‘Notes from the Field’ explores the school-to-prison pipeline, spurs action

In 2015, a young Black man named Freddie Gray died in police custody. His death and the subsequent protests in Baltimore served as inspiration for playwright Anna Deavere Smith. She wove Gray’s story into a play called “Notes from the Field.” At its core, the play explores the school-to-prison pipeline. Smith’s one-woman plays are composed of verbatim monologues from interviews she conducted. And in TimeLine Theatre’s production of “Notes from the Field,” three Chicago actresses share the play’s 19 monologues. Director Mikael Burke said much of the process was about “what is possible if we can take a moment to just listen and then act accordingly based on what we feel.” In this episode, host Erin Allen talks about the play with Burke and one of the three actresses, Shariba Rivers.