We WOKE

We Woke is based on true events and follows Nikki J and Miranda, members of the Mickey’s Monkey Theater troupe in beautiful Chicago, IL. Named after the hit song by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the troupe was founded in the mid ’90s by all White actors and teaches creative writing to 3rd, 4th and 5th graders on the south and west side of the city. As the company has grown and become more diverse, some Black members have an issue with Monkey. Used as a racial slur against Black people for centuries, a number of members find the name problematic. And with the company teaching primarily in Black and Brown neighborhoods, Miranda feels it’s well past time to retire the Mickey’s Monkeys name. After sending an email to the company at large, everyone seems to agree with Miranda, except for Nikki. Though Nikki understands where Miranda is coming from, the context is distinctly different. The Mickey’s Monkey Theater Troupe and the slur are not the same thing. Most importantly, human beings are primates. They are members of the great ape family. These amazing animals are our closes cousins on that beautiful evolutionary tree, so why would we change our name for a lie? “No!”, says Nikki, “instead of changing our name, we should be educating students about the truth, attacking this lie head-on, and attempting to wipe it off the face of the Earth.” As it turns out, many members of the company agree with Nikki but are fearful to say so openly. Fearful of appearing culturally insensitive, fearful of being called racist, fearful of being canceled. Upon hearing Nikki’s response,  Miranda is livid. She can’t believe Nikki doesn’t have her back on this and feels betrayed, so she invites her good friend out to coffee to talk about it. And as is the case with good friends, the conversation turns ugly, gets personal, and ruins their friendship. This is We Woke.