Ida B. Wells APAC’s production of Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf earned the troupe a second consecutive opportunity to represent Mississippi at the International Thespian Festival this summer. JYN goes behind the curtain.

The cast of *For Colored Girls* perform the play’s opening scene during the Mississippi Thespian Conference in February at the MSU Riley Center in Meridian. *Sydnee Tapley*

By Hannah King

In February 2025, Jackson’s Ida B. Wells Academic and Performing Arts Complex (APAC) High School Theater Troupe 4909 was selected at the Mississippi Thespian Conference (ThesCon) to represent the state at the International Thespian Festival (ITF) in June. It was the troupe’s second consecutive year receiving this honor.

Mississippi ThesCon is held annually to celebrate student achievement in theater and gives schools across the state the opportunity to showcase their productions in front of adjudicators. The show that earns the highest rating is selected to perform at ITF, an international theater festival in Bloomington, Indiana, that draws student performers from around the world. This year, Wells APAC was one of two schools selected — alongside St. Andrew’s Episcopal School — out of 11 total productions.

In March, the Wells APAC theater program received additional recognition when the Mississippi House of Representatives issued a formal resolution honoring its work.

The following first-person story from JYN student reporter Hannah King takes readers behind the curtain of the award-winning production.

I waved to my teachers as I hopped out of the car and into Ida B. Wells APAC, a facility in the Belhaven neighborhood that houses arts programs for Jackson Public School students of all ages. It was a cold and wet day in January. I hugged myself for warmth as I made a beeline for my theater homeroom. The classroom looked the same as always: lights hanging from the ceiling, a blanket with the image of a Black girl covering some of the windows, plants lining the room, with coffee and lo-fi hip-hop in the air. I plopped down on the bean bag chair and stared up at the “Not New to This, True to This” T-shirts that hung up at the back of the room, waiting for my teacher to walk in.

I had been a part of the Wells APAC theater program since fourth grade. I was now one of the many high schoolers taking theater as their first class of the day.

Soon, the room would fill with teenagers getting ready for rehearsals. For now, though, it was quiet.

Each year, we perform a variety of shows, oftentimes having rehearsals for two shows at the same time. During the fall semester, we started working on our competition show, which we would take to the Mississippi Thespian Conference in hopes of being chosen to represent Mississippi at the International Thespian Festival in the summer. The show we chose was unlike any show we had ever done – For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake Shange.

A story that demands to be told

Written in 1976 for the stage and turned into a film in 2010, the all-female show is a series of poems the author wrote at different times in her life, each poem about a different woman she had met. Each woman is represented by a color of the rainbow. The goal of the play was to showcase the many struggles of women—especially women of color, and especially Black women. It discusses teen pregnancy, abusive relationships, rape, abortion, Black womanhood and childhood, and the silence that women of color are forced into whenever they experience any of these things. It is meant to open people’s eyes to what it means to be alive, a woman, and colored, all at the same time.

Raylan McKinest as the Lady in Blue. Sydnee Tapley

The next few weeks would consist of intense rehearsals, some taking place after school, where we would refine our characterizations of these complex characters, talk about the topics of the play, and practice the choreography and blocking of the show. We were all excited to do the show, regardless of its intensity.

“I think the hardest part of doing this show is really digging in and putting myself in my character’s shoes,” said Raylan McKinest, a 10th grade student.

Her character, the Lady in Blue, is a woman that evolves throughout the play, becoming more and more independent, going from discussing her rape and the abortion that followed, to finding the strength to proclaim that she will not accepted half-assed apologies from people that have hurt her.

i will raise my voice/& scream and holler/…and tell all yr secrets about yr self to yr face/ & i wont be sorry for none of it.

Though there is a lot of strength in this monologue, there is pain, still clinging to her soul. All of the young ladies in the show were able to bravely talk about these topics, portraying them with so much emotion.

Ava Reed as the Lady in Red. *Sydnee Tapley*

“For me, the most difficult part of doing this show is having to show yourself as being hurt, even if you haven’t been,” said Ava Reed, a 10th grade student who portrays the Lady in Red, a character Ava describes as headstrong.

The Lady in Red gives one of the first monologues in the show, speaking to a man that had been taking her love for granted for months. She clearly had had enough of his incompetence.

this note is attached to a plant/ i’ve been waterin since the day i met you/ you may water it/ yr damn self.

When the play was first published, and later, when the movie was released, it received backlash because many believed it portrayed men, specifically men of color, in a negative light. Most of the poems in this play that are about relationships talk about a man being abusive, or just straight-up stupid, and many men didn’t appreciate that, despite the fact that the play does include positive representation of Black men, as well.

When we announced to the theater department that we would be doing a show that didn’t need males, many of the boys were upset, but we simply didn’t need them. It is important for Black women to tell their stories, have it come from our mouths, and have our representation be in our hands, without the assistance of a man.

The only man working on this production was a teacher, the technical director, Madison Upendo. He said that the hardest part about doing this show was having to step aside and let the girls do what we needed to do. “But,” he clarified, “it’s also the best part.”

Choosing the right director

Since the play is about Black women, Malaika Quarterman, the arts coordinator of Wells APAC and former chair of the theater department, decided that the director of the show should be a Black woman. She chose Aisha Benford, who works at New Stage Theatre and has been studying theater since 2008.

The cast with their directors Madison Upendo (left) and Aisha Benford (center). *Photo by Sydnee Tapley*

“I’ve known Aisha for about 15 years,” Quarterman said. “Since then, I have admired her work ethic and passion to tell bold stories. I knew it was important to step aside and ensure that the show was directed by someone with an authentic connection to the material.”

Benford said that For Colored Girls is her favorite show, having played almost every character. She told us at the beginning of the rehearsal process that it was her dream to direct the show. She said that we would always hold a special place in her heart for that reason.

“My favorite part of doing this show is seeing these young actors grow,” she told me. “They just get better and better.”

She said that because each student who auditioned was so phenomenal, it made the casting process difficult. Once the show was cast, she told us to be prepared to have things switched around. She told us to essentially memorize the whole play in case our parts got switched. To her, that was what made theater fun.

Benford said the story should be told because it is centered on the experience of Black women, “something that is consistently judged, but hardly understood.” She hopes the audience can learn to understand Black women, give them more grace, and leave feeling the complex emotions that the show will bring out: the resilience and hope, as well as the pain and suffering.

As for Quarterman, who has been teaching at Wells for more than 10 years, she said the mature content in the show makes it difficult to do.

“It is imperative for me to make sure that everyone involved is aware of its content,” she said. “My biggest fear is that our program would begin to have restrictions on the content we can explore with our students.”

Despite the show’s maturity level, she said there are many things each audience member can receive from this play. She hopes the audience learns to deepen their understanding of the complex experiences of all women of color and learns to listen to marginalized voices.

“I truly believe the calling of theater is to create brave spaces where uncomfortable truths get spoken aloud,” she said. “That is where the growth happens.”

“Off-book” day

At 8:30 a.m., the cast starts arranging our set — boxes that we were reusing from last year’s show. We have two minutes to get ready, two minutes to speed run our monologues while going over our blocking. This is “off-book” day, the day we have to have all of our lines and our blocking memorized.

Saniya Coleman, an 11th grade student, stands in one spot and delivers her monologue to herself. She is the Lady in Yellow, who she describes as an older character who says things without saying them.

Saniya Coleman as the Lady in Yellow. *Sydnee Tapley*

my spirit is too ancient to understand the separation between soul and gender.

Coleman said her favorite part of this play is the representation. “It’s for us, by us,” she said.

The director calls places and we move to opposite sides of the room. Music starts playing, and we all start moving, ever so slowly. Our movement is meant to be emotional, all based on the feelings of our individual characters. In all, we are playing the part of wandering women, searching for something. We slowly twist our bodies, walking to our spaces, as the Lady in Brown, played by Madison Cormack, an 11th grade student, recites her monologue.

“She’s very separate from the rest of the people,” Cormack said about her character. “She’s more connected to the audience.”

somebody/ anybody/ sing a black girl’s song/ bring her out to know herself/ to know you.

Cormack said many of the lines are abstract, but that’s what makes the character unique.

The mood shifts, and suddenly the girls are in celebration. They start singing as if they are little children – mama’s little baby love’s shortnin, shortnin – forgetting their troubles, unaware of the ones that lie ahead. We stand on the blocks, dancing, singing, playing tag, already out of breath. This is one of the few happy moments in the show, where the women are really young children, where they are unapologetically free.

Brooklyn Bailey as the Lady in Orange. *Sydnee Tapley*

Brooklyn Bailey, a ninth grade student, and Bryanna Johnson, a 12th grade student, said that their character, the Lady in Orange, depicts this freedom the most, as their character is meant to represent younger women. Bailey notes that the character is the only Afro-Latina in the show.

let willie colon take you out/ swing your head/ push your leg to the moon with me.

It is during this monologue that the women sing about sharing their worlds with other people, with each other, saying how they just want to sing, dance, be free.

But this is halted as all the women are struck across their faces. They transition into talking about their abuse. Three ladies, Red, Blue and Purple, step forward to talk about being raped.

the nature of rape has changed/ we can now meet them in circles we frequent for companionship.

Brooklyn Jefferson, a ninth grade student and the Lady in Purple, said that the content is hard to portray because these are things that have actually happened, are happening, to women everywhere.

“When we tell this story, we’re just asking for people to understand [Black women],” she said.

Kylie Smith, a 12th grader who understudies for the Lady in Purple, said the character represents sisterhood, which she feels is important.

“Black women are always called angry [by other people], and sometimes other Black women can do that to us as well,” she said.

The play is heavy after that, with only a few light moments. One of those moments is when the women share what they believe their love to be.

my love is too delicate to have thrown back on my face/ my love is too beautiful to have thrown back on my face/ my love is too sanctified to have thrown back on my face.

And it becomes joyous again. The women are one in this moment, showing who they are, unapologetically.

“The play has some dark parts, but it comes together in a beautiful way,” said Rivka Quarterman, the 10th grade stage manager.

All the girls hope the audience feels the same way about the story.

“The audience needs to understand that Black women have to mature much faster than anyone else,” said Nya Crudup, the 12th grade stage manager.

“I hope this story shows how Black girls are human beings, and that we mean something,” Reed said.

“I hope people learn to understand the struggles of all women by watching this play,” Bailey said.

“I hope the audience gets a sense of empathy and understanding, fostering a deeper connection to the experiences of Black women,” said Victoria Smith, the ninth grade stage manager.

Troupe 4909 perform *For Colored Girls*. *Sydnee Tapley*

“They will be able to bear witness to the stories we’re telling,” Coleman said. “I hope the people who relate to what we are talking about feel heard.”

“I hope the white audience members pay attention,” Johnson said.

“I just hope people pay attention to these experiences, whether they are different or similar to theirs,” Cormack said.

“People need to learn to be patient with Black women,” Smith said. “Oftentimes, the only people protecting us [are] us.”

The power of representation

I recommended the play to Malaika Quarterman at the beginning of the school year after reading the full play a year prior. I was in love with the poetry, the story and themes of the show. I helped her with cutting down the show for time, and in the fall, I was cast as the Lady in Green, a woman constantly searching for who she used to be before a man took it all from her – her memories, her rhythms, the things she used to love, her voice, her autonomy. She has the longest monologue in our production of the play. I immediately felt that pressure.

The author Hannah King as the Lady in Green. *Sydnee Tapley*

I stand in front of the two directors, putting all my energy into my speech.

why dont ya find yr own things/ & leave this package of me for my destiny.

I look around and see what I assume to be tears rising into Benford’s eyes, and before I can choke it down, I start sobbing. Even now, I don’t know why – it was like all of the pain this character and the other characters were feeling found their way to me, and it overwhelmed me. Maybe it was something dealing with a man that I had been pushing down for some time, maybe I’m just overly emotional. Regardless, Benford coaches me through my monologue and overflow of emotion as I wipe my tears. I finish my monologue, choking back more sobs, barely breathing, and embarrassed.

But no one around me makes me feel that way. There is love all around me, love like family, like sisters, and everyone understands why I am crying. It’s a hard show, and it’s a hard life, being a Black woman, and this is the reality: having to be strong all the time but wanting, needing, to break the floodgates and let it all out; not being heard when we speak about our struggle; only having ourselves to look to for guidance; searching endlessly for some sort of relief, some sort of hope.

The final message

The show depicts that pain is not the only reality set for Black women. There is also immense hope and joy. The women talk about missing something, a part of themselves, and how they have to go searching for it. The Lady in Red takes center stage, proclaiming that she found what she was looking for.

i found god in myself and i loved her/ i loved her fiercely.

The girls repeat the line, getting louder and louder each time. I choke back tears, in awe at the beauty and strength around me.

Troupe 4909 with their award at MS ThesCon. *Sydnee Tapley*

“There are a lot of things colored women go through that they don’t talk about, that they can’t talk about, because it’ll get set aside, so we have to bring it to the stage,” Coleman said. “Can’t ignore what’s in your face.”

“I hope we all feel some accountability for the silence we walk in,” Upendo said. “Black girls need to be seen, and we need to look at the world we created for them with a clear mirror.”

“I hope that each audience member is able to ‘move towards the end of their own rainbows,’” Quarterman said.

“It’s a story about Black girls, and we have to act it out,” Reed said.

The Lady in Brown ends the play the way she begins it: & this is for colored girls who have considered suicide/ but are movin to the ends of their own rainbows.

Going to Indiana to share this play on an international stage is an honor — it’s also expensive. You can support the Wells APAC troupe members by helping to fund their trip.

Wells APAC Fundraiser for ITF