Pillsbury House Theatre hopes you continue the conversations that our productions inspire. After you’ve seen Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet, share your thoughts with us online (email Kelsye, post on our Facebook page, or Tweet us); attend a post-show discussion (view the calendar); or consider the following discussion questions wherever you wind up after the show:
- How does Tarell Alvin McCraney’s language and the verbalization of the stage directions affect your experience of the play?
- Myth plays a very important role in shaping the characters’ identities. What is your personal myth? How much of who you are today has been shaped by your ancestors?
- In the play, everyone seems to know that Marcus is “sweet”, and yet, when he finally acknowledges it, people have mixed reactions. What is your response to Marcus’ sweetness? What does the play say about the need to identify others and/or be identified?
- The theme of love runs throughout “The Brother/Sister Plays.” What kinds of love can you identify in this production?
- What role does community play in Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet? What do you think McCraney is saying by giving the community this role?
- At the end of the play, we know a major, Katrina-like storm is approaching. What is the importance of water and weather in this play?
- If you have seen either/both of the other two “Brothers/Sister Plays,” (In the Red and Brown Water and The Brothers Size), what connections can you make between them and this play? Why do you think McCraney decided to end the cycle with Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet?
- Why do you think McCraney calls this series of plays “The Brother/Sister Plays”?