"Jaw-Dropping...Infectious...Explosive...Inspiring!"
Los Angeles Times – Critic’s Choice

"Wicked Humor and Surprising Heartbreak"
LA Weekly - Recommended

“Muy Cómico, Muy Significativo!”
La Opinion

N*GGER
WETB*CK
CH*NK

The Explosive Comedy about Race Hits 40 Cities in Fall 2006 National Tour

The play about “those words” is stirring things up across the United States on its 2006-2007 national tour. Los Angeles based Speak Theater Arts thinks the rest of the country is ready for N*GGER WETB*CK CH*NK, a comedy – yes, a comedy - about race in America.

Blending theater, hip-hop, stand-up comedy, slam poetry, and true-life stories with their own original style, three tour-de-force performers take on racial slurs, stereotypes, and the concept of race itself in this 90-minute stage production.

Winner of “Best Play” from the American Readers Theater Association, N*GGER WETB*CK CH*NK charges into the dangerous territory of race, but without the predictable anger and angst. Cast/co-writers Miles Gregley, Rafael Agustin, Allan Axibal say, “The show traces the origins and evolution of three derogatory terms that shaped our lives and took the place of a genuine understanding of our distinct cultures. In doing this show we hope to de-power these words for ourselves and for our audiences.” Co-writers Steven T. Seagle and Liesel Reinhart directed the production.

Since their first sold-out performances in Los Angeles, N*W*C (as they refer to themselves) have built a large following among more diverse and younger audiences than may typically find their way to local performing arts centers. While speaking to a new generation of theater-goers, N*GGER WETB*CK CH*NK has still garnered high praise from critics and traditional theatergoers, as well.

In the first three months of the Fall 2006 leg of the tour, the show is booked at over forty different venues in twenty different states. Regional theaters and college-based performing arts centers — most east of the Mississippi – are the presenters. (A detailed listing of fall tour dates and locations appears at the end of this document.)

The title of the play has met with controversy in cities like Cincinnati and Seattle. Some media outlets have refused to advertise the show because of the title. But those who have seen the play understand the choice to use the three derogatory words:

As they chant racial slurs, the actors are greeted not by bricks or rotten tomatoes but by gales of laughter. This audience is in on the joke, and over the next hour and a half, the show saps those slurs of their pejorative power through a succession of group scenes and comedic monologues in which the actors recount personal encounters with racial typecasting. – Los Angeles Times

A young African American woman mentioned that she came to the event ready to tear the guys apart, because as a political activist she was extremely offended by the show’s title. She had even written a very angry speech that she was going to deliver. However, after listening to and watching the performers, she said that her attitude turned 180 degrees and she couldn’t wait to see the entire show the following evening (and bought a ticket and did just that!). – Van Ackerman, Director of Marketing/PR, Cincinnati Arts Association

Previous Los Angeles performances of the show include a 2004 extended smash run at the Los Angeles Theatre Center produced by LA’s Latino Theater Company, as well as its premiere at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse. The 2006-2007 tour will also include residency programs with local community members to further address issues raised in the show in even greater depth.

For more information about the tour and the show visit NWClive.com

Media resources, including high resolution images, at www.NWCbackstage.com

NOTE: Some venues have selected to present the play under the alternate title: N*W*C: The Race Show

CONTACT: Charity Rodriguez charity@speaktheaterarts.com 408-720-1914


Fall 2006 Tour Schedule N*W*C (tentative as of August, 2006):

Date(s)	Site	City, State
18-Aug	Grand Performances	Los Angeles, CA
20-Aug	Morehead State University	Morehead, KY
23-Aug	Case Western Reserve University	Cleveland, OH
25-Aug	Chapman University	Orange, CA
27-Aug	Wilkes University	Wilkes, PA
29-Aug	Elon College	Elon, NC
31-Aug	University of Vermont	Burlington, VT
5/6 Sep	Texas A&M University, Commerce	Commerce, TX
11-Sep	William Jewell	Liberty, MO
12/13-Sep	Kansas State University	Manhattan, KS
15-Sep	North Carolina, A&T State University	Greensboro, NC
18-Sep	Henderson State University	Arkadelphia, AR
20-Sep	So. E. Missouri State	Cape Girardeau, MO
22-Sep	University of North Carolina, Charlotte	Charlotte, NC
25-Sep	Johnson and Wales, University	Charlotte, NC
26-Sep	Radford University	Radford, VA
28/9 Sep	University of South Florida	Tampa, FL
2/3 Oct	University of Wisconsin, Whitewater	Whitewater, WI
4/5 Oct	Robertson Memorial, Bradley University	Peoria, IL
9-Oct	University of South Carolina, Columbia	Columbia, SC
10-Oct	University of South Carolina, Upstate	Spartanburg, SC
18-Oct	Newman Center for the Performing Arts	Denver, CO
19/20 Oct	University of Wyoming	Laramie, WY
23-Oct	Louisiana State University	Baton Rouge, LA
25-Oct	Simmons College	Boston, MA
26-Oct	UMASS Dartmouth	N. Dartmouth, MA
27-Oct	UMASS Lowell	Lowell, MA
30-Oct	SUNY Rockland Community College	Suffern, NY
1/2-Nov	Florida Int'l University-Biscayne Bay	Miami, FL
4-Nov	Akron Civic Center	Akron, OH
7-Nov	Slippery Rock University	Slippery Rock, PA
9-Nov	Wittenburg University	Springfield, OH
10/11 Nov	Xavier University	Cincinnati, OH
13-Nov	College of Mt. Saint Joseph	Cincinnati, OH
14-Nov	North Kentucky University	Highland Hts., KY
16-Nov	Western Michigan University	Kalamazoo, MI
17-Nov	University of Detroit, Mercy	Detroit, MI
18-Nov	Findlay University	Findlay, OH
5-Dec	Cal State University Sacramento	Sacramento, CA

Spring 2007 tour dates will be posted at www.NWClive.com

---
Charity Rodriguez
Speak Theater Arts/N*W*C
charity@speaktheaterarts.com
408-720-1914

www.speaktheaterarts.com
www.NWCbackstage.com
www.NWClive.com