Eclipsed. Danai Gurira

      

      ECLIPSED

      Eclipsed is copyright © 2015 by Danai Gurira

      Eclipsed is published by Theatre Communications Group, Inc.,

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      This volume is published in arrangement with Oberon Books Ltd, 521 Caledonian Road, London, N7 9RH.

      This publication is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

      TCG books are exclusively distributed to the book trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

      ISBN 978-1-55936-853-7 (ebook)

      Cover design by Kirsten Huber

      Back cover photo by Rafael Navarro

      First TCG Edition, September 2015

       To the courageous women of Liberia and of every war zone.

       To my Auntie Dora, your light will never dim in our hearts.

      Contents

Characters

      Act One

      Act Two

      The world premiere of Eclipsed was produced by Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (Howard Shalwitz, Artistic Director; Jeffrey Herrmann, Managing Director) in Washington, D.C., on August 31, 2009. The play was directed by Liesl Tommy. The scenic design was by Daniel Ettinger, the lighting design was by Colin K. Bills, the costume design was by Kathleen Geldard, the sound design was by Veronika Vorel; the production stage manager was Rebecca Berlin. The cast was:

THE GIRL	Ayesha Ngaujah
HELENA	Uzo Aduba
BESSIE	Liz Femi Wilson
MAIMA	Jessica Frances Dukes
RITA	Dawn Ursula

      Eclipsed was produced by Center Theatre Group (Michael Ritchie, Artistic Director; Charles Dillingham, Managing Director) in Los Angeles, on September 13, 2009. The play was directed by Robert O’Hara. The scenic design was by Sibyl Wickersheimer, the lighting design was by Christopher Kuhl, the costume design was by Alex Jaeger, the sound design was by Adam Phalen, the original music was by Kathryn Bostic; the production stage manager was Amy Bristol Brownewell. The cast was:

THE GIRL	Miriam F. Glover
HELENA	Bahni Turpin
BESSIE	Edwina Findley
MAIMA	Kelly M. Jenrette
RITA	Michael Hyatt

      Eclipsed was produced by Yale Repertory Theatre (James Bundy, Artistic Director; Victoria Nolan, Managing Director) in New Haven, Connecticut, on October 23, 2009. The play was directed by Liesl Tommy. The scenic design was by Germán Cardenás, the lighting design was by Marcus Doshi, the costume design was by Elizabeth Barrett Groth, the sound design and original music was by Broken Chord Collective; the dramaturg was Walter Byongsok Chon and the production stage manager was Karen Hashley. The cast was:

THE GIRL	Adepero Oduye
HELENA	Stacey Sargeant
BESSIE	Pascale Armand
MAIMA	Zainab Jah
RITA	Shona Tucker

      Eclipsed had its New York premiere at The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Patrick Willingham, Executive Director) on October 14, 2015. The play was directed by Liesl Tommy. The scenic and costume design was by Clint Ramos, the lighting design was by Jennifer Schriever, the sound design and original music was by Broken Chord Collective; the production stage manager was Diane DiVita. The cast was:

THE GIRL	Lupita Nyong’o
HELENA	Saycon Sengbloh
BESSIE	Pascale Armand
MAIMA	Zainab Jah
RITA	Akosua Busia

      Eclipsed was developed with the support of McCarter Theatre Center (Emily Mann, Artistic Director) and developed by the Ojai Playwrights Conference (Robert Egan, Artistic Director).

       Characters

      THE GIRL, fifteen

      HELENA, early twenties/late teens

      BESSIE, mid-late teens

      MAIMA, mid-late teens

      RITA, forties

      Setting

      Liberia: Bomi County, a LURD rebel army camp, 2003