Sojourners: Like a Movie or Your Favourite Series On Stage

I can’t put my finger on whether it is the characters, set, story or the entire package that makes the audience feel so drawn into Sojourners. Sojourners feels like you got to binge watch your new favourite series in real time (that time being the 1970’s), live from the comfort of your Huntington Theatre seat. If you don’t fall in love with at least two of the characters, then you didn’t get tickets to the show. Sojourners tells the stories that Mfoniso Udofia couldn’t find anywhere. They are stories that reflect her heritage and are the stories of Africans and African Americans that felt like her family.

I’m writing these plays for myself, for my immediate family, for my extended family, for the Ibibio
community,

I’m writing us — so we can see us. I believe my work incites community
action. When one cares about a character so much they are crying for them, they usually cannot
meet a similar person in life and instantaneously judge them. A dramatic telling of an immigrant
story, when done well, can cause an audience to change irrevocably in the moment. These audience
members will then leave the building and enter their own communities with newfound empathy.

-Mfoniso Udofia, playwright

The way that Udofia brings her characters to life, you get to know them so well in small gestures, little comments, clucks of the tongue, and bad habits. Little details draw you closer to the story and experience of others. In every scene there is something I can relate to and some things so foreign to me as a white, cis-gender female, immigrant. Whatever your story is, is it not a treat to get a peek into someone else’s life experience and find a way to relate or simply take it in and gain understanding of one another’s different life experiences. At once point in Sojourners, I was taken to church. I was lucky enough to attend Sojourners in the company of many friends and family of the playwright, and was surrounded by many who could relate directly to the experiences on stage. In one scene there is a brief prayer, which brought the room alive reminding me of the time I went to church in Harlem. If you ever have the chance to go to The Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem one Sunday, I highly recommend it. It was an experience so foreign to me, as white agnostic Jew and one I will never forget for the sense of community, joy, humour and vibrancy. I felt that again at Sojourners.

Sojourners may be a sad story, but we, the audience, had plenty of laughs. Thematically, Sojourners reflects how most of us live, white or black, poor or rich, educated by academia or educated by life. We all have relative levels of shit to deal with and there are the people in our lives who add to the pile and those who pull us out of it. Of course the context of our lives all vary greatly, and the structures that support or hinder our progress and success is very different. Sojourners highlights the differences even between African and African Americans seeing the disconnect, assumptions, and biases between Abasiama, a Nigerian student at an American university, 8-months pregnant and Moxie, a young, quick-witted and hard-edged black American woman looking for a new job, which brings insight and humour through this odd but strong relationship. The lighting, set and how they transition from one location to another are a work of art in themselves. The high level of set design and light comes up to match the beautiful writing, acting and producing of Sojourners.

While Sojourners is perfectly complete as a stand alone play, it is exciting to know that it is just one of a nine play cycle. I am so excited about this cycle, inspired in part by August Wilson’s American Century Cycle, not just to be able to continue following the story, but for everyone and everything that is behind the cycle. The Huntington, and other arts institutions in Boston are starting to create space for and amplify voices, especially black voices that we have been deprived of for so long. The Ufot cycle brings together a far-ranging list of arts institutions, universities, social organizations, and non-profits. In addition, a series of community productions will take place throughout greater Boston, with organizations who have collaborated on the creation and public activation of the cycle. Partners currently include AfroDesiaCity, ArtsEmerson, The Barr Foundation, Boston Arts Academy, The Boston Foundation, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, Boston Public Art Triennial, Boston Public Library, Boston Public Schools, Boston University, Central Square Theater, Coolidge Corner Theater,
DiasporaMass, Embrace Boston, Facing History & Ourselves, Front Porch Arts Collective, GBH, The Huntington, Kligerman Productions, The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, Next Chapter Podcasts, Nigerian Professionals Group, Northeastern University, Prior Performing Arts Center at the College of the Holy Cross, Riverside Theater Works, Roxbury Community College, Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation, Wellesley College, Wellesley Repertory Theatre, West End House, Wheelock Family Theatre, and ZUMIX, with others to be announced in the coming months.

Find your way to The Huntington Theatre to catch Sojouners before the run ends on December 1st. Other opportunities to see the show are:

• Riverside Theater Works in Hyde Park: Wednesday, November 13 at 7pm
• Prior Performing Arts Center at the College of Holy Cross: Tuesday, November 19 at 7pm
• ZUMIX in East Boston: Friday, November 22 at 7pm
• Roxbury Community College in Roxbury: Monday, November 25 at 6pm

Or attend one of the Sojourners special events:

• Blackout Performance: Sunday, November 10 at 7pm
  The Huntington will host a Blackout Boston evening for those who identify as members of Africa’s Global Diaspora (persons who identify as descendants of Africans dispersed throughout the world). The Blackout performance will take place on Sunday, November 10 at the Huntington Theatre
  Blackout Boston is an opportunity for Black identifying audiences to experience live theater that
  feels resonant to the Black experience in a space where their community is the majority. If you have
  questions about this event or other community events, please contact Huntington Community Engagement Manager Oz Pereira: opereira@huntingtontheatre.org. Tickets to this performance are Pay What You Wish.
• Student Matinee Performance: Thursday, November 14 at 10am The Huntington Education Department hosts a student matinee of Sojourners on Thursday, November 14 at 10am at the Huntington Theatre (264 Huntington Ave). Student tickets are $20 each, chaperones attend at no cost, and one chaperone is required for every 15 students. To reserve your school group and learn more information, please email Manager of Education Operations Bec Lowe at education@huntingtontheatre.org.
• Humanities Forum: Sunday, November 17 The Huntington hosts a post-show discussion after the 2pm matinee performance on Sunday, November 17 at the Huntington Theatre (264 Huntington Ave).
• Student Matinee Performance: Friday, November 22 at 10am The Huntington Education Department hosts a student matinee of Sojourners on Friday, November 22 at 10am at the Huntington Theatre (264 Huntington Ave). Student tickets are $20 each, chaperones attend at no cost, and one chaperone is required for every 15 students. To reserve your school group and learn more information, please email Manager of Education Operations Bec Lowe at education@huntingtontheatre.org.
• Actors Forum: Friday, November 29 The Huntington hosts a moderated, post-show discussion with members of the cast after the 2pm matinee performance on Friday, November 29 at the Huntington Theatre (264 Huntington Ave). Hear actors from Sojourners reflect on their roles and nuances of each character.