Vanderbilt and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center concluded their 2023-2024 InsideOut series with an impactful event showcasing The Color Purple on Apr. 12. InsideOut is a free community learning program sponsored by Vanderbilt, which celebrated 21 years of partnership with TPAC in February.
Throughout the series, Vanderbilt faculty and staff engaged in panel conversations with cast, crew, directors and community members to discuss the important role of the arts in shaping our communities and personal experiences. Audience members were not only treated to these thought-provoking discussions but also enjoyed exclusive performances from each production.
Along with The Color Purple, this season of Vanderbilt’s collaboration with the InsideOut series featured Indecent, Tina and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.
The Color Purple
Divinity School Dean Yolanda Pierce, along with Nashville Repertory Theatre cast members Maya Antoinette Riley and Elliott Winston Robinson and Kristin Horsley, TPAC’s senior director of education outreach, discussed The Color Purple’s evolution from book to movie to musical and the spiritual, emotional and cultural contributions of the book’s author, Alice Walker. The novel follows Celie, an African American woman in the early 20th-century South, who overcomes abuse and discrimination to find self-love and independence through the help of other resilient women in her life.
During the discussion, Pierce emphasized the ability of certain stories to remain timeless and transcend generations. “A part of our souls needs to hear the message that is in The Color Purple. It is a story about human resiliency and live theater is powerful in sharing that message,” said Pierce. “The jarring nature of it is the reminder that there are bits of joy and laughter in the midst of pain.”
Vanderbilt students participated as audience members through a campus partnership with Residential Colleges, enriching their educational experience with firsthand exposure to the arts.
Tina
TPAC’s production of Tina chronicled the life and career of iconic rock 'n' roll singer Tina Turner. In February, Vanderbilt Divinity School outreach librarian Kashif Graham joined Bryan Pierce, director of curation at the National Museum of African American Music and Tina cast members to discuss the famed artist and the modern musical portrayal of her life and legacy. The panel explored themes of Black womanhood, artistic and personal legacies and the power of storytelling.
When speaking with fellow panelists, Graham shared, “Legacy is every life that you ever touched. Make your truest self the strongest it can be and let it lead you in life. Tina’s story teaches that.”
Indecent
In January, Vanderbilt Theatre Professor Leah Lowe led a conversation with the Nashville Repertory Theatre’s artistic director, Micah-Shane Brewer, and Howard Snyder, dramaturg for Indecent. The play portrays the controversies surrounding the early 20th-century play God of Vengeance, highlighting the risks taken by artists to perform it and the themes of love and censorship entwined within its history.
Reflecting on the power of live performance, Lowe who is also the director of Vanderbilt’s Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy, said, "This play is not just a performance; it is a testament to the devotion of the people who breathe life into its every moment."
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
Last November, a sold-out crowd engaged as Vanderbilt brain science expert Lisa Monteggia and Nashville Opera artistic director John Hoomes explored the artistic approach and scientific research behind the Nashville Opera’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat.
Vanderbilt will continue to collaborate with TPAC on the InsideOut event series for 2024-2025, so stay tuned for next season’s line-up.
About TPAC’s InsideOut Program
The Vanderbilt-sponsored TPAC InsideOut Engagement Series is an educational outreach program that offers lunchtime previews, evening performance excerpts and discussions, workshops and sneak previews called LookIns. The series is an opportunity for the public to engage as cast members, directors and Vanderbilt professors take a dive deep into the subject matter of a production and share specific insight with the audience. These programs spotlight productions from TPAC and TPAC-affiliated organizations, including Nashville Repertory Theatre, Nashville Ballet and Nashville Opera.