Blowin' Fire 

Friday, February 20th, 3pm at Barter's Smith Theatre

When rebellious teenager Compton Edwards gets into trouble on the streets of Chicago, his father brings him South to be ‘straightened out’ by his great-aunt Mama Sojourn, a conjure woman and matriarch of the family. Love, lies, and betrayal lead to Compton being held prisoner in her home—a former Underground Railroad Station. There, Compton is forced to face Shadrack and Meshack, two ghosts trapped in the house since slavery. In an intense physical and emotional battle, Compton struggles for his life, as the ghosts force the Edwards’ family to redefine their lives in the modern world.

2026 AFPP Black Stories Black Voices Selection

Written by: Gloria Bond Clunie

Gloria Bond Clunie is an award-winning playwright, director, and educator. Ms. Clunie is a founding member of the Playwriting Ensemble at Chicago’s Regional Tony Award winning Victory Gardens Theater where her plays North Star, Living Green and Shoes premiered. She is also the founding Artistic Director of Evanston’s Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre where she directed scores of productions including Ain't Misbehavin', Purlie Victorious, Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, Home, and Raisin.  Her other plays include Sweet Water Taste, SMOKE, Sing, Malindy, Sing!, BLU, Buck Naked, DRIP, Patricia McKissack’s Mirandy and Brother Wind, Bankruptcy, Merry Kwanzaa, Mercy Rising and QUARK. She is published by Dramatic Publishing and in the anthologies Seven Black Plays, Reimagining A Raisin In the Sun, I Have A Story, and The Bully Plays. Her plays have been produced and workshopped in theaters across the country including Victory Gardens Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre, ETA, Alliance Theatre, Triad Stage, Her Story Theatre, MPAACT, Chicago Children’s Theatre, American Blues Theatre, Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre, Penobscot Theatre and Orlando Shakespeare Theater.  Originally from Henderson, North Carolina, she and her husband Basil live in Evanston, Illinois and are the proud parents of Aurelia, an amazing daughter and theater artist.