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AFFINITY LUNCH MINUTES by Nick Malakhow

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  • Bethany Dickens Assaf:
    16 Mar. 2021
    “ Utterly enthralling: Malakhow's four characters bring out multi-fold layers of tension in questions of race and equity gripping a majority-white school. The play utilizes a fully engaging to story to grapple with issues of white fragility, micro(and macro, frankly)aggressions, and the emptiness of certain symbols and rhetoric, to devastating and convicting effect. These characters are impeccably-sketched with empathy and authenticity, but nowhere does the play lose sight of the toxic, white defensiveness that the character of Ben begins to question whether or not we should still be listening to. Malakow's welcome answer is so striking and so needed. ”
  • Dave Osmundsen:
    20 Feb. 2021
    “ A deceptively gentle satire about racial politics in a majority-white private school setting that becomes sharper and messier as it continues. Malakhow displays an uncanny ability to remain compassionate and critical of his characters. You're almost guaranteed to disagree with them at some points, and agree with them at others. He also takes "polite" microaggressions and places them under an interrogative magnifying glass--the moments of microaggression really hit hard. He's also not afraid to complicate his characters, which makes them ultra compelling to watch. ”
  • Samantha Marchant:
    12 Feb. 2021
    “ The tension and nuance in this script is so well crafted! Malakhov explores liberal racism and exclusion with precision and complex characters. I love the use of "and a half" scenes that give further insight. ”
  • Philip Middleton Williams:
    1 Feb. 2021
    “ The precision and insight that Nick Malakhow brings to this story of teaching in a private Quaker school, a place so determined to live up to the precepts of political correctness that it borders on absurdism, is perfect. The sincere attempts to make a Friends-based world crafted by scions of guilt-ridden liberalism are revealed in fine detail, and the two teachers, Ben and Jasmine, are caught up in the maelstrom. Everyone should hold this play in the Light. ”
  • Emma Goldman-Sherman:
    31 Jan. 2021
    “ It is so important that we are all made aware of white privilege so that we can realize the inequities and change them, and Malakhow's Affinity Lunch Minutes is a marvelous way to hold the mirror up to this. I grew up in Penn Valley in a private school and recognize the world he's built to a tee! The verisimilitude and the drama put our blind liberalism on brilliant display! Kudos! I hope it is produced soon and often! ”
  • Julie Zaffarano:
    14 Jan. 2021
    “ A powerful play that deals unapologetically with race, white privilege, liberal racism, elitism, through the lens of teachers in a Quaker school. Characters are authentic with strengths and weaknesses -- with the desire to do the right things, but the confusion of how to best navigate to get there. Would love to see this play produced. ”
  • Annalise Cain:
    12 Jan. 2021
    “ Malakhow’s characters just jump off the page. It was beautiful to see Jasmine and Ben’s friendship tested, threatened and heal throughout the play, and exciting to see Ben get to speak his truth at the end. Examining white supremacy specifically in a Quaker School, we follow the characters as they discover how deeply entrenched those racist policies are, and in the end, we want Jasmine to leave just as much as we want her to stay. A powerful, precise play. ”
  • David Beardsley:
    27 Dec. 2020
    “ This is one of the most nuanced and eye-opening plays about systemic racism, white privilege, and white guilt that I've come across. Nothing is straightforward as Malakhow shows how intersectionality and power dynamics shape identity and community in subtle, often-corrosive ways. Two black educators seek, with little genuine support from white colleagues, to bring more diversity, tolerance, equity, and awareness to a tradition-rich, overwhelmingly white Quaker school where discussions of race rarely advance beyond virtue signaling and serve ultimately as a shield for privilege rather than a starting point for change. ”
  • Conor McShane:
    8 Nov. 2020
    “ With this play, Nick Malakhow gives us an appropriately thorny, multifaceted conflict to reflect on institutionalized racism, the ways in which even well-meaning liberal minded people can inadvertently uphold racist power structures, and the struggles of people of color to challenge these structures without being told they're being "difficult" or creating conflict. His facility with language and crafting well-rounded, engaging characters makes the piece feel real and extremely vital. ”
  • Maximillian Gill:
    13 Oct. 2020
    “ Malakhow pulls off something quite amazing here by taking us into a very specific environment that many readers (certainly this one) may be unfamiliar with, detailing it and fleshing it out until we understand it thoroughly, and finally situating within it a complicated issue with many intersectional complexities. Malakhow delves into the central issues with bravery and a clear-eyed commitment to understanding each character and where they are coming from. The core characters are both BIPOC but come from distinctly different places. The challenges to their relationship give this piece an urgent drive. Another powerful piece from this writer. ”

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