The theme may be blackness, but the genres are many: science fiction, slave narratives, a superhero trilogy.
Presented at Durham’s Manbites Dog Theater along with the Duke University Department of Theater Studies, the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture, Manbites Dog Theater and The Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern theater company, “The Theme is Blackness” showcases plays by two African-American playwrights in residency at Duke. The festival, which runs Nov. 3 to 13, highlights topics such as race and rebellion.
The festival features Ed Bullins’ play Night Beast, which takes place on a futuristic black planet in the throes of civil war, and Lydia R. Diamond’s Harriet Jacobs, a stage adaptation of Jacobs’ book Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. These performances mark the world premiere of Night Beast and the first performance of Harriet Jacobs in North Carolina, Jacob’s home state.
Durham playwright Howard L. Craft will also present a video preview of his Jade City Chronicles, a comic book-inspired trilogy about superheroes and villains that will run as Little Green Pig’s spring show.
The project was spearheaded by Jay O’Berski, assistant professor of the practice of Theater Studies, and Jennifer Brody, professor of African and African-American Studies.
O’Berski, who serves as the director of Night Beast and artistic director of The Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern, said the two plays have a lot in common.
“Both are about rebels who team up with others to overcome oppression,” O’Berski said. “In the science fiction, it’s a violent lashing back, and in the slave narrative, it’s peaceful. We’re hoping people will see both and start a conversation about the ways and means [of rebellion] that work or don’t.”
Brody and O’Berski are co-teaching a class about contemporary black playwrights this semester. Students learn about the thematic study of science fiction and the slave narrative, as well as assist with publicizing and directing. Two Duke undergraduates and one Duke graduate will also perform in the plays.
The students, who have been working on their own adaptations of scenes from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, will even have the opportunity to present their versions to Diamond.
“There haven’t been that many opportunities in the Department of African and African-American Studies for students to work directly in the arts,” Brody said. “We’re offering them a multi-faceted view of what it takes to put a play on.”
The class played a dynamic role in shaping the shows, senior Utrophia Robinson, who will play Cindas in Night Beast, wrote in an e-mail.
“We read [Night Beast] as an assignment and offered the director, our teacher, valuable feedback and suggestions, which he added to the show,” Robinson said.
She added that playing Cindas has helped her develop as an actress.
“Cindas was at first a little out of my comfort zone… but that zone has since expanded to give me more range and versatility,” Robinson said.
O’Berski also said he desired to “up the diversity factor” of the Department of Theater Studies and “engage students in a community event that has national significance.”
All three playwrights will make appearances after the performances to talk about their pieces. One of the festival’s main goals is to encourage the audience to participate and ask questions, Brody said.
“The plays are short so we can have time for an extended discussion about the themes and what has been staged,” she added.
The collaboration between students, faculty and playwrights makes for a great experience, said Amaris Whitaker, Trinity ’09, the publicity coordinator and assistant producer for the festival and an actress in Harriet Jacobs.
“I guess what I want Duke students to take away from it… can be something as simple as the Duke dynamic, from the Duke employees like the housekeeping staff and [the employees who work in] the Marketplace,” Whitaker said. “The beauty of these plays is making us realize how we treat people.”
“The Theme is Blackness” performances will runs Nov. 3 to 13 at Manbites Dog Theater in Durham. Tickets are available at www.manbitesdogtheater.org/357/.
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