Sistas on Fire: A Newsical

For a young female college student, a writing assignment to examine a pressing social issue sends her on a journey into the hearts and minds of three older women: unnamed because they are meant to represent the common African American woman whose point of view is undervalued and overlooked by society.

As the women share their innermost thoughts and feelings on what angers them in a mixture of poetry, prose, song, and dance, the young seeker finds a newfound maturity and an unexpected result of her research—facing her own secret anger about a tragic personal event.

Audience participation creates a mutual catharsis which leads to the sense of empowerment necessary for individual and social change.