Jonathan Dewberry
The cast of Waiting for Giovanni is ensconced in rehearsal space at the legendary National Black Theatre in Harlem. http://www.nationalblacktheatre.org/ and from report backs they're having a good time. With only four weeks to capture the words and spirit of a play they have to be working extremely intensely so I'm always sending good vibes.
Jonathan Dewberry has stepped into the role of Jimmy--his honey voice and intense gaze promise to hold the audience in thrall. Here's a short excerpt from one of the scenes he's preparing. The question of what to do about his new book, which he worries will ruin his career, haunts him throughout the play.
JIMMY
Once a boy said to me:
You talk like a book. I wondered
which book he meant.
Clearly he’d never read anything I’d written.
This book…I can’t embrace it fully. Yet where do I put these pages once
written?
Someone’s judgment has always hung like Damocles’ sword above
my neck. My father…critics.
Now the others join in, a chorus of shadows.
Lorraine enters and stands upstage of Jimmy.
I don’t remember ever feeling like my words were a
boning knife.
Still that’s the image that comes to mind when I think of
what they will say
about this new book. Heretical! Pornographic! Treasonous!
They will remove my bones so I fit into a box they’ve constructed.
I can see myself, neatly aligned like a sardine in a roll top tin.
LORRAINE upstage, laughs heartily.
***
In this scene Jimmy begins to face the rumour that the literary and political world are dissing his new book because of the sexuality of the main characters. As someone who saw Jimmy as a fierce author and thoughtful activist for Civil Rights it was hard (at first) for me to imagine him as full of doubt or anxiety. But Jimmy's uncertainty became more real for me when I reflected on what I and any of us go through as we try to do something new or deeply personal.
Sometimes we do things that will forever change how we're perceived or how we will present ourselves in the world. I'm not sure if it's better to recognize that life changing moment at the time or not; but it's a sign of bravery to recognize it and still go forward.
Jonathan Dewberry captures both the anxiety and the bravery of his character; reminding me we have to go forward no matter how afraid we feel.
See you there July 12th!
No comments:
Post a Comment