Hannah Heard

Introduction to Theatre

16 April 2021
Pipeline Play Analysis

It took me watching the play two times to actually get into it. Upon first viewing I was

kind of taken aback by all of the screaming, the 4th wall that was present throughout the play, and

unfortunately some personal pet peeves about the plot and casting. Despite all of that the themes

present within the play were all too real and resonated with me on a different level.

Some grievances I have about the play include the casting. Omari’s is meant to be a

student presumably in High School and the person playing him is way older. Throughout the

play I had to keep convincing myself that he was between the age of 16-18. It may not seem like

a big deal, but during my first watch it kept me from focusing on the important parts of the play.

The main problem in the play is that Omari is facing criminal charges and school expulsion

because of an altercation he had with a teacher at school. This is very slowly revealed throughout

the play and not all at once. We are misled about the accuracy of the event when are introduced

to Nya’s coworker, Laurie. As Laurie enters, we assume that she was the one who was attacked,

but we later find that this is not true. Because Laurie’s and Omari’s situations are similar, we get

to see both sides of the story, a teacher’s perspective and a student’s. Undoubtedly the

connection between Laurie and Omari is a plus for the play. The screaming in the play was

definitely warranted but, off-putting. I felt like the themes and monologues would have come

across just as well if not better without the raised voices and aggression. It was seemingly needed

yet, unnecessary in my opinion.

What I did find interesting about the play were the clips of what I could assume were

school altercations that were played during scene changes. I thought that it was strange, but it
Hannah Heard

Introduction to Theatre

16 April 2021
gave a sense of reality to the story that was being told. Being that I was just In high school not

even a full year ago, these images and videos were very real. We are left to imagine what the

altercation between Omari and the teacher would look like based on these clips. I also liked the

aspect of young love that was present in the play. The misconstrued views of love that Omari and

Jasmine portray is sweet in the notion that its young. They do what they think is in each other’s

best interest, while ignoring the extent of their actions. As they are both minorities, they are

connected yet worlds apart. Jasmine seemingly knows who she is, all the while Omari doesn’t. I

also really liked the banter between the Nya and her co-workers, it gives the play the lightness

that it so desperately needs. Although they are talking about heavy stuff, their words seem to

float around the stage without a care. The wording of the play has a sense of lyricism and this is

apparent when Nya is “going over” a poem with her class. I still don’t know the importance of

that poem even though it was clearly explained in the play. The only part that made sense to me

was the repetition of the word “die”. Theses aspects of the play made it interesting.

The themes and problems presented throughout the play hit home for so many reasons.

The importance of education was a constant throughout the play as well as, parenting, and these

were all connected by the unimaginable worry we as African Americans face every day. From a

very young age education was instilled as a must. My family being college graduates, teachers,

and community leaders made sure that me, my siblings, and cousins knew that knowledge was

invaluable. So I get the pressure that Nya is faced with trying to get her son the best education to

succeed but not knowing the way to go about it. As I have heard time and time again from both

of my parents, “Parenting is the hardest job in the world”. Omari is the product of a broken

marriage and the remnants of that can be seen throughout the play. As Omari’s parents discuss
Hannah Heard

Introduction to Theatre

16 April 2021
what to do with him and his current situation, their fears, worries, and resentment come up in

ways that’s not quite clear. Connecting both the educational and parental sides of this is the mere

fact that this whole situation revolves around an African American family. As an African

American the monologues by Nya and Omari ring true to everyone who looks just like me. Nya

worries that as a black boy, her son Omari was born into a world that was not made for him. Not

only that but he himself is faced with problems of his own doing. These worries resonate in

every single African American home. How can we thrive, survive, live, breathe, and have

emotions in a place that is literally scared to let us do so? Although this is a constant underlier in

the play, when explicitly mentioned it just makes my blood boil.

Overall, I the play was curated and performed excellently. The emotions that were stirred

in me including (uncontrollable) rage, (young) love, (child-like) innocence, and (utter) confusion

were all mirrored within the play and portrayed amazingly. Although it took a couple of tries for

me to warm of to the play, the story that it told could be echoed for generation to come.

Unfortunately, this could be a timeless story and not for the good reason.