“Short Plays Toward an Antiracist Tomorrow” will premiere on the Contemporary American Theatre Company’s website Oct. 24. The event is part of the HeART of Protest initiative organized by the King Arts Complex. Credit: CATCO
Acting as a stage to express the important and raw reality of race in America, Columbus’ largest professional theater company is using its platform to provide a space for change.
On Saturday, four short plays performed by members of the Contemporary American Theatre Company will premiere on the company’s website as part of “Short Plays Toward an Antiracist Tomorrow.” The plays, written by award-winning playwright Idris Goodwin, are for multi-generational audiences and are designed to strike up conversations about race in America and act as a setting for action, according to CATCO’s website.
The four plays are being performed under the supervision of CATCO as a part of the HeART of Protest campaign that began June 19, also known as Juneteenth — a holiday celebrating the emancipation of slavery across all of the United States June 19, 1865. The campaign, which is led and organized by the King Arts Complex, includes 46 non-sequential days of artistic protest to honor George Floyd’s 46 years of life. The King Arts Complex has enlisted in the help of multiple local arts organizations with the campaign.
Leda Hoffmann, the artistic director at CATCO, said Goodwin released the plays for free online and CATCO is performing four out of the five that are part of the series.
“He thinks they’re you know … they’re telling a really important message and they’re a great tool for people to be able to watch them and maybe watch them with young people in their lives and use them as a jumping off point to talk about race in America,” Hoffmann said.
While CATCO will premiere the works on its platform, the execution of the plays was led by Black directors who are unaffiliated with the organization. The short plays are “The Water Gun Song” directed by Shanelle Maire, “ACT FREE” directed by Patricia Wallace-Winbush, “Nothing Rhymes with Juneteenth” directed by Kenneth Brown and “#Matter” directed by David Harewood, according to CATCO’s website.
The plays were all directed, produced and pre-recorded virtually, with each actor recording their parts over zoom calls or on their phones, Hoffmann said. These recordings will be compiled and presented as the virtual plays.
Marie said that having the plays be produced by Black directors allows the stories to be centered in Black and Brown perspectives and that having representation in the leadership positions –– not just the acting roles –– of theater is important. She said her inspiration comes from wanting to tell a story that is about Black joy, as opposed to Black trauma.
“We’re in a period of social unrest, of social uprisings, and I don’t want to do anymore stories about Black trauma,” Marie said. “As an artist, as a woman, as a Black person, I’m happy that I can bring my humanity into this process, that I can share with the community, and then it’s also something that I’m getting from this experience as well, because it brings me joy to share the joy.”
For Hoffmann, theater is a way to build empathy, which leads to conversation and then eventually to action.
“The whole point of theater is that people come together for a shared experience,” Hoffmann said. “When you’re looking at stories, no matter what the play is, no matter what the story is, you’re seeing things from different characters’ perspectives. Those might be people who have very similar lives to yours, and then it might be people who live lives that are totally different than your like, but no matter what, you’re thinking about what’s important to these characters.”
By overseeing the performances as a part of the HeART of Protest campaign, CATCO is taking advantage of an opportunity to promote allyship organizationally, Hoffmann said.
“We definitely want to be more reflective of the Columbus community in the future,” Hoffman said. “While we’re doing that I think we have a really good opportunity, actually, to create more antiracist white folks.”
Hoffmann and Marie both stated that the plays can reach a very broad audience, as the plays are intended for families. They both also stated that it is important for the white community specifically to try to understand the message of the plays, as the realities being portrayed are different from their own.
Marie said that the Columbus community is diverse, yet spread apart by neighborhoods, socioeconomic statuses, and education levels. She believes the community has to come together to combat racism.
“When we are trying to make our community the way that we want it to be, a place where people don’t have to be downtrodden with racism and have equity, it takes all of us to do that work,” Marie said.
“The Water Gun Song,” premiering at 3 p.m., “ACT FREE,” premiering at 3:30 p.m., “Nothing Rhymes with Juneteenth,” premiering at 4 p.m., and “#Matter,” premiering at 5:30 p.m., will all be followed by a discussion with the artists, according to the website. A panel discussion focused on talking to children about race will take place at 4:30 p.m. A toast celebrating CATCO’s first-ever virtual season will take place at 6 p.m.
“Short Plays Toward an Antiracist Tomorrow” will premiere on Catco’s website Saturday from 3-6 p.m. The plays will be available to view on CATCO’s website for all time starting Sunday, Hoffmann said.
More information on the HeART of Protest campaign and ways to get involved can be found on the campaign’s website.
