In ‘Casting Shadows,’ performance group explores racial integration in theater

The Heritage Theater Ensemble, Yale’s black undergraduate theater group, will partner with the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library on a one-day showcase of scenes and monologues from plays featured in the library exhibition “Casting Shadows: Integration on the American Stage.”

The showcase, on Saturday, April 18, includes scenes from “Native Son” by Richard Wright and Paul Green, “In the Red and Brown Water” by Yale School of Drama graduate Tarell Alvin McCraney, and other plays. The selected scenes demonstrate racial integration in American theater over the years as well as explore tensions that still exist in the performing arts.

The event will take place at 1 p.m. at the Beinecke Library, 121 Wall St. It is free and open to the public. Seating is limited.

The exhibition “Casting Shadows: Integration on the American Stage,” which highlights the productions and performers that attempted to bridge racial divisions through integrated casting, runs through April 18 at the library. Admission is free.