Fresno puts a spin on the powerful ‘teenage’ drama ‘Dance Nation.’ Here are 5 Things to Know before it debuts.

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Clare Barron, recipient of the 2014-2015 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award at the Vineyard Theatre, was a 2019 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in drama for “Dance Nation.”

Barron explains: “I was raised in a conservative, Christian community that told me that if I had sex before marriage I would go to hell.” It took years for her to “undo that knot” and shake off the shame she associated with sex — something her writing has helped with.

3.

Director Ruth Griffin was overwhelmed when she first read the play.

Griffin, a theater and dance professor at Fresno State, writes: “The sufferings of the girls and their stories, at times shocking, unsettled me. However, as I delved more deeply into the play, I understood the playwright’s agenda of transformation. I fell in love with the girls and the team’s only boy, Luke.”

For Griffin, the play includes touches of farce, epic, realism, magical realism, solo performance, tribalism and ritual.

“I love the freedom of not being in an institution and working with people from our community,” she says.

4.

“Dance Nation” stands on the shoulders of a progression of feminist art and performance art.

The play is dedicated to Joyce Aiken, a professor emerita of art at Fresno State, who took over the feminist art program developed by Judy Chicago.

Griffin says she sees in “Dance Nation” the footprints of Chicago’s “Dinner Party” (1979), Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” (1996), and Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ “Women Who Run with the Wolves” (1992). The contributions of Aiken, who was given a lifetime achievement award in 2001 by the Women’s Caucus of Art, helped cement Fresno’s own place in feminist art history.

5.

A strong cast and creative team are good signs.

The cast includes many familiar local theater veterans: Nwachukwu, Tracy Hostmyer, Camille Gaston, Haley Wallace, Anand Purewal, Haley White, Jared Serpa, Karina Balfour and Mason T. Beltram. Chris Mangels is technical director and is handling scenic and costume design. Ajay Davis is sound designer.

PLUS: Win a pair of tickets to ‘Dance Nation’

Opening weekend performances are 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16; and 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17. You can win a pair of tickets.

The contest is open to members, donors and individual sponsors of The Munro Review. I’m giving away two pairs of tickets.

Tax-deductible memberships start at $5 a month, and you can make a one-time donation of as little as $3. (Paid memberships help keep the site running, and paid members get special members-only benefits. Please consider a paid membership in support of independent, local arts journalism.) A free membership option is available.

For details on how to join, go to the Membership and Sponsorship page. No purchase, donation or membership is necessary to enter the ticket giveaway.

To enter the giveaway, leave a reply on this post answering this question: Did you ever compete in a dance competition? (Or just say you’d like the tickets.) Leave your entry in the comment field below. Deadline to enter is 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16. The winner will be picked at random and notified by email.

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