Receding References

By Jim Pangrazio

An MTA train operator reacts violently when he finds a noose hanging in his cab. He slugs the person he thinks was responsible. Subway supervisors call for a meeting of all involved at the Grand Central subway platform. The result is a confusing series of exchanges regarding who did what, various meanings for that particular event, and other racial, sexual, and historical transformations that occur without people changing their now incorrect understanding from what it was when first presented to them. But Rasheed and Manny eventually find common ground in their commitment to not allow the facade of improvement to obscure the evil that still remains behind it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jim Pangrazio
• Release date: May 31, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310371363

Jim Pangrazio

The general consensus is that change is urgent. Yet those claiming to work toward that end choose illusory paths that serve more as an impediment to the change they profess to seek. It is a closed loop -- a path that follows itself -- a safe at home tour rather than an expedition in search of wherever. My plays attempt to untangle the complex knots created by repeated trips to nowhere by focusing on the fearful simplicity of uncontaminated life where acceptance and rejection meet to hash out what's bothering them.

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