Docudrama Connected to George Floyd Presented by ArtYard on May 21
Featured Photo of Tylie Shider courtesy of ArtYard.
By Clyde Hughes | AC JosepH Media
FRENCHTOWN — New Jersey natives Tylie Shider and Andrew Binger will bring the staged reading of “Whittier” to life, which draws upon a community’s reaction to the death of George Floyd, at the ArtYard’s McDonnell Theater from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday, May 21.
“Whittier,” is a multimedia docudrama that follows a diverse community of neighbors quarantined in Whittier, Minn. days after the death of Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. It is written by Shider, a Plainfield native who now lives in Minneapolis.
Whittier is directed by Binger, a Newark native and co-founder of Yendor Arts in Newark.
The docudrama was inspired by the Minneapolis-based graffiti, lawn signs, and murals and is adapted from focus groups, interviews and small talks Shider conducted with neighbors, small business owners and community leaders of faith during the 2020 uprisings.
After the reading, Shider and Binger will be joined for an artist talk with Deonté Griffin-Quick, ArtYard’s theatre curator and director of programs for the New Jersey Theatre Alliance. Shider is currently in-residence at ArtYard.
Shider, a playwright and journalist, is a two-time recipient of the Jerome Fellowship at the Playwrights’ Center (PWC) and an I Am Soul playwright in residence at the National Black Theatre (NBT). His recent plays include “Labor” (The Theater Project), “Whittier” (PWC), and “THE GOSPEL WOMAN” (NBT).
He holds a bachelor’s in journalism from Delaware State University and a master’s in dramatic writing from New York University.
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