THE ENSEMBLE THEATRE
www.ensemblehouston.com
Artistic Director of The Ensemble Theatre EILEEN J. MORRIS
Presents
EIGHTH DAY OF THE WEEK
By Prester Pickett
Directed by Eileen J. Morris
March 22 thru April 15, 2018
The Ensemble Theatre Presents
Eighth Day of the Week
By Prester Pickett
Who/What: Up Next at The Ensemble Theatre, a family pulls together as its matriarch battles with Alzheimer's in Eighth Day of the Week.
Love is the center of family and all that it involves, and one family
struggles to hold the line as their aging matriarch's memory begins to fade.
This play originally was produced and presented in 1995 by the University
Alzheimer Center at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland
Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. Eighth Day of the Week is a story
infused with humor to bring awareness to a condition that affects so many
families around the world. This story will give a glimpse into the lives of
family discovering, accepting, and learning how to cope with Alzheimer’s.
Featured Cast members include:
Rachell Hemphill Dickson, Tanner Ellis, Shane Warren Jones, Robert Marshall, Joyce Anastasia Murray, Britney Walker-Merritte, Caprice Carter and Roc Living.
When:
Show Run: March 22 - April 15, 2018
Thursdays: 7:30 p.m.
Fridays: 8:00 p.m.
Saturdays: 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
Sundays: 3:00 p.m.
**
Where: The Ensemble Theatre
3535 Main St, Houston, TX 77002
713-520-0055
About the Playwright
Prester Pickett
A graduate of the College of Wooster in Ohio and the first African American to secure an MFA in Acting from Case Western Reserve University, where he also completed the curriculum in their American Studies Ph. D. Program. His play on Alzheimer's in the African American community, EIGHTH DAY OF THE WEEK, explains how the disease impacts the entire family. Professor Pickett's unique way that he blends education and entertainment has brought great attention to the emerging field of "Edutainment." He resides in Cleveland Heights, Ohio with his wife and two sons where they make regular contributions to the efforts of establishing Greater Cleveland as an "Edutainment" Mecca.
(R-L) Joyce Anastasia Murray as Ma Dear, Rachel Hemphill Dickson as Beneatha and Tanner Ellis as Billie.
Photo
courtesy of the Ensemble Theatre
The Cast
Beneatha
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The Ensemble Theatre's 2017-2018 Season is sponsored in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. United Airlines is the official airline sponsor for The Ensemble Theatre.
The Ensemble Theatre was
founded in 1976 by the late George Hawkins to preserve African American
artistic expression and to enlighten, entertain, and enrich a diverse
community. Thirty-nine years later, the theatre has evolved from a touring
company operating from the trunk of Mr. Hawkins’ car to being one of
Houston’s finest historical cultural institutions. The Ensemble is one of a
few professional theatres in the region dedicated to the production of works
portraying the African American experience. The oldest and largest
professional African American theatre in the Southwest, it holds the
distinction of being one of the nation’s largest African American theatres
owning and operating its facility and producing in-house. Board President
Emeritus Audrey Lawson led the capital campaign for The Ensemble’s $4.5
million building renovations that concluded in 1997. The Ensemble Theatre
has fulfilled and surpassed the vision of its founder and continues to
expand and create innovative programs to bring African American theatre to
myriad audiences.