By: Ameena Khan
Presented by Off-Off Flatbush Projects, the production of “Quadria: South of What We Mean When We Say Rush Gardens,” a recipient of the Brooklyn College’s (BC) Louis Goodman Creative Writing Award, encourages its audience to deeply engage and immerse themselves in the performance not by only watching, but by “witnessing” as well.
Directed by BC student Brent Thomas Whiteside, the play ran from Oct. 8 through Oct. 10 in Tow Center’s Beller Studio.
“Quadria: South of What We Mean When We Say Rush Gardens” asks how communities can preserve themselves against the threat of being renamed, misremembered, or erased,” according to a post by the BC Theatre Department on Instagram.
The play follows a “vertical assembly of poems,” with each poem portrayed as a scene or character and revolving around themes of grief, desire, joy, and preservation of feeling, rather than documentation of events.
The protagonist, Quadria, confronts her relationship with her mother, the limits of autonomy and girlhood, and storms that reveal “figures of the past.” The play focuses on preserving the humanity and identity of those whose lives history has failed to document, yet who persist in memory.
“Tonight’s performance exists somewhere between a poem, a testimony, and a ritual,” Whiteside addressed in their note to the audience. “I do not ask that you simply watch it. I ask that you witness it.”
“Witnessing requires participation. It requires imagination. It requires a willingness to enter a world whose rules are still being written. The stories you encounter tonight may be factual, borrowed, embellished, remembered incorrectly, or entirely invented. What matters is the space they create when gathered together,” shared Whiteside.
As excited murmurs and colorful lights filled the room, the performance began with Whiteside introducing himself to the audience.
“This production is a testament to the power of theater,” Whiteside told the audience. “You are going to be seeing some people making their theatrical debuts during their first show.”
“This show requires energy,” Whiteside emphasized. They encouraged the audience to snap their fingers when “something resonate[d]” or hum in unison when witnessing the performance.
Zynnasia Blakata, a junior majoring in film who played Sister Belle, a mysterious yet wise woman, in Quadria, shared her experience behind the scenes.
Despite having no prior acting experience and initially thinking Whiteside wanted her on the crew, Blakata was surprised when Whiteside revealed they saw her as part of the cast.
“I’ve done voice work for class projects, and I’ve acted in class projects, but actually applying myself as an actor? No, I do not work in that field. I’m always behind the camera,” Blakata admitted.
“I think playing Sister Belle further unlocked that part of me that really has love and compassion for just human nature and story,” Blakata elaborated. “Just wanting to tell the world that you are enough. Keep up the good work. Everything that you ever need, you already have it. You can literally do anything you want as long as you put your mind to it.”
Janiya McCray, a sophomore majoring in theater, recalled being introduced to Quadria through an online audition, not knowing much about the play’s content.
McCray further discussed her relationship with her character, Sequoya, a resident of Rush Gardens, and how themes of the play resonated with her.
“This [play] specifically talks a lot about the afterlife, what may happen, and how ancestors or whatever may still be with you,” McCray told The Vanguard. “When I was a kid, my mom used to tell me about how she would see her dead sister, who died a few years ago. But now I’m like, ‘Okay, she’s not the only person who might have experienced this. So maybe it might actually be real.’”
“It just changed the way I look at life as a whole [and how I think] about the afterlife and everything. It makes me not think about it as dark as it may be.”
Natalya Gammon, a BC alumna of ‘25, played the role of Quadria. After Gammon first read the Quadria script in a church last summer, Whiteside encouraged her to audition for its upcoming performance.
“Peeking into Brent Thomas’s brain, he’s such an intricate writer, an intricate poet, and you’re always gonna learn something,” Gammon told the Vanguard.
When asked about her relation to her character, Gammon responded, “I think she makes me appreciate my girlhood a little more, especially knowing how many women were robbed of girlhood. I think of how precious it is to value ourselves, our upbringings, and our choices that we make in life. All of our choices lead to something, and we all have a storm going on inside of us. ‘Cause, you know, after the storm comes the sun.”
Arissa Collymore and Josabeth Simisterra, both BC acting major alumni and audience members, shared their enjoyment of the play and its significance in highlighting Black voices, talent, and visibility that society often overshadows.
“I was also super excited because I know Brent, and I know his work too. And once I found out that he wrote and directed this play, I was like, ‘Hell yeah!’,” Collymore told The Vanguard. “It was very Black, very culturally driven, and also very controversial, which I really appreciated.”
“I think this is a very important perspective and story to tell,” Simisterra added. “And I think everyone, no matter what cultural background you have, should watch it. Because there is so much of it that you can see in yourself, […] Every single moment that I thought was gonna turn bad ended up becoming a moment of joy and beauty.”
For more information about BC’s theater productions, visit @bctheatercuny on Instagram.
For more information about “Quadria,” visit @sayquadria on Instagram.