3/Fifths' Supremacyland
Conceived and Written by James Scruggs
Directed by Tamilla Woodard & Kareem Fahmy
Premiered May 2017 / 3LD Art & Technology Center, NYC

Inspired by Mr. Scrugg's 2005 multimedia solo show "Disposable Men" about the treatment of black men in America, the enormously ambitious "3/Fifths" means to connect the dots of racism in United States history with the huge numbers of black men behind bars today.

Visually and conceptually, "3/Fifths" is extraordinary . . . this relentlessly provocative, intricately imagined satire does offer plenty to shock and horrify, and at least as much to make you think.

Half immersive spectacle, half cabaret, this satire is a provocative and unnerving exploration of American racism.   Full Review
                                                               Laura Colins-Hughes The New York Times

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You're asked to choose your racial designation at the door to James Scruggs's incendiary interactive carnival performance, and that's just the beginning of "3/Fifths' " funhouse mirror reflection of American racism. Depending on whether you choose to be "black" or "white" (designated by a mark on your forehead), you'll have a radically different experience at SupremacyLand, lies in the way Scruggs's, along with directors Tamilla Woodard and Kareem Fahmy, co-opt the conventions of immersive theater to deliver a powerful message. The show offers what may be one of the most uncomfortable experiences you'll ever have to a theater - and that's entirely the point.

Upon entering "SupremacyLand", you are immediately confronted with a black woman, seated and blind (Catherine Braxton). She asks you, "Black or white" and the two entrances to the space, labeled "White" and "Colored", stand ominously behind. "White" I answered, sheepishly. I take a moment to process that I'm not sure I've ever publicly declared my whiteness save for on a census form. My whiteness is assumed.

​3/Fifths is meticulously researched and crafted by the directing and dramaturgy team of Tamilla Woodard and Kareem Fahmy from the brave mind of James Scruggs, writer and creator. And the trademark technology of 3LD is on full display here, using tons of projectors, choreographed with ease.  Full Review
                                                                                             Jenna Scherer  Time Out


Scruggs's look at the way subservience is enforced -- partly by the oppressed themselves, brainwashed into acceptance -- is disquieting to say the least.   Full Review
                                                                                                              The New Yorker

Audiences should ready themselves for a provocative participatory experience with 3/Fifths, written and conceived by the African-American theater artist James Scruggs . . . Eye opening from moment to moment, the production is an act of great daring and discomfort.

BOTTOM LINE: step right up to impactful, intentionally nauseating, and gut-punching realness of James Scruggs's 3/Fifths. 3/Fifths is meticulously researched and crafted by the directing and dramaturgy team of Tamilla Woodard and Kareem Fahmy from the brave mind of James Scruggs, writer and creator. 
                                                                                                             The Village Voice

After a simulation of what it must've felt like to travel in a slave ship, we are guided to a room full of light. I feel like my soul has left my body. Full Review
                                                                                                Jose Solis  Stage Buddy

​Four theatrical spaces and the full inventory of of 3LD Art & Technology Center were enlisted in the transformation of the space into SupremacyLand, a dystopian theme park where white supremacy and racist carnage was raised and twisted into totally immersive, experiences. With no fourth wall at all, the audience chose a race at the door and had fun, safe, up close and personal interactions with lovable characters from America’s original sin to contemporary thugs. It was a human zoo, a carnival, and a cabaret all pointing back to when America was great.

Collaborators/Creatives
Presenter/Executive Producer… Kevin Cunningham 3LD Art & Technology Center
Writer/Creator/Producer… James Scruggs
Director/ Dramaturg… Tamilla Woodard
Director/Dramaturg… Kareem Fahmy
Associate Producer… Halle Morse
Choreographer… Andre Zachery
Fight Choreographer… Randall Rodriguez
Sound Designer/Composer… Mark Van Hare
Sound Designer… Melanie West
Sound Designer… Jamie West
Scenic Designers (Cabaret)… Christopher & Justin Swader
Scenic Designer (Carnival)… David Ogle
Video Designer… Cam Vokey
Video Design Programmer and Engineer… Jason Batcheller
Lighting Designer… Ayumu Poe Saegusa
Costume Designer: Andreea Mincic
Graphic/Web Design… Michael O’Reilly
Graphic / Web Design/Marketing Design... Yasmine Santana
Videography /Photography...Skye Morse-Hodgson
Interactive Video Game Design… Victor Morales
Interactive Video Game Design… Matt Romein

Advisory Board
Robin DiAngelo     Joseph DiCenso    Sonya Donaldson

Performers
Dean Acree    Catherine Braxton    Alyson Brown    Matthew Brown    Michael Bryan
Vienna Carroll    Natalie Chapman    Marie Donna Davis    William Delaney    Monica Howe
Dylan Kammerer    Dexter McKinney    Lionel Macauley    Gio Naarendorp    David Roberts
Dhane Ross    Meagan Stevenson    Ken Strauss    Khiry Walker    Lauren White