Theatre Schmooze

Bonding the Insurrection Way – TJ and Ron Explain!

Want an experience in the theatre you will never forget? Get thee to Insurrection: Holding History at Theatre Alliance, and watch two young actors – Frank Britton (Ron Potter) and Cedric Mays (TJ) and their talented cohorts lure you into a world of slavery, whippings, movie and musical theatre references, Prince’s music, the “N” and “F” words, and altogether craziness. It’s a real “thriller.”

Frank Britton graduated from the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Georgetown, and has appeared at Arena Stage (Orpheus Descending); Rorschach Theatre (After The Flood, Accidental Death of an Anarchist); Didactic Theatre Company (Orange Flower Water); Tsunami Theatre Company (Ballad of Yachiyo, The Green Stockings); Actors’ Theatre of Washington (Lilies, Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy); and Washington Shakespeare Company (Death and the King’s Horseman.

Cedric Mays graduated from The North Carolina School of the Arts in 2006, where he Appeared in Topdog/Underdog, Levee James, The Chinese Wall, and The Laramie Project. Before NCSA, he created a one-man show in Toronto entitled, From A Grain of Sand, which was selected as a part of The Thunder Bay Ontario Fringe Festival. Insurrection: Holding History is his first DC performance and his first professional performance. He is the youngest member of the cast.

Frank says Insurrection: Holding History is about,”An African-American grad student at Columbia University working on his thesis to earn his Ph.D in Slave History who, at the urging of his 189 year-old great-great grandfather to take him back to the home of his youth in Virginia, wind up traveling back in time to the year 1831, and landing square in the middle of the genesis of Nat Turner’s revolt. In addition to the synopsis, it’s a story about family, identity, and legacy.”

And who is Ron Porter? Franks explains that he is, “A grad student: young, intelligent, and completely comfortable in his homosexuality. He has a loving and supportive family, and a special relationship with his great-great grandfather.”

Cedric compares TJ to, “A great tree; one who roots himself in this rich soil, who entangles his roots with others’ roots and remains grounded while eternally reaching towards the sky. In other words he holds his history while continuing to move forward. On a more straight-forward level, TJ is a 189 year-old ex-slave who can only move his left eye and the middle toe of his right foot…well until he goes back to 1831 then he moves everything!”

What is quite amazing about Cedric’s performance is that TJ rarely moves and Eric obliges and doesn’t move during the performance as the great-great-grandfather. Talk about stiff competition.

“There really is no mystery or some sort of deep probing done to focus on anything, at least not on a cognitive level. The actor’s instrument is his whole body (voice, alignment, musculature, etc.) If any part of the body is disrupted, the body finds a way to compensate. It is the “survival of the fittest” mechanism. As the actor, a major part of my job is to re-program my subconscious. I do that by consciously making the choice to perform certain tasks. What this means is I consciously allow my body to remain still, or more specifically to remain in inactivity. As a result of this choice my body then begins to subconsciously find ways to swallow without using the musculature that I would commonly use. My body finds ways to breathe without interrupting the physical choice that I have made.”

And as for the bonding between Ron and TJ, Cedric explains that, “The relationship between Ron and TJ is so vital in this play because when Ron realizes TJ is the family’s living history, TJ becomes the portal to the family’s history, and Ron will be the vessel to carry on that legacy. Their relationship, surprisingly, is more jocular and buddy-like instead of one of total reverence that normally a person of Ron’s age would show to someone TJ’s age.”

Cedric: “I think of this play using the image of a forest. There are huge trees that are rooted in the earth but still reach towards the heavens. There are small trees whose roots aren’t as deep but their limbs do the same. And if you look you’ll notice that some of the bigger trees’ branches extend downward as if to say, “Take my hand. I’ll hold you up and help you to stand.” This is the relationship that Ronnie and TJ share. TJ is teaching Ronnie how to hold on. And in turn TJ learns how to let go.” The man is branching out and establishing roots.

And there is bonding not only between TJ and Cedric, but tremendous bonding among the entire cast, as Frank explains, “We bond incredibly. It’s amazing how alike we all are. It is also great that we all come with the mindset to serve the play, honour our ancestors, and seek ourselves within these characters. Because of this, a seemingly difficult play has been easy to work on.” Cedric also points out that,”Most of the cast were already friends of mine (Jeremy Brown, Cedric Mays, and Cleo House were the only cast members I didn’t know before we began rehearsing), but we all instantly became a family and an ensemble. Comraderie and the sense of family and ensemble is very important to me when working on a play.”

The show is the most exhilarating two hours I have spent in the theatre recently. It’s a challenge, at times funny, at times frightening, but always challenging – an experience you won’t soon forget.

Insurrection: Holding History is playing at Theatre Alliance until March 25^th. Purchase tickets here:

Owl Be Seeing You – Doris and Felix Purr….

Why would Jeffrey Johnson give a hoot about a 1965 play, and star in The Owl and The Pussycat at Actors Theatre of Washington?

“I have always loved The Owl and the Pussycat and, for some time now, have kept it in the back of my mind. In itself, it is a “classic” play, maybe not as famous as others, but it is a play that at its time had some impact on the theatre society. I think it is a much darker play than that, though it happens to be written in a style of humor that was popular for its time. And to the humor’s credit – I think it’s funny as hell! The characters are classic. The script, though stylized, deals with some serious, topical AND universal themes that have, and for some time ahead of us, will remain that way.”

And why would he play the role of Doris himself – having to put on the makeup, stockings, dresses, etc. – instead of hiring an actress to portray the role (remember Babs and George Segal in the movie adaptation?)

“The issues within the play never deal with specific gender. It deals with the masks that we all put on, the roles we take on and the titles we refer to ourselves by and says “you gotta strip those away and be true to you. Trust others.” So making the character of Doris, a female hooker, into a transvestite hooker only continued to show to what extreme we apply these masks to protect ourselves in the world. The love story between the two focuses on the “two souls” trying to understand each other rather than the fact that one is male and one is female. That issue never comes up. So the interpretation seemed to be extremely honest to the play’s intent and to the playwright’s true message. We changed one word and cut one line – otherwise the script is performed in its entirety. And that interpretation fits the mission which ATW stands firmly on. So – good fit, I thought.

I chose to play her because I really felt I “got Doris” from the start – it’s a play I’ve loved for a long time. I felt confident in how she could be interpreted as a transvestite and remain genuine to the role and not make her into a comic caricature. I also wanted to work onstage with Rick Hammerly.”

And what does Jeffrey have to do to transform him into Doris? ”

“Complete make-up (designed by the lovely Andrea Cottin!), bra, tuck (LOL), 5 inch heels, two wigs…too funny! The makeup started out taking about 50 minutes – I think on Sunday I had it down to 30…so I’m getting better!”

As for the character he plays, Jeffrey says that Doris has,”the biggest, most genuine heart on the planet earth. Or at least in San Francisco in 1968 – and that is something that no one has ever taken a moment to appreciate in her. Yet somehow, she has found the strength to continue to hold on to her own recognition and appreciation of it.”