The only time I’ve seen banana beer, bollywood theme songs, punk rock, and angels in the same place was not Woodstock, but the Ensemble Studio Theatre during their seven play wonder known as River Crosses Rivers: Series A.

This is a festival of seven women playwrights of color in a collection of one-act plays on a variety of themes portrayed by actors with a wide comedic and emotional range. It was a balanced mix of comedy, tragedy, and optimism.

First up was The Kitchen or 9 1/2 minutes of Sub-continental Absurdity. Fortunately, it was only a little absurd and probably the funniest drama I have seen at this theatre. It is centered around two conservative Indian parents and their progressive daughter. The daughter announces that she wants to go to a sperm bank to be artificially inseminated, but the parents are having none of it. Eventually, it devolves into a huge argument filled with snappy one-liners and a shocking twist at the end. It was a great way to start of the evening.

Next was a skit about angels and adultery appropriately named Angels in the Parking Lot. It was a story of a woman named Angela who finds an Angel who leads her to the fact that her hubby Darryl is cheating on her. In a stunning conclusion he reveals all including the name of his mistress and a few other details that should never be revealed in any public forum. The supernatural touch of an angel gave some spark to this otherwise predictable yet funny story of misplaced lust.

The Stepmother is about a stepmother who lives with her husband’s daughter. Her daughter Dolores affectionately calls her “Momsie.” It starts out in the early morning as Momsie and Dolores shoot the breeze. Eventually the conversation continues, things get close to topics no one wants to talk about. The climax is a huge argument, which then simmers down after some hurt feelings and all parties come out with a better understanding of each other.

Ladybug and Cockroach are more like names for first generation superheroes rather than punk rockers, which is what they are in Ladybug Gonna Getcha. This one follows Ladybug, the self-proclaimed biggest undiscovered star the world has ever seen. Her manager Cockroach is just as confident as she is, though something doesn’t seem right. A last minute schedule change puts her right after Blondie, a hard act to follow. She becomes paranoid thinking that Cockroach sold her out to make her look bad. In the end she steals Cockroach’s gun and kills Blondie, thus attaining the fame she so desired.

Risen from the Dough is about two feisty Haitian sisters who fight each other, and the health inspector as part of their life at the family restaurant. They end up arguing about how the health inspector only bothers them and no-one else. One of them starts to reminisce about how she and her husband, Fritz started the restaurant and they end up fighting about that as well. With a surprising and heartfelt twist at the end. A great mix of comedy and tragedy.

Banana Beer Bath is a story told by one woman, sitting. It’s about three sisters who are the most beautiful girls in their tribe. When civil war breaks out their tribe tells the soldiers who come looking for women to rape, where the three girls are. They hide in a pit full of banana beer and their parents give themselves up to the soldiers. This was the most emotional heartbreaking tale of the whole evening.

The last one of a long series of plays is called Rally. Two women, Tameka and Granny, go to a rally for the future President Barrack Obama. Granny starts reminiscing about the old days when she and her friends suffered dogs, hoses, and tanks whenever they started any political demonstrations. Tameka just wants to forget and move on. The conversation becomes a little strained, but all that is forgotten when Obama gets on stage and the cheering begins.