Apaches' Masquerade: A Play in Three Acts

By Memri Tagle

This story is a coming of age portrayal in Mr. J's high school English class located in the western part of the city of Compton, California, a city within Los Angeles County that has been plagued with negative stereotypes and prejudices since the 1980's. The teacher and students in the class symbolically depict a microcosm of the universal struggle among adolescents to feel confident with who they are and to overcome internal and external conflicts in their lives. Mr. J or "Teach," as his students call him, encourages his students to write and share poetry as a way for them to reflect on their lives and overcome the individual conflicts they struggle with. He sets up "Open Mic" poetry reading sessions in class, so that they can read their poems aloud. Some students are reluctant to participate, but in the end they all find their way to express themselves and take off their "masks." All of the students, like all teenagers, are coming to terms with the obstacles they face. Some struggle with grieving the loss of a loved one, having no self-confidence or a poor self-image while others have no one to believe in them, are scared of the future, obsessed with a need to be "perfect" or feel alone in the world. Among them is a young man named Teddy Rashawn Brown. He finds the courage to read his poem and from then on, the open mic poetry readings grow. The class begins to use poetry and the spoken word to help them work through the challenges in their lives until one day, one poem ends the poetry readings.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1794447334
• ISBN13: 9781794447332
• Release Date: January 2019
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 136 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.3" x 8.5"