A montage of poetic and haunting moments examining the trials and triumphs Black mothers experience as their children come of age in a society plagued by racism and inequality. We meet the Mother, examining the dangerous world out of her control.  Anxiety builds in her mind and heart as her “beautiful brown boy” approaches manhood and the realities of modern life as a Black person in America.

EPSG:4326

dwb (driving while black)

Kimbell Art Museum

TCU Music Center

Susan Kander and Roberta Gumbel's dwb (driving while black) tackles what it means to be a parent of a Black child who starts driving. In its swift 45 minutes, the listener spends 16 years with a Black mother, feeling her growing fear as her Black son moves towards driving age.

“The deeply affecting and innovatively conceived new chamber opera dwb (driving while black) makes its powerful impact with deliberately limited forces. The piece, by composer Susan Kander and first-time librettist Roberta Gumbel, is a 45 minute monodrama for female voice. The instrumentation, consisting only of cello and percussion, is refreshingly spare and surprisingly multicolored.…” (Opera News)

Susan Kander

Events

Past events

16 - 24 Feb, 2024

dwb (driving while black) · Fort Worth Opera

8 - 21 Jul, 2023

DWB (Driving While Black) · Des Moines Metro Opera

About

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