Panther in the Sky on Tour!

Panther in the Sky tells the stories of four mothers from diverse communities grieving the loss of their teenage sons to gun violence in the streets of Chicago. It is also about four young men who meet in the afterlife and grapple with the reality of their abrupt demise. I started writing Panther in the Sky in 2009, when there were record numbers of 290 shootings and 34 gun-related deaths of public-school students in Chicago at the beginning of the year. As an educator, a writer, and a new foster mother, I felt compelled to respond to the issue by writing a play about it. 

Over the years, Panther in the Sky has had a number of readings, among them at Howard Area Community Center, Insight Arts, and Malcolm X College. Excerpts of the play have also been performed at visual artist Cesar Conde’s exhibit in 2016 called The Bang Bang Project, a rumination on police brutality and racism in the criminal justice system, and at Chicago Danztheatre’s "Art.Heals" event in May 2022. Sadly, gun violence continues to take the lives of young Chicagoans, most of them from working class families living in the most neglected parts of the city. My students continue to write about losing loved-ones to shootings. In fact, Chicago Tribune reports that in 2024, 573 people were slain, and this is supposed to be a decreased number compared to recent years.

In May 2024, Panther in the Sky premiered at Chicago Danztheatre in the North Side of the city and received positive reviews from local critics. I hope to bring the play to other neighborhoods in Chicago, as a tool for building solidarity among communities most impacted by gun violence. Since the play was mounted last May, I have received invitations from professors and  students who are interested in bringing the play to their colleges and universities, among them, City Colleges of Chicago – Malcolm X College, University of Illinois at Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University, and National Louis University. However, due to budget constraints, they are unable to commit. We would also like to bring the play to community spaces such as the Beverly Arts Center, the Epiphany Arts Center, and other community/theatre spaces in the South Side, where the play could be used as a community outreach tool. I am working with a small volunteer-driven immigrant theatre arts organization called CIRCA Pintig who will handle the marketing, venue, and other logistical  costs involved in getting Panther in the Sky back on stage; however, the organization does not have the capacity to cover the honoraria for the creative team.

The funds raised  through this 3AP campaign will ensure that the creative team, which includes the playwright, director, 8-10 actors (including two understudies), and the musical director, are compensated fairly and that they have the resources they need to participate.