Vivian Anderson Watt has been in theater and choreography since 1973. Trained under dance icon Katherine Dunham, Watt has organized and choreographed countless theatrical projects, having headed 32 productions at the Black Rep alone.
But this spring, Ms. Vivian – as she’s known in theater – will take on a new theatrical challenge. The veteran choreographer will take the stage in Complacency of Silence: Darfur, an original play produced by Gitana Productions Inc. that will bring life in war-torn Darfur, Sudan, to St. Louis.
“It’s not just about tragedy, its about people,” Watt said. “They laugh, they play and have dreams for their children.”
Watt’s resume as an accomplished artistic educator is extensive – and impressive. She judges other theatrical plays throughout the city as a Kevin Kline Awards judge and works as the urban dance coordinator with Better Family Life Inc. She also just completed work on The Wiz for Whitfield High School.
Watt will be joined with a host of young talent, including Briston Ashe, Thomasina Clark, Myah Maedell, Eddie Webb, Suzanne Yatim, Joel P.E. King and Jaime Fritz.
The play follows the life of a young Darfuri woman named Asha (played by Briston Ashe) who is separated from her fiancé and her family after their village is attacked by the Janjaweed, militiamen on horse and camel.
Watt plays Asha’s mother, Hawa, a delightful character who wants her family to be respected and have honor. She struggles to cope with the destruction of her homeland.
“I want them to know the Darfuri people as people and not just as a statistic in a news story,” said playwright Patton Chiles. The play definitely has its Kleenex moments, but it’s also full of laughter.
Chiles spent more than a year doing research for the play on Darfur. She said the play uses proverbs, stories and interpretative dance to make the reality of the Darfur tragedy more tangible to people in distant places.
Cecilia Nadal, founder of Gitana Productions, said she hopes that the play inspires people to take action against the atrocities in Darfur. To date, the genocide has claimed more than 400,000 lives and displaced 2.3 million of the region’s 7 million residents.
“In this age of live satellite video from all over the world, we cannot say, ‘We didn’t know,’” Nadal said. “How will history judge our society – by our actions or our inaction in Darfur?”
Complacency of Silence: Darfur is funded by grants from the Regional Arts Commission, the Missouri Arts Council, Arts and Education Council of St. Louis and the Employees Community Fund of Boeing St. Louis.
It will run at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2:30 p.m. Sundays from May 23 through June 8 at the Saint Louis University Theater, 3733 West Pine Mall (Xavier Hall). Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. To purchase tickets visit www.metrotix.com or call 314-534-1111.
