“If it was up to my mother, I’d never have sex!”

This is just one of many relatable exclamations said throughout Echo Brown’s hilarious show, “Black Virgins are not for Hipster.”

Brown is the creator and performer of the one woman show, which she performed in Diablo Valley College’s Performing Arts Center Wednesday, March 2nd.

Her act is a dramatization of her life, centering around the issues she faced growing up a black woman in a time supposed color blindness and social acceptance.

Brown played multiple characters throughout the show, including her Oregonian hipster boyfriend, a NYPD cop accused of misconduct, and herself, a 23-year-old graduate of Dartmouth looking to change the world.

Brown took the audience through a roller-coaster of emotions. She described experiences of generational oppression or sexual trauma in the same breath as gesticulating the difference between dancing with a white guy, versus a black guy. One gets Beyoncé style undulations, the other a simple two step slightly off beat.

Brown’s performance is relatable to most demographics because of her wide-range of characters. “Black Virgins are not for Hipsters” deals with dating in the online era, growing up a minority woman in America, the different perspectives between mother and daughter, and a plethora of other issues surrounding modern American society.

In the question and answer session that followed, Brown shared what inspired her to write her one-woman show, and what she hoped others would take from it. Although Brown believes the power of storytelling is that everyone takes away a different message, she said she hopes her show “portrays the multi-dimensionality of black humanity.”  

“It was brilliant,” said president of DVC’s History Club, Elsa Denis. Denis, who brought her club to view the show, commented on it’s accessible message. “It deals with the real issues in America today.”

Brown’s effervescent personality and stellar talent fosters a unique connection to her audience members, encouraging them to laugh, cry, or gasp along with her. “Black Virgins are not for Hipsters” certainly will engage audience members and leave a lesson for everyone.