Interview by Cheryl L. Kaplan, Dramaturge for American Menu

Q – You mentioned in our previous meeting that many different people, from all different backgrounds have commented on how this play speaks to them, even if they are not from the south, or not from this time period, and so on.  What did you hope to achieve when writing this work?  How do you feel it impacts an audience today?

A - I think that it speaks on a universal principal that people have a right to freedom.  And there are laws that uphold those rights and we are somewhat of a humane society and we know this, but these principles are the basic principles of life.  To feel free, to work, to have children, and to the pursuit of happiness.  Any entity or sanctions that oppose these rights is where you have this play.  One universal cry; this is how the play speaks to so many people on so many levels.

I think that one of things I found very interesting is that people from that time period - that were growing up during that era as young adults – when they see the play they mention to me, “Wow, this is my story.  This is exactly my story.  This is exactly why I left the South and came to New York so many years ago.”  Men and women have come up to me and said this to me.  It speaks very loudly and holds a voice for those people.  And speaks very clearly for those people.  At the time period it is set in, it was an apartheid, not just for African Americans (but especially for African Americans) but for the entire country.  This is where the play speaks the loudest, and is a strong representation for people’s loves during that time period, both men and women.  When we speak about a universal level, an oppression of a people – it is a representation of a people and what happens when you lose your rights in a society as you are a part of a society.  We see this is many parts of the world – in China.  I saw this growing up when The Wall fell in Berlin. So many other places in the world – that practice separatism and that practice oppression.

Q – What made you specifically choose this time period for the play?  Are there similarities or difference between then and now that you try to draw out in the script?

A - On a level where I feel very ironic -  about the piece being set in that time period where it still reflects today in our county, which is very sad.  Yet at the same time, it reminds we have to come a long way, and yet we have a long way to go.  Those are the three main levels I particularly see when I re-read the play, when I sit in reading of the play.  This is what is conjured up in my mind when I wrote the play.  This is getting out those voices.  It is very important that I try to capture those voices in that language that is preserving that time period  - and that it is very hard – because  I grew up in east Texas.  I know that the vernacular makes it hard that you can’t understand it.  Trying to preserve that I did take some liberties to make it a more understandable sound.  That why people can understand it from all parts of the country and it is a dialogue.  It has a rhythm.  I think that’s one of things August Wilson was doing with his works: preserving the language of the people.  And others too, like Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, and more.  You open one of their books and you feel you are reading a whole different language.  I felt on that level - a voice of a people – and trying to capture a dialogue and then translate it so other people can come into it.  Every time I hear it and see it I hope it resonates with them.

On the other levels, the more universal levels, my first years of writing plays I worked with Edward Albee workshops on and off because a friend of mine was taking the class and I was coming in as an actor.  One of the first things Albee would always tell the class is, “Is this a universal feeling?”  I have always taken this to heart.  One of the things I have pulled from this, one of the things I understand, is how to work the dialogue.  I picture this in a form without dialogue whatsoever – if I stage the theme anywhere in the world – would they know this mother is grieving over a lost child?  Would they know the emotions were grief?  Or would they know it is joy? 

Q – What do you want to solicit from the audience?  What do you want us to know when the curtain falls?

A - Oppression is not an emotion, but on a universal note, we all know what it is.  We all know what oppression is on all levels.  All of our experiences.  What may be the simplistic thing to you – it may be the feeling is universal – whether it is going to an office and have a feeling there is oppression.  Maybe you are not getting promoted because you are a woman, or other forms of oppression.  Everyone can say, “Yeah I left that before.  I experienced that before.”

Some people have sat there and said that “I’ve been there.”  and these were business men and they say “I know how she feels. “  And it is a white man working on Wall Street talking about this black woman working down south and every time the bell rings she has to stop.  It’s what in every society a person on Wall Street knows - the feeling of oppression and every time the bell rings they have to get their job done too.  And sometimes you have to just do it to get through the day.  Everyone can relate to that on their job.

There’s a quote in the play that everyone – the bell is always going to ring.  The bell in the play is that universal in the play – almost a character itself – it has a dialogue.  Sometimes it is soft and you know it is coming.  Okay, here it comes.  Sometimes it is angry, “DING, DING, DING” and you know that feeling.  I’ve been in situations like this.  Yeah, I had people that did not talk to me or treat me kindly, but used the bell.  They used the bell.  They may as well have been ringing a bell.  There was no concern about my life.  You are here to work, and not treated as a human being, but here to work.  On those levels this is where people relate most to the play. 

I hope I will live to see a production outside of the States and see if this is a true reaction outside of the States.  I only see the comments from all different walks of life in the States.  But New York is such a melting pot, where there are different people from walks of life and different countries.  I would like to witness this from people in a different country and see their full reactions.  I think this is the level that you are talking about.

Q – You spoke before about how the different characters were derivatives of your mother.  Even though they are different beings, they have a similar essence.  Would you explain what you meant by that and how this came about?

A - It was my idea that this one particular character would divide themselves into the five different stages of their lives.  I saw my mother as I was growing up in most of these phases, except the very young part of her life.  But so many people told stories of my mother and what she was like as a young girl at school, so I picture Buella and Mary as being young and wanting to grow.  So many people said she was an attractive young lady and I saw that in Buella.  I see this as my mother in an almost physical way.  In a functional mental way…  I was visiting with my mom, she came to New York – and she was always adventurous and we always went on vacation everywhere.   When she came to New York she was afraid.  She had just turned 60 – and she was was afraid.  And I thought, “Wow.  My mom is afraid of something.”  I began to see her be more and more safe about things.  Whether it was taking stand, or speaking out, politically or nationally.  And it was the first time I saw my mother in the role of May.  All of these different characters were the metamorphosis of this one character.  Martha was the character and Johnnie May are what I grew up knowing, what I knew.  The other characters are what she morphed into being, what came later.  Getting the characters and developing all five of them - they developed their own personalities.  This is what makes it a strong universal sound from the south.  When others see me they say “That was my story.  That’s why I left.”  This is not just your mother’s story, but so many people’s story.  This is my story and I am not going to be just one person.  And it morphed out of being a one person show.

When you are in the theatre you hear the rhythm of the language.  If you close your eyes and listen to the dialogue it can sound like one big church choirs.  You don’t know who said what, but it sounds like one big story, because they are all a part of each other.  If you ever leave for these little country areas of Texas and leave the south to these different areas.  In these small areas of African American communities, they are connected in some way.  They are blood connected in some way.  Someone is an uncle here.  These characters are blood connected in some way.  A dramatic sort of thing - they are birthed from my mother and that’s their connection.

Q – What do you want the audience to leave with?  Was it a call to action?  To do something today in our lives?

A - One of my intentions too – wasn’t so much to say, “Wow I need to do something.”  My intention was on that level – as a playwright – when you leave a theatre there’s some type of dialogue that you should have.  When you leave that theatre you are talking about something regarding civil rights.  Or maybe I will go to the library and read a little more about something about this time period.  Or read the Constitution and learn about what we are doing with civil rights today.  When you leave this play, there needs to be some type of dialogue that continues after the curtain falls.  Maybe it is sitting down and having coffee with a friend and talk and say, “I know that era.” Or , “Someone did this to me in the office.”  The play extended beyond the curtain.  The play had a relevance – to continue to make me think.  More after it was over.  And I do and have experience with that.  Not only with other actors  in the cast, but I experienced it with people who would see that play and we would have drinks later.  The people who have the same issue as those in the play.  People from Northern Ireland saw the play and totally understood something from the play reflect about struggles in Ireland.  Being jobless and poor and people who were part of an oppressed economy for these reasons. And we began to talk about the problems we are having in Ireland. And it began with the dialogue in the play.  It began with the south and extended to Ireland.  That part of thinking is happening on a basis of people leaving the theater and talking about other problems happening in the world then the play is doing its purpose.