the ripple, the wave that carried me home
Despite growing up in landlocked Kansas, Janice Collen’s childhood is defined by water—her mother and father are prominent activists in the movement to desegregate local swimming pools. As Janice comes of age and seeks meaning away from her parents’ politics, an unspoken distance grows within the family. Decades later, when Janice is asked to speak at a ceremony honoring her father, she must delve into her family’s past and reconcile the personal truths and public legacy of her inheritance. With “passages that ripple towards poetry,” (Chicago Sun-Times) this “poignant, transporting, and quietly subversive” (TheaterMania) new play takes us on a journey through the decades, from 1930s segregation to Rodney King, and establishes Christina Anderson as “a playwright to pay attention to” (Variety).
