A Reading and Performance by Mfoniso Udofia at The Church

On Saturday, October 8, from 5 to 7 p.m., The Church in Sag Harbor welcomes acclaimed storyteller and educator Mfoniso Udofia who will read and perform excerpts from several of the plays in her nine-play cycle, “The Ufot Family Cycle,” which envisions the immigrant experience of a singular Nigerian family from their arrival in America in 1968 through 2051.

To date, Udofia has completed seven plays in the cycle, “The Grove,” “Sojourners,” “Runboyrun,” “Her Portmanteau,” “In Old Age,” “Adia” and “Clora Snatch Joy,” and “Lifted.” Each play is fueled by a question that the characters within the story face. Apart from “Lifted,” all the plays take place on American soil. These plays tell the story of an immigrant “becoming” in a new land and present a truly Nigerian-American folkloric. Since the plays in this cycle vary in style/genre — kitchen-sink play, Greek play, ultra-realism, musical, memory-play — Udofia’s reading will be a rich blending of acting, reading and song. The evening will include insights into Udofia’s creative process, the history involved, and her own background.

“Ultimately, my work seeks to locate a people, a culture and community that has been rendered invisible,” Udofia said. “So many of the plays we experience on our stages focus on Africans on the continent but ... we are here. We are part of the American fabric. You can find us in New York City toiling away at a 9 to 5 job. Or in rural Massachusetts tending an acre of land and trying to mold the ‘American Dream’ to fit us.”

Tickets are $20 and $40. A wine and cheese reception will be offered to $40 ticket holders, allowing guests the opportunity to converse with Mfoniso Udofia following her performance. The Church is located at 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor. For more information, thechurchsagharbor.org.