Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney creates original trilogy “The Brother/Sister Plays”

A young playwright is on the rise with an original trilogy called “The Brother/Sister Plays.”

29-year-old Tarell Alvin McCraney grew up in the Liberty City housing projects in Miami, the Everglades and Homestead, Fla.

In a statement for McCarter Theatre, McCraney described his experience, saying,“I lived in the other America; the America that doesn't always get depicted in the cinema. The America that we are told to pretend isn't there. And in an attempt to create theater that told untold stories, that gave voice to another half of America, I created ‘The Brother/Sister Plays.’”

He said he has been thinking up stories all of his life. In the south, mixtures of cultures and languages surrounded him. Through “The Brother/Sister Plays,” McCraney explored the combinations of different cultures and their existence in America.

The names of the characters are derived from Yoruban mythology. Their stories are an intertwining of the Yerma and Oba cultures, how they are retained indirectly and what it feels like to the generations living with it in America today.

These present day stories follow a family and community in San Pere, La. Much like the area that McCraney grew up in, this made up housing project in the Louisiana Bayou is a mixture of Yoruban stories and explores familial relationships, values and more.

“I began to investigate how to use ancient myths, stories, to tell urban ones,” McCraney explained on The McCarter Theater Center Web site Mccarter.org/tarell.

The three plays are shown in two nights but do not have to be seen in order. The first piece of the trilogy is a coming of age tale called, “In the Red and Brown Water.” It delves into the life of a young girl named Oya and her entrance into womanhood.

The second part entitled, “The Brothers Size,” follows two brothers, Oshoosi and Ogun Size and their relationship with one another. After witnessing Ogun and Oshoosi’s bonding through a casual musical rendering of Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness,” the relationship between the brothers is one that is not often explored in theater or even film.

The third part, which plays on the same night as “The Brothers Size,” is called, “Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet.” It takes a look into the world of Marcus, a young man in the process of discovering things about his past, his family and his sexuality.

The actors play multiple characters in the trilogy and execute it very well. “The Brothers Size” was a play that premiered in The Public Theater in 2007. It was reconceived for this trilogy. Some of the actors returned to act in this production and gave outstanding performances that not only portrayed the characters, but also brought forth and conveyed McCraney’s ideas.

One very interesting aspect was how the actors said their stage directions aloud to the audience. To an actor, this sounds like this just breaks character and might distract from the story, but seeing this played out on stage was very interesting — in a very good way.

McCraney explained that he chose to include this to make it more of a communal experience. “The actors speak stage directions that invite the audience to remember that they are in a theater and that the story that is being told is for them and to feel free to call and respond back,” McCraney said. He also explained how he was “trying to explore rhythms, drum-like, but in the voice.”

There is something almost ironic, but interesting about giving names of gods to characters that live in a housing project. Much like McCraney's own life, these plays include an interesting mix of cultures with themes that are universal. These are fictional characters, but they are real people with realistic issues.

McCraney proves to be a talented young playwright that is not afraid to take a realistic look at life, God, sexuality and more. He created fascinating characters and stories that go beyond the surface and dig deep into the many facets of how people relate to each other and themselves.