“The Shipment”
Sept 22-Oct 15 2016
“Are you a racist?
We are hearing that question lot lately,
as if the expected answer is a simple and absolute Ja or Nein. But how easy
it is for us to dwell in ambiguity, no matter subtle and unconscious.
Crowded Fire Theater, always a
step before the curve, is delivering playwright Young Jean Lee’s “The Shipment,” a kinetic
and dynamic mix of the stereotypes, nuances, and beliefs about culture and race
that thread through our subconscious.
The play begins with a black man
(Howard Johnson) alone on stage, a comic emcee who acts in a strange way that
is not quite identifiable, and unnerving. Then two remarkable dancers (William
Hartfield and Nican Robinson, who has the leap of a gazelle) move in a dark and
frenetic parody of a minstrel show (or not), flying around, leaping, tapping,
chest bumping, cakewalking in a crazy rush of stereotypical, and supposedly
“intrinsic” rhythm. To choreograph such chaos, as did Rami Margron, is meeting a
remarkable challenge.
We wait for a crescendo, a finale, something to tell us what’s going on, but it never comes.
We wait for a crescendo, a finale, something to tell us what’s going on, but it never comes.
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| William Hartfield (l) and Nican Robinson fly in The Shipment (photo by Pak Han) |
What follows is a montage of familiar
tableaus: the aspiring kid with the brave single mom, the neighborhood kid bouncing
the B-ball, the drug dealer, the rapper, the Uncle Remus old guy spewing
ephemeral and unheard wisdom, the dialog of guns and the shocking routine of drive-by shootings.
Each actor brings life to several different characters, and
especially wonderful is Nkechi Emeruwa who switched from mama to whore to
grandma to staid professional. Everyone moves predictably and
precisely in a disturbing, animatronic way.
No matter which channel you flip to,
you catch a flash of “black culture” that is distorted and removed. There is no
clean Law and Order solving of the crime, and no knowing what happens next.
Most compelling and remarkable is
when the actors move calmly forward as if to greet us, stopped only by the end
of the stage. They stand still and silent as they scan the audience up and down
slowly, locking eyes with individuals, looking right into your eyes, and it is
your decision to sustain the gaze or turn away, to react personally, if only
slightly.
As the second part begins we watch
two prop hands assemble the next set: a couch, a rug, some side tables, a lamp,
a liquor cart. How familiar this looks, like every sitcom apartment living room.
It’s boring and precise, as devoid of color and energy as the dried brown
flower arrangement on the table.
So too are the
guests that come through the door to join what turns out to be a sad birthday
party, the kind of party you want to leave as soon as they take your coat. These
people talk at each other as they follow some script of how to act “as if” to
mask the loneliness underneath. To see these talented actors
move from high energy to painfully careful behavior is a lesson in creative
versatility.
When someone suggests that they all play a game, we hope for some kind of interesting action. The guests participate
mechanically in the parlor game that ends with a zinger that follows you out of
the theater and into the next day.
Co-directors Mina Morita and Lisa Marie
Rollins have explored Young’s open script and collaborated with the actors to give
them as much freedom as possible to create a special energy to upend a
complacency that can be oh so comfortable.
The Shipment
Actors:
Nkechi Emeruwa, William Hartfield, Howard Johnson Jr., Nican Robinson, and Michael Wayne Turner III
Dramaturg: Sonia Fernandez★
Scenic Design: Deanna L. Zibello
Costume Design: Keiko Shimosato Carreiro★
Lighting Design: Heather Basarab
Sound Design: Hannah Birch Carl
Props Design: Devon LaBelle★
Choreographer: Rami Margron★
Fight Director: Carla Pantoja
Music Director: Sean Fenton
Stage Manager: M. Sohaa Smith★
Assistant Stage Manager: Benjamin Shiu
Production Manager: Stephanie Alyson Henderson★
★ Crowded Fire Resident Artist
