Welcome back, Saints! As the Spring semester starts to unfold, the Creative Arts Department is already bringing new theatrical experiences to campus. 

This past weekend, the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY presented The Niceties, a play by Eleanor Burgess, directed by Jean-Remy Monnay, and assistant directed by Steph Saint Germain, in Foy Hall’s Beaudoin Theater. The troupe is dedicated to promoting artists of color through the performance of theatrical pieces. Through their work, the Black Theatre Troupe aims to generate a greater understanding, appreciation, and participation in the performing arts within communities of color. 

As Siena enters our 3rd Annual MLK Week, the performance served as an emotional and thought-provoking kick-off to the week’s scheduled events. Dealing with race, American history, issues of social injustices, and politics all within the walls of a professor’s office, The Niceties captures the drastic differences in perception between a White Ivy League professor and her highly-motivated Black student. Comprised of both Siena students and faculty as well as local community members, the audience could not turn away from the mesmerizing performances of the show’s stars; Monet Thompson & Christina Reeves. 

The Niceties takes place solely in a casual office hours meeting of a history professor (Christina Reeves) and her student, Zoe (Monet Thompson). After reading over Zoe’s paper on the American Revolution, her professor provides Zoe some simple grammatical feedback. However, the tension between the two builds as the professor proceeds to question Zoe’s sources, thesis, and eventually, her mentality regarding race and American history. Zoe stands by her thesis, arguing with the claims that her professor makes. The audience was on the edge of their seats, watching closely as the intensified situation turned into chaos. I will refrain from spoiling anything, but I will say that both the professor’s and Zoe’s lives were forever changed in the end.

Although showings of The Niceties are over on campus, the Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate NY does have other productions, such as The Meeting, Camp Logan, and The Mountaintop, coming up soon. Anyone interested in seeing what other performances the group has to offer can find upcoming events on their website.

If you missed out on The Niceties, keep up to date with all of the other Creative Arts Department’s Spring semester events as they are sure to be just as entertaining! Make sure the check out our School of Liberal Arts’ Facebook page to stay updated on the MLK Week events as they occur from January 29th through February 5th!