Is God Is / What to Send Up When It Goes Down

by Aleshea Harris

“Furious and incandescent… Harris writes so blisteringly that the actors could just let the language’s flames carry them along.” —Helen Shaw,  Time Out New York  on  Is God Is
An explosive epic that examines the cyclical nature of violence,  Is God Is  follows twin sisters who undertake a dangerous journey to exact revenge upon their father at the behest of their dying mother.
“Aleshea Harris turns theater into a monument, ephemeral but real, to ongoing pain. You can’t tear down a statue that never shows up outside.” —Vinson Cunningham,  New Yorker  on  What to Send Up... What to Send Up When It Goes Down  is a play-pageant-ritual response to anti-Blackness in America. It is a challenge to us to heal through expression, expulsion, and movement.

Genres: Plays, Theatre

161 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2022

Reviews

[max theodore]

IS GOD IS
RACINE
How you figure that? We come from a man who tried to kill our mama and a mama who wants to kill that man. Iss in the blood.

ANAIA
I'ma be sick. I bet he just look like an ordinary man.

I used to dream about a lady in a fire and I didn't know why.

ohhhhhh absolutely crazy play. part biblical revenge story and part spaghetti western. reminded me immediately of hamlet because, uh, sometimes your dead/dying parent gets you into the cycle of violence. harris's writing is SO gutting and efficient and the relationship between racine and anaia made me fucking insane. anaia i love youuuuuuuuuuu. also like hamlet, this is one of those plays that makes you feel bad. as in, i turned the last page and i was like. jesus christ. my day might be ruined? highly recommend

WHAT TO SEND UP WHEN IT GOES DOWN
You know what I mean by "it," right?
"It" equals some terrible thing.
Some "bang-bang" thing.
Some wrong color thing.
The shit that don't stop.

Since it don't stop
we are always before and after it going down.
You feel me?
It happened yesterday and it will happen tomorrow
We find ourselves between the happenings.

no idea how to review this one and i don't think it's mine to review anyhow. part plays-within-plays, part monologue, part ritual of healing, part celebration of black life and power. i would really love to see this one; as beautifully-done as it is on the page, i can't imagine how it would feel to witness. definitely going to be on the lookout for more of harris's work (god i wish theater was easier to get one's hands on).

[Carina Stopenski]

two of the most stellar, thought-provoking, dialogue-starting pieces of theatre i've ever read. these are plays for our times.

[Chelsea]

I read "Is God Is" for the movie. I was curious about how the movie would end - if it does follow the play to the end - and I have to see this movie. It was weird in the best way possible. Both plays were weird and I loved them. I read both plays over the course of 1 day. Is God Is was my favorite and it was funny. It was darkly funny. The subject was dark and has been hitting way too close lately but lord the play itself was so funny at times.

[lids ☆彡]

“Is God Is” is one of those plays i’d recommend to non-theatre people or anyone new to reading plays—Harris’ use of typography, description, and fourth-wall breaking made the story engaging and easy to understand

“What to Send Up When It Goes Down” is more of a facilitation for Black healing and my favorite of the two

[Leigh's Novel Hour]

I loved the movie so I was really curious to read the the stage play. The stage play is vivid and dynamic and I’m curious what the live performance looks like especially with the effects. But I think the screenplay maximizes the elements that aren’t conveyed for the stage. I really appreciate Aleasha Harris’ vision for what the screenplay could be and the additions she made.

As for the other play in this book. I would have to see it live. Reading it on the page didn’t really connect with me but the message is powerful.

[Kelsey]

I saw a movie trailer for Is God Is and was like wow that looks good (I still haven't seen the movie) and then I found out it was a play so I borrowed this from the library. I don't read many plays anymore but this one was very intense and makes you feel out of breath.

Aleshea Harris does something super interesting w typography and in my opinion it worked really well for the subject matter/this play. I am curious how that plays out in a visual medium of the story.

[Bucket]

I rarely watch movies, but when there's source material I like to go for that instead.

I don't read many plays, and these two definitely floored me, especially Is God Is. The style is fascinating, with characters also serving as narrators of their own thoughts and action, many moments where multiple characters speak as one, and the simplicity of the stage direction.

There is virtually no description and still I was there, particularly with Racine and Anaia - it's somehow so, so vivid.

The story of Is God Is really hits hard too. There's so many moments of bait-and-switch, where characters act suddenly and viciously in ways we couldn't quite see coming because the whole mood of the play is already so gothic-novel-ly tense. It's over the top, and that makes it especially bold and searing.

What to Send Up When It Goes Down is completely different, but has the same vividness and intensity. When parts of the stories the characters are telling and acting repeat a second and third time (but faster and stripped further to their essence), white supremacy (both the absurdity and the horror) is laid more and more bare. This play knocks you out of complacence.

[Cassandra]

I received a complimentary copy.

It’s just kind of hard to get through and the really strong tones are going to appeal to more to other readers. It’s got a mixed feeling and leaves it till the end.

[Rebekah]

Is God Is - 4 stars
What to Send Up When It Goes Down - 2.5 stars

I immensely enjoyed Is God Is, I would assume that it's as much an experience to watch as it is to read.

What to Send Up When It Goes Down was much harder for me to connect to on paper. If I were to experience it in person, I would probably be deeply moved, but I think since so much of the play seems to stem from audience participation in the ritual/workshop, something can get a bit lost when you're reading it alone. And yet another important entry in the canon of black playwrights who are carving out space for themselves and their communities.

[Dexter Nardi]

[ONLY READ IS GOD IS, NOT THE OTHER PLAYS]
Woah
Idk how someone stages smth like this, it feels like a Western mixed with In Your Face theater
I liked it tho? I’m not sure I really get the point besides like generational trauma
But like it makes a really good pair with Agamemnon lmao

[Jo Donna]

Aleshea Harris, my god. A once in a generation talent. Life changing reads. I'd kill to see (or perform in) either play one day.