We established this blog to enable an open conversation between Barksdale Theatre and others in the Metro Richmond family. We believe that open conversation is healthy and positive. Progress is never achieved through silence; understanding and respect come with patience and candor.Today we received a comment from an anonymous reader responding to an earlier blog entry about Intimate Apparel. If you go to our archives and click on the “1 Comments” (sic) tab that follows the entry entitled “Intimate” Opening Wins Hearts and Minds, you will find it.
The comment reads: “Why is it that when white drama groups do plays about black people, they always show black women in their underwear and/or in sexually compromising positions with men? Living Word Stage Company, Richmond’s only black drama group, treats black women with respect. That’s why Living Word is so needed. Is this what we want our daughters to see?”
First, I agree with the opinion that Living Word Stage Company is needed. I believe that Living Word is a vital member of Metro Richmond’s cultural community, and we are all richer for their presence. In addition to working as Artistic Director of Barksdale Theatre, I’m the Artistic Director of Theatre IV, Barksdale’s sister company. Under my leadership, Theatre IV helped to get Living Word on its feet by allowing the young company to use our Empire Theatre home for free for their entire 2005-06 Season.
Second, I agree that black women have faced and continue to face cultural denigration that must be addressed. At the risk of alienating those who hold an opposing view on this complex issue, I am among those who support firing or boycotting entertainers who use their celebrity to promote misogyny and racism, whether it’s Don Imus or Snoop Dog or Nelly.
Finally, I applaud any parent who takes his or her responsibility seriously. I believe parents should always speak out when they feel like their child, or children in general, are being exposed to “entertainment” that is potentially hurtful or dangerous.
The deeply held principles that are reflected in the three paragraphs above are the same principles that make me so proud of our production of Intimate Apparel. Beautifully and sensitively written by a black woman playwright, Lynn Nottage, Intimate Apparel is, above all, a play about the respect that is due to every human being, even if an individual seems inconsequential or unimportant within the ruling social context of the day. The play is about the dignity and power of the human spirit, and the strength that can be marshaled by even the most powerless to rise above their circumstances and command their world. The play has universal themes, but chooses to focus on the power and glory of black women.
I do not know, but I suspect that our anonymous commenter has not seen Intimate Apparel. I suspect that she is reacting to photos that appear in our blog entry, depicting, as she says, women in their underwear and in positions with men that have the potential for sexual compromise.
The play uses these images and situations not to define black women as sexual objects or victims, but rather to exalt their ability to rise above the circumstances into which they have been placed by society. The play is about triumph. Is this what I want my daughter to see? You bet.
Perhaps this is a good time to mention my perspective on matters of race as they relate to professional theatres. Although I understand and respect the perspective of the commenter, I do not consider Barksdale Theatre to be a "white drama group" or a "white" theatre. I don't think theatres have color unless their mission specifically stresses a particular racial focus.
Barksdale's mission indicates a commitment to the entire community. It is this commitment that led Barksdale in the 1950s to become the first performing arts group in Virginia to admit racially mixed audiences, thereby breaking the back of the Jim Crow laws of that time. It is this commitment that led Theatre IV to become the first major arts organization in Virginia (with a budget of $1 million or greater) to elect an African-American Board President. In fact, Theatre IV has now been led by three African-American Board Presidents. Anthony Keitt, Barksdale's current Board President, is also African-American.
I thank and respect the opinions of all those who choose to comment on our blog entries. I encourage you to see our work, particularly Intimate Apparel, and hope that our plays will prompt continuing conversation.
Note: Subsequent to this posting, Living Word Stage Company changed it's name to African American Repertory Theatre. We have amended the labels to reflect this change and link this post with future posts for African American Repertory Theatre.
**Please be aware that some of the following comments contain spoilers. Some people who have not yet seen the show should be aware that comments discuss the show's ending.
