Q: While the events of this script took place over 65 years ago, there is a very contemporary and topical air to the piece that draws interesting parallels between the past and the present. This play deals with ideas like censorship, the relationship between art and politics, civil rights, in addition to many other things. In your examination and exploration of this play and in this production, what aspects of the script have been most important for you in telling this real-life story?
A: Words. Images. Stories/Storytelling. Music. Memory. Rhythm. Resistance to oppression. History. Courage... These are just some of the aspects that Carlyle Brown has deftly interwoven into this thought provoking and beautiful play. Just as Langston labors through the night to create a new poem, we have labored in rehearsal to birth the play. As director/midwife, I have been very attentive to the ‘breath of the play’ - the aspect of rhythm if you will. The deep breaths, the silences, the exhalations…, all vitally important in the birthing process. There is also another kind of rhythm that we find in the play. With each reading and with every rehearsal, we have all been struck by how contemporary the subject matter feels, and actually is. As Langston struggles to create a new poem on the eve of his appearance before the McCarthy Senate hearings in 1953; our daily news cycles remind us that history repeats, there are cycles...there is rhythm. Come breathe with us…
photo: Can Turkyilmaz
