Welcome to our twenty-ninth season!  For me, it reflects the level of creative and executive maturity Penumbra has attained. In 1976, Penumbra addressed issues of racial tension and misrepresentation between what were visibly separate black and white Americas. Today, because of our growth and the changing world, Penumbra is widely regarded as a pioneer of cross-cultural dialogue.

This year we explore the ways in which communities touch one another, live in and around one another, sustain and threaten one another. Grandchildren of the Buffalo Soldiers explores the contemporary ramifications of American Westward expansion and blazes a path toward cultural healing. We engage questions of identity and cultural tourism in Sex Diary of an Infidel. Zooman and the Sign lays bare the tragedy of apathy, fiercely striking at the heart of humanity. And, as always, Black Nativity respectfully celebrates the survival, accomplishment and spirituality of the black community while ringing in the holidays in serious style!

As we near our 30th Anniversary, we turn outward and open our arms to a bright, complicated world. I hope you are entertained and educated by your interactions with other cultures and countries through the drama we produce. Above all, it is my sincere hope that you are enriched by the experience and come to understand yourself and your world a little better.

Lou Bellamy
Founder and Artistic Director