Raising Consciousness: Small Theater, Big Impressions In New Haven
Collective Consciousness Theatre is the little theater in New Haven that is getting an increasingly bigger spotlight.
Presenting works in New Haven’s Erector Square, the professional theater company is building critical and audience buzz, including a big thumbs-up from New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, who loved Marco Ramirez’s The Royale, which was presented last season.
The theater company was the first in the state to feature the work of Dominique Morisseau, a 2018 MacArthur Genius Grant recipient who is now one of the most-produced playwrights in the country.
When awarded her the MacArthur grant, the committee said, “Dominique Morisseau is a playwright whose works portray the lives of individuals and communities grappling with economic and social changes, both current and historical. With a background as an actor and spoken-word poet, she uses lyrical dialogue to construct emotionally complex characters who exhibit humor, vulnerability, and fortitude as they cope with sometimes desperate circumstances”
Six years ago, CCT was one of the first theaters in the country to produce Morisseau’s Detroit ‘67, set during the riots of the summer of 1967. Hartford Stage produced Detroit ‘67 two years ago. Long Wharf Theatre, Westport Country Playhouse, and TheaterWorks Hartford have also produced various works by Morisseau.
But CCT has embraced the playwright’s work like no other in the state, producing three of her plays in the past five years. “I’ve known Dominique for many years before she became one of the nation’s hottest playwrights,” says executive artistic director Dexter Singleton, who is also staging Morisseau’s Skeleton Crew, which will run through Sunday, March 22. The cast features Amika Pettway, Stephen King, Betzabeth Castro, and Jason Phenix Hall.
Singleton, who started as an intern at Long Wharf Theatre before continuing as an actor, director, and arts educator, formed CCT with like-minded friends 13 years ago as an independent touring group for schools and communities on the East Coast.