwrights of color and was featured on the 2016 Kilroys List.
MERIT's cast will include Ithaca College faculty member Cynthia Henderson (Theatre Arts), local professional actors Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr., and Stephen Nunley, and Theatre Arts students Eunice Akinola, Cam Wenrich and Ava DeFrancesco. Kiefer Harrington (Theatre Arts student) is the assistant director.
A brief talk-back with the playwright and cast will take place immediately following the reading.
Lenelle Moise will be at Ithaca College throughout the week. On Tuesday, November 1st, at 7 p.m. in Emerson Suites, she will perform her one-woman show, AMPLIFY: A "SPEAKING INTERSECTIONS" MIXTAPE.
Moise's visit is co-sponsored by the Women's and Gender Studies, the H&S Dean's Office; the Provost's Office; the Office of the Associate Vice Provost/Interim Chief Diversity Officer; the LGBT Center, the departments of English, Theatre, Sociology, CSCRE, and Media Arts, Sciences and Studies; and the Diversity Awareness Committee.
