"No Child" at Woolly Mammoth

I saw the one-woman play "No Child..." at Woolly Mammoth yesterday. Man do I love that theater. The space is gorgeous, and their mission - of "igniting" engagement between artists and the community - inspires me.

The play, about a high school classroom in the Bronx, was very well-done, but I was left feeling like it was a story I'd seen before: the extraordinary teacher who inspires a group of inner-city students. There's value in telling the story again, through a different artist's lens, in that it has a chance to reach different people, or the same people in different ways, and inspire action. And watching writer/performer Nilaja Sun slip in and out of a dozen or so different roles is a real treat. But I didn't feel like the play introduced me to any ideas or even any characters, really, that I hadn't seen before.

Still, I'm inspired that there are people out there, like Sun, who not only teach (and reach) troubled students, but also create art about their life experiences, and share that art with the world - instead of limiting it to private journal entries or conversations with friends. So thank you to Nilaja Sun, and to Woolly for giving artists like her a place to showcase their work.

P.S. There's another show playing there right now, The K of D, an urban legend, that looks very interesting - tickets are only $18...