The inaugural meeting to discuss the Black Rep’s upcoming staged reading of The Colored Museum at the Contemporary Art Museum (CAM) had technically been over for nearly 20 minutes, but nobody seemed to want to leave.
They tried to bid farewell, but the groups of actors and directors ended up hovered in pockets throughout the theatre company’s administrative offices to further discuss ideas about and visions for the upcoming presentation.
The energy stemming from the excitement of their plans for the show was palpable.
“The room was just abuzz,” said Ron Himes, The Black Rep’s founder and producing director. “It’s that thing that happens when a new project is really about to take off.”
The reading will take place on Monday, June 20 as part of the 6th Annual Project1VOICE/1PLAY/1DAY – an event presented in association with a variety of other theater companies, museums, and institutions throughout the US and abroad.
For their contribution to the international fundraising initiative that will benefit the theatre’s youth summer program, The Black Rep decided to use CAM as the backdrop as they read George C. Wolfe’s seminal satire, “The Colored Museum.”
“The cool thing about this is that The Colored Museum will actually be set in a museum,” Himes said. “We will have the ‘exhibits’ move through the museum so it won’t be in one static place.
We will be moving the audience through the museum with each of the exhibits.”
In a series of 11 vignettes that Wolfe calls “exhibits,” The Colored Museum uses satire and dark comedy to shed light on the black experience in America.
This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the black theatre classic.
“I think that all of the pieces have really strong resonance for different people. That’s the cool thing about this show,” Himes said. “There are 11 exhibits and everybody walking out of the reading will have a different favorite.
This piece is so biting, so sharp and so witty. It speaks to issues then that are just as relevant now as they were in 1986.”
In the spirit of the Project1VOICE/1PLAY/1DAY blueprint that casts celebrities to read for the production, some familiar St. Louis faces will take to the metaphorical stage at CAM.
Himes feels that seeing the likes of Art Holiday from KSDK, Carol Daniel from KMOX, Debra Bass from the Post-Dispatch, Wiley Price from the American and others step out of their respective boxes and on stage as performers will be added incentive for the community to come and show their support.
“Who would ever think of Wiley Price being on stage and not behind a camera? That’s part of the reason why we called him up,” Himes said. “He has such a following that he will be a draw. Carol will be a draw. Art will be a draw. So will the others. This could really be something special.”
Even though the reading hasn’t happened yet, Himes gives the vibe that the collaborative spirit between the actors, the seven directors that will help bring The Colored Museum and the venue has already made the project a resounding success because of the synergy that has come out of the preparation process.
“It’s great for us that they are partnering with us,” Himes said of CAM. “They are closed on Monday. So they are opening their museum just for us for this event.
And I feel like we have the potential to bring a new audience into their space. It’s an amazing thing when arts institutions work together collectively and collaborate in a way that is mutually beneficial.”
The icing on the cake for Himes would be the audience sinking their teeth into the content of The Colored Museum.
“I hope it makes people go out and register to vote. It should have a political impact,” Himes said. “I hope when people see these pieces and realize that they were written 30 years ago and how loudly that they speak to today, that it stimulates some change.
This piece can really provoke some consciousness and I think it has the ability to do that across the board – black and white folks – and I hope that’s what it will do.”
The Black Rep’s stage reading of The Colored Museum as part of the 6th Annual Project1VOICE/1PLAY/1DAY will take place at 7 p.m. on Monday, June 20 at the Contemporary Art Museum, 3750 Washington Blvd. The event is free and open to the public, although donations will be accepted toward scholarships for students in the Black Rep’s Summer Performing Arts Program. Interested attendees are asked to pre-register at camstl.org/blackrep.
