Now Playing
Professor Penn’s ‘For Bo: A Play Inspired by the Murder of Botham Jean by Police Officer Amber Guyger,’ utilizes contemporary free verse poetry, rhythm and percussion, and the first staged reading of what will soon be a full length production is happened on the campus last week as part of Black History Month.
Penn got the idea for the project by something that played out at the start of the Amber Guyger trial.
Penn said. “The exact moment was when I heard Judge Tammy Kemp say, ‘Why are the people locked out? This is the people’s court. Let the people come inside.’ There was something so magnificent about the way she said it. Something so true. Let the people witness. Let the people hear. Let us come together in this room and deal with this tragedy as a community. It was in that moment, that the seed for this play was planted.”
And, she stresses that her work is a fictional narrative inspired by the events, not an exact account.
Other free readings are slated around Dallas this month:
*Urban Arts Center (Dallas, TX) – February 24th, 7PM
*KD Conservatory College of Film and Dramatic Arts (Dallas, TX) – Date TBA
NBCDFW was on hand to captured the first staged reading of the play. Watch here.
art Botham Jean For Bo: : A Play Inspired by the Murder of Botham Jean by Police Officer Amber Guyger Professor Ayvaunn Penn social change Social Justice Theatre Theatre TCU
