TURF Radio 1996

TURF: A Conversational Concert in Black and White is a one-hour theatrical performance for radio that explores issues of race, education and class in this country over the last two decades. Set in Boston during and after that city's school busing crisis of the 1970s, TURF is based largely on firsthand testimonies and dialogues with dozens of community residents who have been and still are affected by this pivotal event. In its unfolding, TURF celebrates and challenges the similarities and differences of culture, race, religion, class, belief and attitudes of Americans in the 1990s

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TURF was created by award-winning artist Robbie McCauley in collaboration with Boston-based actors, singers and storytellers, first as a stage production (1993), and then as a performance for radio (1996), distributed by satellite to public stations nationally. In Boston; Troy/

Albany, NY; Madison, WI;  Louisville, KY;  and Amherst, MA, the broadcast was followed by live local call-in sessions with McCauley and some of her Boston collaborators

Of different racial, ethnic and economic backgrounds, ranging in age from 16 to 58, the cast members collected most of the first-person accounts and anecdotes used in TURF and also contributed their own thoughts and stories as long-time community residents.

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TURF: A Conversational Concert in Black and White was produced by The Arts Company of Cambridge, MA, in association with WGBH Radio, Boston. 

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In November 1996 TURF won an Achievement in Radio (A.I.R.) Award for Best Art or Cultural Events Coverage in Boston.