The Apollo Theater’s Works in Process series continues this weekend with EXHIBIT, a one-woman play by the award-winning playwright and actor Regina Taylor. Presented as a reading at the Apollo’s Victoria Theater, EXHIBIT explores the enduring impact of racism, juxtaposing memories of the Civil Rights era with the unsettling revival of similar challenges in today’s America.
The play follows Iris, a resilient artist who recalls her childhood during the tumultuous civil rights period and faces a new wave of racial and political struggles in present-day America. Iris’s art serves as her voice, a way to “testify” and hold the nation accountable. “This woman is triggered by what’s going on today, the politics,” Taylor shares. “She feels like things are moving forward, or are we moving back? It triggers her to think about her childhood, growing up in America and integrating the school in Muskogee, Oklahoma.”
As Iris faces the realities of modern injustices, including fascism and the tragic deaths of young Black Americans like Trayvon Martin, she confronts the haunting sense that history is repeating itself. “It’s an exhibit in terms of witnessing, testifying, indicting America for the sacrifice of innocence for cards. And we keep doing it each and every time,” Taylor says. “Each generation has to fight for the gains that the past generation fought for.” This emotional journey invites audiences to consider whether society is truly progressing or reverting to past injustices.
EXHIBIT is part of the Apollo New Works program, supported by the Ford Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. This initiative provides a space for artists to challenge and reflect on pressing issues within our communities.
Winner of the Theatre Aspen Solo Flights Award, EXHIBIT made its debut at the Hermitage Retreat and is touring across the country amid a critical election season. Taylor’s creation is more than a play—it’s a powerful call to action that invites audiences to be part of a conversation, a movement, and a change.
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