Tempestuous Elements

"A big chunk of hidden history…and hidden D.C. history"

— Molly Smith

Tempestuous Elements reveals the struggle of educational luminary Anna Julia Cooper as she fights for her students’ rights to an advanced curriculum. In a scandal orchestrated by the government, her tenure as principal of  D.C.’s historic M Street School is sabotaged by her colleagues and neighbors leading Cooper's professional and personal relationships to become fodder for innuendo and social ostracization. Witness the journey of this formidable Black feminist’s fight for educational equity, freedom, and legitimacy at the turn of the 20th century.

Arena Stage thanks Tiffeny Sanchez and Reg Brown for their generous sponsorship of Tempestuous Elements and their tremendous support of Black storytelling in DC.
Tempestuous Elements is also made possible through generous funding from  with additional support from Susan and Steve Bralove, Dr. Donald Wallace Jones, Dr. Betty Jean Tolbert Jones, and Tracey Tolbert Jones,, and The Drs. Elliot and Lily Gardner Feldman Endowment for New Plays at Arena Stage.