Pieces of Me

June 29 at 7 PM

Bo Petersen: Writer and Performer
Keenan Tyler Oliphant: Director

“Pieces of Me” is an autobiographical play that exposes the devastating emotional cost of living secretly as a mixed-race family under the vicious racist apartheid regime and the legacy it bore. Her father Benjamin Johannes Petersen, also known as Benny, made a fateful decision in 1944 that would change his life forever. Until then, he and his close-knit family were classified by the South African Government as “Colored”. A Colored person was a person of mixed European (“white”) and African (“black”) or Asian ancestry, as officially defined by the South African government from 1950 to 1991. After meeting and falling in love with Bo’s mother, who was white, he decided to pass as white. They had 5 children and were happily married for 62 years. They lived as a white family. He never told his wife or any of his children about his true identity. It was a secret that, if uncovered, would have had dire consequences for all of them. Benny could have faced 10 years imprisonment, his marriage would have been annulled and his children taken away, reclassified and made wards of the State. “Pieces of Me” explores how her father’s torturous decision to pass as white has shaped Bo’s life. This is Bo’s renegotiation.

*Please note that this performance will be presented at the Tank's in-person performance space at 312 W 36th St. All attendees and artists will be required to have two doses of an approved COVID-19 vaccine. Patrons will also be required to wear masks when not eating or drinking.