My Heart Cries For You Soweto...

Attending an Historically Black College and University granted me several opportunities to experience and be involved in several productions that were examples of documentary theatre naturalism/realism. At the time I didn't quite grasp why these shows were so vital to our audience and community. I was just an anxious young actor who yearned to get on the stage. I was truly in for an eye opening and rude awakening experience. The two shows that I will discuss will be From Africa to America written by Dr. Wendy Coleman and Cries From Soweto written by The Love Sisters. 

The first production that I will discuss is From Africa to America written by Dr. Wendy Coleman. This was the first show I was cast in at Albany State University. I was elated to be apart of the ensemble because I was the only freshman cast and at that time only upperclassmen were cast in shows, especially lead roles. From Africa to America is a play that explores the legacy and history of African Americans. It starts as an afro centric exhibition of slaves from their native continent of Africa to their forceful journey to America. The audience is then guided through a sort of theatrical lesson as the actors reenact momental and significant events that have happened in Black History. Its told through songs, dance, poetry, and dramatic interpretation. Several historical figures such as Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr., Maya Angelou, and Barack Obama are depicted. I had the privilege of portraying Langston Hughes and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  As a member of the ensemble I felt that it was my duty as an actor to remind the audience of how rich and valid African American heritage is. This was pivotal because students at my school seemed almost ignorant to what their history entailed. Technology, fashion, and the hottest music seemed to be the only imperative things that mattered to them. This show aimed to challenge the audience to consider what should be appreciated and what at times have been taken for granted. Although the show discusses notable figures, I personally felt that we were just breathing life into biographical stories of prominent African American pioneers through vignettes. These vignettes were powerful and evoked empathy from the audience, but the costumes, props, and sets were not historically accurate. We discussed the natural world of the play rather than being in it. 

     The last production I was in was Cries From Soweto written by the Love Sisters. This was a very challenging and at times disturbing process because our director aimed to be as authentic as possible with our portrayals of a group of high school students who brutally lost their lives during the horrid 1976 Soweto Uprising in South Africa. This show to me is the perfect example of documentary/verbatim theatre. The script was unbiasedly written based on edited historic material. Peter Cheeseman said, "Actuality in our terms is either actual utterance in documentary form, in written form or reported form by participants or eye witnesses of actual events or recorded material collected by us by means of the tape recorder, it is that material edited together and turned into a play, nothing must be made up.  (Verbatim Theatre 213) The material that we pulled from were interviews from high school survivors, family members, policemen, reporters, and political figures during the Soweto Uprising. From the set to the lights to  the costumes everything was historically accurate. There was a particular scene that I will never forget. Inde who was the young and militant leader of the kids stood up to one of the police offers who just so happen had a guard dog in his police car. Before Inde could utter a word, he released the guard dog on him and with numerous bites and flesh tears, Inde was left laying in a puddle of blood screaming for God's help until he died. We reenacted this scene the exact way it was described in police reports by fellow police officers and students. Through the use of real audio clips, a real german shepard, a actor padded with protection, and a backdrop we were able to stage this moment through silhouette.  Documentary theatre is a form of theatre in which technology is a primary factor in the transmission of knowledge. (Bodies of Evidence) We incorporated many projections into the show. We showed video clips, images of victims, and politically targeted artistic paintings. This show left our audience speechless, emotionally moved, and urged to fight against injustice. This was a joy for our ensemble because the script didn't slander or ridicule South Africa's political reinforcement, all we did was present the facts through documented material. "You cant write a documentary-  You can only edit documentary material. “We have to find a way of asking disturbing questions which do not take a single viewpoint or single political alignment "(Verbatim Theatre 213). 

       I feel that performances that offer some kind of (new or classified) truth and performances that strive for documentary "verbatim" or naturalistic reality are similar in the sense that they both aim to present theatrical truth and authenticity. I feel that they differ based off their scripts and what they're based off of. I feel that performances that offer some kind of truth are written with the desire to be truthfully portrayed, while a verbatim theatre performance will be based off a true and authentic person, place, or thing. Verbatim theatre is also urged to be depicted from an unbiased standpoint, while the lighter can do whatever it pleases. Either way it is up to the audience to decide what performance is indeed factual.