Reader’s Theater portrays Horne, Robinson
The many accomplishments of Jackie Robinson, Lena Horne, A. Philip Randolph and Mary McLeod Bethune come alive on stage tonight at the Regional Arts Center.
It’s the 11th annual Dr. Teretha F. Harper Reader’s Theater, Voices of Freedom: Overcoming Barriers starting at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.
Presented by the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council’s African-American Committee, the program celebrates important figures in the nation’s history through dramatic portrayals. The evening also features a tribute to the late, great poet Gwendolyn Brooks.
Portraying these figures are Virginia Temple, Pamela Thompson, Jimmy L. Gamble, Chiquita Burks and Rev. Howard Knight. Dr. Warren A. Smith Jr. directs, with Dr. James P. Larkins creating the monologues. Rhonda Dolberry wrote transitions.
Harper is one of the organizers. She noticed some commonalities among these figures. “I think one thing that was interesting when I read all the scripts this time was that A. Philip Randolph and Lena Horne and Jackie Robinson, all three of them spent a large amount of time with Dr. Martin Luther King (Jr.),” Harper said.
Randolph, known for his union work, was a key organizer for the March on Washington in 1963. “It’s interesting how things come together,” Harper said. “It wasn’t planned that way.”
They strive for variety in the people they present for a Reader’s Theater. They started with a list of roughly 50 people, then sent that out to people to gauge their interest in who they wanted to portray. From there, scripts are written. Sometimes the people choose figures who are similar to themselves.
Burks will portray Horne, whose music will be played. “I’ll try to take the stage and be Lena,” she said. Historical highlights include singing, dancing and Horne’s work as an activist. She was a strong black woman instrumental in African-American culture, Burks said.
“She had a variety of different hats that she played, so that’s what I loved about her,” Burks said. In previous years, she’s played Harriet Tubman, Madam C.J. Walker and Cicely Tyson.
“All strong people blazing trails,” Harper said.
Maxine Crittenden portrayed the Pulitzer Prizewinning Brooks in one of the previous Reader’s Theater events. She learned about her while in high school. When she graduated, she knew she’d go to Chicago, and Brooks’ poetry actually depicts Chicago life.
“This year we’re doing a tribute to her because she would have been 100 years old,” said Harper, noting Brooks was the first AfricanAmerican to win a Pulitzer.
What do they hope people gain from seeing these monologues at the Reader’s Theater?
“We hope that they’ll make them want to go and research further and continue to want to know about the history of African Americans in our culture,” Burks said. These figures are known well, but that’s not necessarily true with younger generations.
“We just want to keep it alive and keep it going,” Burks said.
Crittenden says the Reader’s Theater conveys this historical information in a way that’s accessible.
“That’s really the way to get it out there in an interesting way rather than having to go to the book and actually read it, because if they’re like me they’re not going to do it. That’s the good thing about it,” Crittenden said. She’s been inspired to research these figures because of the portrayals. “It comes to life and you see these people.”
Adds Harper, “For me, the performing arts is one of those important elements of any town, and when we don’t have the arts playing somewhere in people’s lives their lives are not as rich as it could be or should be. That’s another role of what we do placed here in Texarkana.”
(The Regional Arts Center is located at 321 W. 4th St. in Texarkana, Texas. More info: TRAHC.org or 903-792-8681.)