Examine Shange’s stage directions. How does she instruct directors to set the tone through lighting and sound? How do her movement instructions for performers shape the reader’s visualizations? What other ways does she make the work come alive for readers who can’t see the play?

Shange refers to music and culture throughout the text. How do these musical references provide authorial, cultural, historical, and social context?

Watch clips from a live theatrical performance of for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf. How do the live performances from more recent years compare to the original text?