Vinegar Hill Magazine

As such, he produces, directs and writes plays that have black
characters and are religious or history based; at times, he
presents secular plays that have a strong family value message.
Because his plays usually are presented at Mount Zion, he is
able to recruit actors from the congregation and the house is
usually packed. He has also presented work at Live Arts and
has traveled the group as far as Maryland. Nonetheless, he
still expresses a certain despondency regarding black theater
Caruso states that he “doesn’t think it has the draw that he
hoped it would.” He suggests that this is owing to the fact
that community theater is not viewed as a legitimate form of
artistic and cultural expression. His hope is that with continued
opportunity to see black plays as well as performers, people
will come to understand that theater brings to life the written
word. It gives people an opportunity to understand historic
moments because they are able to experience the pathos
as it is acted out in real time. With more venues interested
in representing a broader spectrum of American life, he is
assured of the future of black theater. Caruso echoes many of
the ideas expressed by Leslie Scott-Jones.
As a student at VCU Jones recalls her professor’s definition of
theater. He called it an “imitation of life”. He impressed upon
us that “as artists, as directors, actors and designers, we were
creating a world. A world that started with the words from
the playwright and ended with a performance. He wanted
us to understand that everything
we created had to be nuanced and
intricate. It had to be relatable. Not
necessarily real, but believable.
For this to be achieved it has to be
recognizable to us in some way. It has
to look like us, or to talk about us, and
it absolutely has to be rooted in the
human condition so people who aren’t
like us can suspend their disbelief for
two hours and empathize with us.”
Over the past six years the six major
theaters in the Charlottesville area
have produced a total of three shows
written by an African American. Does
that number shock you? It should.
Charlottesville and the surrounding
counties combined, according to
2010 census data, is over 70% African
American, yet theaters in the area
are not representing us or telling
our stories. The problem is complex
and involved but, when it comes to
promoting, and showcasing African
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4 VINEGAR HILL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2017