This is part of IndyFringe 2022, Aug. 18-Sept. 4 (individual performance times vary) in downtown Indianapolis. Details and tickets at IndyFringe.org.

By Wendy Carson

“Fly Blackbird Fly/Voices We Can’t Unhear” begins by honoring those who are no longer with us. We then see the four actresses entering as children at play.

The group then comes together, giving us monologues about the physical changes of puberty as well as the rude and threatening attitudes of the boys around them to this change. Physical, mental, sexual, and social abuses are discussed, but also acknowledged as sad a part of growing up.

The ladies of the cast – Dedee Austin, Maya Mays, Rav’n Partee, and Latrice P Young – slide in and out of characters ranging in age from 7 to over 45 throughout the course of the show. They enchant us, persuade us, and challenge us not just to hear them but also to fully see them as the complex creatures they truly are.

The show, which Ms. Latrice defines as a “choreopoem,” is a mixture of poetry, scenes, music, and movement portraying the lives of these four females as they grow up into powerful and proud women. Just know that as you are never too old to see a rainbow, you should not leave this spectacle unseen.

Presented by Ms. Latrice, aka Distinctly Unique, with OnyxFest, performances are 9 p.m. Friday and 1:45 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26-27; and 5:15 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3-4, at the IndyFringe Theatre, 719 E. St. Clair.