2022
SOUTH SIDE SUMMER
2w
Violence Involving Law Enforcement, Black Lives & Gun Violence, Youth Experience / Adolescent Perspective
By McKennzie Boyd
A young mother, her son and her daughter share their experience of living on the southside of Chicago, where guns don't discriminate based on how young or old you are but it's the color of your skin that can change which way the gun faces.
SYNOPSIS
The play opens in a cemetery, where EVA and JOY, a mother and daughter, are dressed for a funeral. EVA reflects on her childhood on Chicago’s South Side, recalling the chaotic mix of music, police sirens, and the constant instability of moving from neighborhood to neighborhood. Eventually, the family settles in a run-down house, trying to make a home amidst violence and uncertainty. EVA’s younger brother, EMMANUEL, dreams of freedom, testing his "wings" by running around the house, while EVA keeps him inside, fearing for his safety in a neighborhood marked by gang activity and police presence.
Tragedy strikes when Emmanuel, eager to explore, runs outside and is caught in the crossfire of a police-involved shooting. Despite JOY’s desperate calls for him to get down, Emmanuel is shot and killed. The family is left devastated, with EVA feeling guilty for encouraging Emmanuel’s dreams of freedom. As they grieve, they confront the painful reality of systemic violence and police brutality. The play ends with the family honoring Emmanuel’s memory at his grave, placing his shoes by the headstone as a tribute to his unfulfilled dreams.
The writing in this play is so strong and, at moments, extraordinary. This is a writer with a singular and compelling voice. The play has a formal scope and ambition.
naomi iizuka
Playwright & ENOUGH! panelist
"Till the courtroom becomes their center stage
Where their crocodile tears will keep them from the cage"
McKennzie Boyd
Southside Summer
Playwright's Bio
McKennzie Boyd (she/her) was a generally shy kid from Chicago before she discovered writing poetry as a way for her to speak up about what she was experiencing. From there McKennzie has realized how vital the arts are to expressing serious topics and reaching many groups of people. Since the 6th grade, McKennzie has been a part of the Viola Project, a program that teaches non-men an alternate way to feminize Shakespearean text in order to bend or break ancient gender roles. She has also acted at various theatres in the Chicagoland area including with the City Lit Acting Company where she did THE VOICE OF GOOD HOPE, a play about Barbra Jordan, the first Black woman elected to the House of Representatives who paved ways for Black people to represent themselves and their communities, while challenging segregation and the political climate. McKennzie has managed different plays at her school and organized the assemblies and classes related to Black history month. She’s begun to adapt some of her poems into plays. Currently McKennzie is a part of Steppenwolf’s Young Adult Council and fights to challenge the silence that confines Black and LGBTQ+ voices.
