Pipeline
Revision Pack
https://www.mtsac.edu/theater/scripts/p
ipeline_script.pdf
PIPELINE
, Context
Authorial Context
Dominique Morisseau is an American playwright. She wrote
Pipeline in 2017, set in a contemporary American urban
environment, primarily within a public high school and domestic
spaces. The play was first performed at the Lincoln Center
Theater in New York. Pipeline explores the U.S. education
system, particularly the school-to-prison pipeline, and is
inspired by Morisseau’s interest in Black identity, systemic
inequality, and the lived experiences of students and educators
navigating institutional racism.
Historical Context
Pipeline is rooted in the contemporary historical context of the United States,
particularly the late 20th and early 21st centuries, when increasing attention was
drawn to the “school-to-prison pipeline.” This term describes how zero-tolerance
school policies, racial bias, and underfunded public education systems
disproportionately push Black and marginalized students out of schools and into
the criminal justice system. Morisseau wrote the play during a period of
heightened national debate around mass incarceration, police violence, and
systemic racism, making the play a direct response to ongoing social and
educational inequalities in America.
PIPELINE
Director Context Watch this video:
https://schedule.wttw.com/episodes/44381
Lileana Blain Cruz (stage) and Habib Adar (screen)
3/Live-from-Lincoln-Center/Andrew-
Rannells-In-Concert/watch/pipeline-panel-
discussion-providing-enough-space-
tc7wxo
, Context
Director Lileana Blain-Cruz uses Pipeline to confront audiences with the realities of education inequality and
the school-to-prison pipeline, especially as it affects Black students. Her approach isn’t just to present a story —
it’s to drag the audience into the ethical and systemic questions that the play raises, making them active
participants in the conversation.
Breaking the fourth wall:
Blain-Cruz deliberately breaks theatrical conventions (like the fourth wall) by having the protagonist, Nya, speak
directly to the audience. This transforms spectators from passive viewers into fellow members of the
community depicted on stage, implicating them in the systemic issues the play explores
Use of space and form:
• The staging takes advantage of the Mitzi Newhouse Theatre’s Greek-amphitheatre-like design, reinforcing a forum or
public debate atmosphere.
• This architectural choice mirrors Blain-Cruz’s intention: theatre as a space for communal reflection on institutional
inequality and individual responsibility.
Political and personal urgency:
Blain-Cruz connects the narrative to contemporary social issues — such as violence against young Black men — and to
her own lived concerns about her family and community. This personal lens shapes a vision where theatre becomes a
catalyst for empathy and for questioning systemic inequities.
Audience engagement as change:
Her ultimate vision is that by making the audience “see people and understand people” — especially those marginalized
by the education system — the production can do more than tell a story: it can motivate reflection, responsibility, and
PIPELINE
potentially action in the real world
Key Themes: America in the 21st Century
The school-to-prison pipeline
and systemic racism In the 21st century, America has
Inequality within the American continued to grapple with systemic
education system racism despite legal advances toward
Parental responsibility and equality. Political discourse has become
generational trauma increasingly polarized, with debates
Identity, masculinity, and the surrounding immigration, policing,
pressures placed on Black youth education, and mass incarceration
Authority, discipline, and exposing deep racial divides. Movements
institutional power
such as Black Lives Matter have brought
Love, protection, and sacrifice
national and international attention to
within family relationships
racial injustice and police violence, while
policy responses have often been slow or
contested. As a result, attitudes toward
racism in America remain conflicted, with
progress existing alongside entrenched
inequalities and resistance to structural
change.
Revision Pack
https://www.mtsac.edu/theater/scripts/p
ipeline_script.pdf
PIPELINE
, Context
Authorial Context
Dominique Morisseau is an American playwright. She wrote
Pipeline in 2017, set in a contemporary American urban
environment, primarily within a public high school and domestic
spaces. The play was first performed at the Lincoln Center
Theater in New York. Pipeline explores the U.S. education
system, particularly the school-to-prison pipeline, and is
inspired by Morisseau’s interest in Black identity, systemic
inequality, and the lived experiences of students and educators
navigating institutional racism.
Historical Context
Pipeline is rooted in the contemporary historical context of the United States,
particularly the late 20th and early 21st centuries, when increasing attention was
drawn to the “school-to-prison pipeline.” This term describes how zero-tolerance
school policies, racial bias, and underfunded public education systems
disproportionately push Black and marginalized students out of schools and into
the criminal justice system. Morisseau wrote the play during a period of
heightened national debate around mass incarceration, police violence, and
systemic racism, making the play a direct response to ongoing social and
educational inequalities in America.
PIPELINE
Director Context Watch this video:
https://schedule.wttw.com/episodes/44381
Lileana Blain Cruz (stage) and Habib Adar (screen)
3/Live-from-Lincoln-Center/Andrew-
Rannells-In-Concert/watch/pipeline-panel-
discussion-providing-enough-space-
tc7wxo
, Context
Director Lileana Blain-Cruz uses Pipeline to confront audiences with the realities of education inequality and
the school-to-prison pipeline, especially as it affects Black students. Her approach isn’t just to present a story —
it’s to drag the audience into the ethical and systemic questions that the play raises, making them active
participants in the conversation.
Breaking the fourth wall:
Blain-Cruz deliberately breaks theatrical conventions (like the fourth wall) by having the protagonist, Nya, speak
directly to the audience. This transforms spectators from passive viewers into fellow members of the
community depicted on stage, implicating them in the systemic issues the play explores
Use of space and form:
• The staging takes advantage of the Mitzi Newhouse Theatre’s Greek-amphitheatre-like design, reinforcing a forum or
public debate atmosphere.
• This architectural choice mirrors Blain-Cruz’s intention: theatre as a space for communal reflection on institutional
inequality and individual responsibility.
Political and personal urgency:
Blain-Cruz connects the narrative to contemporary social issues — such as violence against young Black men — and to
her own lived concerns about her family and community. This personal lens shapes a vision where theatre becomes a
catalyst for empathy and for questioning systemic inequities.
Audience engagement as change:
Her ultimate vision is that by making the audience “see people and understand people” — especially those marginalized
by the education system — the production can do more than tell a story: it can motivate reflection, responsibility, and
PIPELINE
potentially action in the real world
Key Themes: America in the 21st Century
The school-to-prison pipeline
and systemic racism In the 21st century, America has
Inequality within the American continued to grapple with systemic
education system racism despite legal advances toward
Parental responsibility and equality. Political discourse has become
generational trauma increasingly polarized, with debates
Identity, masculinity, and the surrounding immigration, policing,
pressures placed on Black youth education, and mass incarceration
Authority, discipline, and exposing deep racial divides. Movements
institutional power
such as Black Lives Matter have brought
Love, protection, and sacrifice
national and international attention to
within family relationships
racial injustice and police violence, while
policy responses have often been slow or
contested. As a result, attitudes toward
racism in America remain conflicted, with
progress existing alongside entrenched
inequalities and resistance to structural
change.
