Lia Chang: Camille Darby’s Lords Resistance

Camille Darby’s new play Lords Resistance will have a staged reading on Saturday, June 20 at the New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing,Goldberg Theatre, 721 Broadway, 7th Floor in New York. Presented by The Bronx Council on the Arts, Lords Resistance , will be directed by Kim Weston-Moran and features Karen Pittman, Christopher Burris, Clinton Lowe, Zelika Chante and Penni Danielle Tinsley.

Synopsis: All is right for the Whitakers, or so it appears. When their adopted teenage son, and former child solider Okello arrives, this family reveals that they are much less than perfect. Both a victim and perpetrator of Uganda’s civil unrest which spans over two decades, Okello finally gets the opportunity to replace the terrifying memories of his past with new beginnings in an upper class suburb outside of Chicago. But it isn’t long before the Whitakers witness the chilling effects of the war that haunts Okello. Michelle Whitaker, an eager freshman at Northwestern, hoping to connect and redefine herself through her new brother, probes him with questions he refuses to answer. While he does everything to rid himself of his past, Okello is in the midst of yet another war within the Whitaker household—a war fought silently between husband Harvey, and wife Pauline. Losing the ability to conceive her own child, a determined Pauline does everything to make Okello her own, even at the expense of her marriage. A questionable relationship between mother and son develops leaving the family divided in a way that could leave permanent damage for everyone.

Camille Darby

Born in Jamaica, West Indies, Camille Darby migrated to New York City with her family at the age of 6. Her constant attempts at adjusting to American culture—she soon discovered—were best manifested through her writing. It was her first play Mother, May I? written in her high school’s Residency Arts Program that drew the attention of acclaimed playwright, Wendy Wasserstein. With the guidance and encouragement of Wasserstein, Camille continued to study theatre, history, literature and film at Sarah Lawrence College where she received her B.A. in Liberal Arts in 2005. During the same year, she also received Honorable Mention at the College Language Association Creative Writing Contest for her ten-minute play Where Your Gun At?—­a social commentary examining the women of the Black Panther Movement of the 1960s. Camille holds an M.F.A in Dramatic Writing from New York University’s, Tisch School of the Arts, and during that time, has had a series of readings at The Public Theatre, which include Easy Conversation and Sweetest Taboo. In 2008, Camille received the Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) playwriting prize from the Bronx Council on the Arts for her full-length play Lords Resistance.

Saturday, June 20, 2009
12pm
New York University, Tisch School of the Arts
Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing
Goldberg Theatre
721 Broadway
7th Floor
New York

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