by Thomas Melancon
Directed by Yohance Myles
The Drums of Sweetwater is a drama/seriocomic play set in 1968, when an African- American female psychiatrist moves from New York to a small segregated town in Sweetwater, TX. She is hired to examine three African-American male patients and their struggles with mental, spiritual, and emotional challenges.
Their acceptance in society has been stripped from them due to their communities’ lack of understanding. During treatment, amidst the highs and lows, the patients discover truths and hidden secrets about themselves, finding that they are all bound together by some form of ancestral power.
The Drums of Sweetwater highlights the deep spiritual connection with one’s place in the world, and acknowledges how labeling and misjudgment can affect a person’s present state and future reality.
This play occasionally includes heavy language and it is recommended that children of a certain age be accompanied by an adult.