This week, The Drama
League presents DirectorFest 2007, the 24th annual presentation of one-act
plays staged by the Fall Directing Fellows of The Drama League Directors
Project (Roger
Danforth, Artistic Director). DirectorFest 2007 runs from Thursday,
December 6 through Sunday, December 9, 2007 at the Abingdon Theatre Arts
Complex in midtown Manhattan
(312 West 36th Street).
Performances are Thursday, December 6 at 8PM; Friday, December 7 at 8PM;
Saturday, December 8 at 2PM & 8PM; and Sunday, December 9 at 3PM.
Since its
inception in 1984, The Drama League Directors Project has gained an
international reputation for nurturing a new generation of exceptional
directors. One of this year's featured productions is Sugar Mouth Sam Don't Dance No More, directed by Drama League Directing Fellow D. Wambui Richardson.One of this year's featured productions is Sugar Mouth Sam Don't Dance No More, directed
by Drama League Directing Fellow D. Wambui Richardson.
In Don Evans' early 1970s drama, two off-again, on-again lovers try one last time
to rekindle a romance. Director D. Wambui Richardson received his MFA in
Directing from Brooklyn College and has studied at the New York Film
Academy. His professional
directing credits include productions at Coppin Repertory Theatre of Baltimore,
Center Stage Young Playwrights Festival, Center Stage, St. Louis Black
Repertory Theatre and the New Orleans Black Theatre Festival.
The following is Richardson's own personal take on this year's
Drama League Director's Project and Sugar
Mouth Sam Don't Dance No More.
INGREDIENTS
So the time has finally come- after the week of wonder, a
mountain retreat, and months of assistant directing, the drama league sheds its
protective covering and exposes us to the world. For Director Fest 2007, I will
be directing Don Evans' Sugar Mouth Sam
Don't Dance No More. I've wanted to direct this play for quite some time. I
had known the playwright prior to his death and was a great admirer of his
work. More importantly, I wanted to pick a play that best captured my
voice as a director, provided a group of actors with great meaty roles, and
took an audience on an emotional rollercoaster leaving them wanting to see
more. With this play, I got that and more.
When approaching this play, I took to heart the advice I got from Bob Moss, "When
directing a play, one should do the following, pick a great play, work with
great actors, create a good ground plan and, get the Hell out of the way."
However, after this experience, I would add a few things to the list. For
starters, be specific. When working on a play - especially when you have to do
it in a week- it is always good to convey to not only your actors, but also,
your designers the story you are looking to tell.
Sugar Mouth Sam... is the story of a man trying to get his woman to
believe in him just one more time and the startling realization that she is no
longer able to do so. However, when one reads this play, it is so easy to
believe that it is Verda's story. I learned this in the very first reading of
the play with the cast. Fortunately we were doing table work and I was
able to show the actors the various switches in the play which leads the
audience to follow Sammy's story. Once the story was clarified for the
actors, they were able to find the various colors of not only Sammy &
Verda's relationship, but also, Verda's denial & acceptance of the real
Sammy.
The second ingredient I would add to this recipe of directing is patience. Having
known this script for quite some time, I know who these characters are;
however, the actor comes to the process as a blank slate. My first inclination
was to quickly block and set the play and allow the actors to catch up to me.
But actors aren't robots. One can not just input a series of commands and watch
them go. They too have a process and it is the director's honor to provide them
with the tools they need to prosper while maneuvering through the world of the
play.
Sugar Mouth Sam... is a wordy
play and I couldn't wait for the day they were off book. It was only then
that I knew I would be able to really push the actors where I knew they were
trying to go. But again, I had to have patience. Unfortunately for me and
one of my actors, that day didn't come until the day before opening. However,
once she was completely off book we were able to find other levels and
sodalities which helped in making the production even better.
The last and most important ingredient I would add is faith. Whenever there
was a problem or it looked like things were going to become horribly bad, I
learned to remind myself that I was a good director and that at the end of the
day everything was going to be okay. I had to have faith in my actors,
the process, my education and without a doubt God and though my show is less
than 48 hours away and I feel like a virgin on prom night, I am a
strong believer of Isaiah 54:17 "... No weapon formed against me shall prosper",
which I understand as, anything that gets in my way, He'll take care of.
Photo: D. Wambui Richardson
