GPTC 25/26 Season: "Being Black Outside" by Vinecia Coleman

We hope you can join us for this free production May 27, 28, 29 at The Union for Contemporary Art's Shirley Tyree Theater.

Being Black Outside by Vinecia Coleman| Directed by Denise Chapman

May 27 - May 29, 2026 at 7:00pm

Shirley Tyree Theater | 2401 N. 24th Street, Omaha, NE

A world premiere co-production with Great Plains Theatre Commons and The Union for Contemporary Art. Developed as a PlayLab for the 2024 GPTC New Play Festival.

Even at the end of the world, nothing is more dangerous than being Black...outside.

Sisters Vee and Niecy return to their childhood home after their mother dies — just in time for the end of the world. As the Apocalypse begins, and the sisters remember the past and debate the future, they meet their mother’s neighbor and are forced to contend with what it means to be Black…outside.

Vinecia Coleman is a playwright and actor based in Minneapolis/St. Paul, whose artistic aim as a writer is to tell stories that focus on the Black female experience. She was awarded the Playwrights’ Center’s 2025-2027 Many Voices Fellowship and was named as a 2025 Ojai Playwright Conference finalist. Her plays have been developed at the Great Plains Theatre Commons Conference, Boise Contemporary Theatre’s BIPOC Playwright Festival, Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Black Swan Lab, Seven Devils Playwrights’ Conference, and others. Her play Christiana Lysistrata had its 2024 premiere at Main Street Players (Miami, FL), and her play Café Au Lait will have its premiere at History Theatre (St Paul, MN) in 2027. As an actor, she has worked at Penumbra Theatre, Pillsbury House Theatre, Jungle Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Portland Playhouse, and more. Vinecia has an MFA from The University of Idaho.

We're grateful to the generous production sponsors of Being Black Outside:

Roger and Kate Weitz

Playwright: Vinecia Coleman

Director: Denise Chapman

Stage Manager: Garrison York

Cast: TammyRa', Asia Nared & Roz Parr

Sound Designer/TD: Mike Cooprider

Costume Designer: Jenny Pool

Scenic Painter/Props Designer: Michael Clark

Scenic Painter: Craig Lee

Johan LeClerc: Set Build

House Managers: Eric Jordan, Steve Knox

The show will run approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.

All public performances are at the Shirley Tyree Theater. 2401 N. 24th Street.

Livestream will take place on Thursday, May 28th.

A handful of tickets are held back for walkups at each performance. All performance venues are ADA compliant for accessibility. For any accessibility questions or needs please contact Quinn at q.corbin@gptcplays.com.