It’s ELECTRIC, Boogie-Woogie-Woogie!
Posted by Phillip James Brannon on 12/02/2009
I was deeply moved by Tarell McCraney’s work the first time I read it. As a freshman at DePaul when Tarell was a senior, I was fortunate enough to be apart of a staged reading of Without/Sin. His play sang to me and made me want to move: there was undeniable electricity. By the end of that first reading, I was a McCraney disciple ready to testify. So I waited, and then came The Brother/Sister Plays.
Fast forward: I have been cast as Egungun, Oshoosi and Terrell, and it’s the night before the All-Staff Reading (All-Staff Readings at Steppenwolf are staged readings for the administrative and theatre staff, so they have a better feel for the plays before rehearsals begin). It’s 6:59pm Monday evening, and I check my inbox to find an email from director Tina Landau to the actors. She’s compiled a message sharing some thoughts on our first reading as an ensemble. She talks specifically about how The Brother/Sister Plays are difficult to fully imagine in a staged reading because of how greatly music and movement contribute to the scripts. She prepares us for the challenge of the reading and encourages us to embrace the lyricism and musicality, even if we may not understand it fully, because the meaning will reveal itself as we follow the map of the text. Tina mentions that Tarell says the plays should be read “fast and loose,” and that they must have a real pace, speed, turns, and abandon.
Fast forward: next day - the All-Staff reading - I can feel the anticipation in the room… and even with all the encouragement, I’m still very nervous, wanting to do justice to the characters I’m reading. So I remind myself of that “abandon” Tina mentioned.
The actors sit at music stands in a half-moon on the stage and begin to read.
And sparks began to fly: cracks, pops and surges of electricity all up and through the theatre. You can feel the chemistry between actors, the words, and the staff. People in the room are listening, hearing, affecting, being affected. The actors’ instincts and impulses are ablaze, and we can barely keep our seats. These plays are indeed electric; we, the actors and the staff, can feel it all over. We leave that room ready for the process to begin!
Mr. McCraney says he “gives voice to the voiceless,” and that’s one of the reasons I love this material so much. I feel such a deep connection with it because I have heard these voices: they have been family, friends, lovers, across the street or around the way… I’ve heard them and I can’t wait to evoke their spirits on stage.