While most theatres have gone on hiatus, the University of Memphis Department of Theatre & Dance proudly to announce the second show in its ongoing Jubilee Season — Lest We Forget: Black Memphis History Through Dance/Theatre.  

This outdoor performance, a combination of dance and theatre, explores 120 years of Black Memphis history. The University of Memphis joins theaters nationwide in Jubilee: A year-long celebration of performances generated by individuals that have been historically excluded from our country’s stages.

This performance aims to take viewers on a journey through space and time, as artists explore 120 years of rich, Black Memphis history through a series of site-specific, on-campus, outdoor performances. The pieces focus on moments in the city’s past, including the sanitation strike of 1968, the Memphis State Eight, Robert Reed Church and the 1866 massacre and more.

An audience of 10 will walk across campus as these stories told through dance and theatre. These pieces will also be filmed and made permanently accessible at the performance sites via a QR code, enabling anyone to experience them at any time.

Lest We Forget features pieces directed by second-year MFA directing candidates Moises Hinojos and Jamie Warrow and choreographed by Rachael Arnwine, Jorge Guaman, Kristen Lucas, Michael Medcalf, Jill Guyton Nee, and Wayne Smith, with design collaboration with Scenic Designers Brian Ruggaber and Malena Vogt, Costume Designers Alexandra Filipovich and Haley Grannon, and Sound Designers Aaron Muhl and Jenni Propst. Like the cast, the design team and all of the students working on the show have been socially distant and wearing masks, keeping everyone safe while creating theatre during the pandemic.

All audience members must wear a mask while on campus and maintain social distance during the performance.

VENUE: University of Memphis, Theatre Building, 3745 Central Ave.

RUN DATES: October 17-18 and 24-25

TIMES OF SHOWS: 2pm and 2:30pm (socially-distant groups)

TICKETS:  All tickets are LIMITED, FREE and MUST BE RESERVED in order to obtain walk-through instructions. www.memphis.edu/theatre/  Box Office: 901.678.2576