Feature: Chanel Bragg Talks Leadership Role, Equity and Representation, THE GLASS MENAGERIE at Arizona Theatre Company

American regional theaters have seen significant changes since the pandemic began. Reeling from a revenue loss of more than $3 billion since the Covid shutdown (SMU Data Arts), the industry has struggled to establish a new normal as theaters redefine their programming with apprehension of a volatile future.

While Arizona Theatre Company was no exception, the company has endured an austere interruption through alternative media and creative management, thanks to the shrewd hiring of a talented, innovative team.

Chanel Bragg is one of those leaders, a do-it-all achiever who's made the best of harsh conditions. A woman of numerous talents, she serves as ATC's Associate Artistic Director, tasked with responsibilities often overlooked by the viewing public. She's an integral component of ATC's artistic programming, much of it through digital media that sustained the company's visibility during sweeping closures. With the return of live productions, Chanel remains a concomitant support system for realizing the company's artistic vision.

Amid the burgeoning controversy around representation in the arts, Chanel is a proud voice promoting cultural equity. She supports casting local talents and people of diverse backgrounds. Along with then-artistic director Sean Daniels (ATC has since engaged Matt August as its new AD), she advocated for incubating new plays and amplifying the voices of new playwrights while spinning a new riff on the occasional classic.

The casting choice is a glaring departure from the status quo, where actor type drives the standard, and one's Broadway résumé, for instance, is part of the draw and reinforces the company's public appeal. In a fragile transition where common wisdom calls for conservative caution, Chanel, like Sean Daniels before her, takes a progressive risk.

If the model appears counterintuitive, it's actually by design. Nurturing local talent and heralding new works may seem speculative in the short run, but Broadway's future, for one, relies on the instrumental work of regional theaters like ATC. Meanwhile, you're building a legacy of consequence by developing a stable of homegrown artists.

Below is an excerpt of a lunchtime conversation I had with Chanel Bragg.

BWW: There's a different energy around here these days. No doubt your presence has a lot to do with that dynamic. Tell me how you came to play your current role at ATC.

I shadowed Sean Daniels while being involved with my theater company, United Colours of Arizona Theatre. I wanted to make the theater landscape more equitable. How do I do that? By being in charge. I can make the moves, say the things and push the needle.

So then, when Sean called me, I was already doing fun things for them, embedding myself into the culture here in different ways as a volunteer. So Sean said, "You know, you are a great asset. How can we bring you in more permanently - let me figure that out." I assume he went to talk to the Board and whatnot. And that's how I got this position.

About United Colours of Arizona, I'm impressed with your mission around equity and inclusion. I can see how that can impact the artistic landscape in the state. I know you're based in Phoenix. Did you go to Arizona State University?

I went to Northern Arizona University - Native Arizonan! I went to Glendale Community College first; while there, I competed in Speech and Debate and traveled domestically and internationally competing. And that parlayed into some potential scholarships to different places. I went to NAU because it was close enough to home but far enough away...I had dreams of New York and all that. There was a trajectory I thought I would go on; not weirdly enough, my mission has always been: How do I make home better? It was important to me.

BWW: You're passionate about giving voice to the marginalized. You speak from experience, I'm sure.

Even in high school, I thought, "Why am I the only person who looks like me in my department? Why is my high school teacher not casting me in leading roles? We did ALICE IN WONDERLAND, and she said, "I just don't know where to put you, Chanel." She'd call me back but never cast me in leading roles. We did YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN and double-cast me and a great girlfriend of mine back in the day, who's Latina, as Lucy. It's "believable" that she could be of color because "she has an attitude problem." I said I was no longer dealing with this kind of pressure, anxiety, and rudeness from this woman. I mean that about myself; I'm assertive.

BWW: Ouch. So did that discourage you enough to change your interests?

My senior year, I said I was DONE. I quit mid-production - my senior year! I got into Speech and Debate because I had to scratch the itch. When I got to Glendale Community College, I was like, No, Thank You, theater.

You know, when you love theater, it tugs at you. I stumbled back into it. After three years at GCC, then the first year at NAU, we still had this mindset, hitting these stereotypes and the same stupid comments. I don't mean to go on and on, but this is why I'm so passionate about representation, fighting against tokenism, and creating things for yourself.

So I got back into it - earned an Irene Ryan nomination and things like that. [I was] feeling like I was on the right path. Community theaters in Flagstaff were like, Hey, can you come and do things here? And even then, what were they calling me for? The maid in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. I'm not averse to playing a maid, but I was annoyed that it was the only reason you called me. But I thought, let's flip it on its head. I'm not interested in reading any of these lines. I don't want to do slave talk. But you did like my singing. I'll sing - I'll gladly sing. Transitions, I'll clean the house, I'll serve Big Daddy's birthday cake, but I'm not going to do any of these lines. That was very indignant of me at the time. But now, as an older actress, I probably would have found a different motivation to do the lines. [But] it completely revolutionized the role; I came on, singing Swing Low, carrying a basket, to set up that it was in the south, that they had a black maid, and whatnot.

BWW: Now THAT I would come and see. The decision gave you agency, and artistically it created something fresh. It was innovative, and everyone was open to it.

They were open to it, which I appreciated. It did allow them to think outside the box. And when Big Daddy was dying, I sang "I'll Fly Away," and the audience cried. There's a way to do things and change them that respects the original text since some of it is so antiquated.

BWW: Are you part of the play selection at ATC?

As far as the selection process is concerned, Sean chose all the plays. But he did present to our artistic team. And then to our donors, we did a cool reading series where we got everybody in the room, sat down, and read the plays we were interested in doing together.

BWW: Talk a little bit about THE GLASS MENAGERIE.

We've positioned ourselves as a theater for new plays, which is why we're doing so much new work. But we felt we needed something recognizable so as not to burden marketing too much. Still, if we did it our way, we could re-imagine the classics.

BWW: That's always been my opinion on revivals. If we're reviving a classic, what's the spin that makes it relevant again?

When Sean said that he'd like us to do THE GLASS MENAGERIE, at first, I thought, Ohhh... I never saw myself in that story. I've never thought about it; if it came to play, I wasn't watching it. I had no connections! But I did say that we could re-imagine the classics. So then Sean said, "Are you planning to do an all-Black cast?" Maybe, I said. But the more I thought about it, I didn't think I wanted a Black cast. It's only because of who the characters are - and what commentary am I making by making them all Black? Also, is that the "assumed" thing that I would do? I don't like to be put in a box. And also, I'm serious about casting the best person for the role. I mean that in every fiber of my being. You should get the job if you are the best actor in the room. I don't care about your size, shape, color, or height. If people can believe that Phylicia Rashad was the matriarch in AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY to a cast of white people, and no one blinked about it, then why can't we be more inclusive in our programming in the way that we cast?

BWW: Tell me about the auditions. Good turnout?

What I loved about the auditions - from last year to this year - is that they more than doubled. Last year there was a little bit of discouragement. Sean was like; I thought more people would be here. I said that more people aren't here because they don't know that we're serious about our commitment to casting local [artists] and being that conduit we should have been as the State Theatre of Arizona for such a long time. What's going on? My job is to keep the door open.

BWW: It reminds me of some theater companies I know in the Midwest. They are big enough to draw artists from all over the country, but when it comes down to it, they hire local performers before they import talent from New York. If I'm honest, that hasn't always been the trend here at ATC. Locals have felt like outsiders, and I'm not sure it's for lack of talent.

This is my segue then for United Colours of Arizona Theatre. That was also my bag; I could go to New York, but why don't we make home better? My brother and I were sitting there and looking at each other, IN 2009: Why did Desert Foothills cancel doing RAGTIME before we decided to audition for it? Why did this other company cancel auditions for HAIRSPRAY? Because they kept blaming us - the community of marginalized actors - for not showing up? You don't get to ostracize us this whole time, never give us a seat at the table, and then decide - we want to program HAIRSPRAY so we can make all this money, and then don't know what communities to reach out to or how to even try.

My brother and I said, what are we gonna do? I said let's prove to them that we exist. So we called all of our friends (which is funny because everyone has since gone off to do amazing things). We had that first core 7; it was just a cabaret. Our original concept was to sing Broadway songs our way...but I did want to do these incredible shows that never get heard. Isn't that our responsibility too? So we restructured the show, then went to different dark theaters on certain nights. Can we perform here? All we need are microphones and stools. We will provide the rest. One theater - Theatre Works, under Robyn Allen - said we could do it there. We sold out every single night. It got traction, and other theaters in town said, "Can you come do that here?"

BWW: Since you came to ATC, you've done a good deal of outreach to neighboring communities on behalf of the company. You also created digital content with local playwrights like Elaine Romero. You collaborated with the Education Department to produce summer musicals for teenagers. You worked with colleges virtually, pitching ideas with ATC's blessing. It's not all about the show; it's a much bigger picture, the kind of news the community needs to hear more.

ATC, through our Education Director, Chris Moseley, has a residency with Imago Dei, a middle school in Tucson. Chris is the director, but I oversee all of education. He's trying to locate schools in the community that need that kind of support. We're also creating an academy. It teaches course skills that will build; once those skills are built, we're developing young, skilled professionals who can permeate the community.

THE GLASS MENAGERIE, by Tennessee Williams, will play Tucson 1/21/23 - 2/11/23 and Phoenix 2/16/23 - 3/5/23. For tickets, contact www.ATC.org.

Rehearsal photos courtesy of Tim Fuller

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