`The White Card' isn't simply a play, it's a conversation
In addition to the “acting chops” that Carlene Coury hopes to see during auditions, actors under Coury's direction have to be adaptable. Juggling overlapping directing schedules and her board duties for the Humane Society of the North Bay, Coury's packed schedule means flexibility and multitasking are key.
Her upcoming project, a staged reading of Claudia Rankine's “The White Card,” began auditions in September while she was completing her run of a one-woman play about Emily Dickinson.
Due to theater constraints, the cast of five hadn't met each other in person until the first weekend in January, two weeks before their opening weekend.
In the meantime the cast rehearsed over Zoom. While the format was not the same as being face to face, Coury says that worked to their advantage for this play.
“The voice is your actor in this production,” Coury said, explaining that the staged reading doesn't utilize blocking or rely on body language. Meeting over Zoom brought the focus to the dialogue, allowing the actors to get into character.
Under Coury's direction, the production is reprising its run from last year, coming back to the Pinole Community Playhouse Jan 1214 to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Subsequent dates at the Pittsburg Theatre Company Jan. 2628 and the Martinez Campbell Theater Feb. 1-11 are meant to purposefully coincide with Black History Month.
The play's minimal cast of characters and deceptively simple premise lays the groundwork for a multilayered look at the societal and racial landscape.
It starts with a white socialite couple in New York who primarily buy Black art and a Black artist who visits them for dinner one night because they want to purchase her work. However, the ensuing action details the very heated, volatile discussion that takes place in their home.
The second scene reveals a change in setting — the home is exchanged for the artist's studio. Nuance abounds as this time, it is the socialite husband who visits the artist for another discussion.
Without the added layer of stage blocking, the audience's focus remains solely on the dialogue occurring within these private settings. In performing these topical, and at times, disturbing conversations set behind closed doors, the production invites the audience's scrutiny.
Stirring up thoughts and feelings, the play serves as the jumping-off point for the broader discussion following the production. For 30 minutes or so after each production, the audience has the opportunity to share those feelings in what's called an audience talkback.
Led by Coury or one of the actors, the casual format of this conversation invites the audience to voice what came up for them and what they noticed. Because every night's audience is different, each talkback is unique, taking on a life of its own.
“It's really cool to see and very important to do this,” Coury said. The range of thoughts and opinions that come from the myriad of ages and nationalities helps carry the play out into the world.
And ultimately, it helps the actors with their next performance as they benefit from mulling over and digesting the characters in a collaborative setting.
“It's done with a lot of respect,” Coury said. “And maybe you're not participating, but just listening and learning.”
Coury's cast of actors are no strangers to learning during this process. Coury's background as a professor at the Napa Valley College was evident in her habit of assigning homework between rehearsals.
“I've given them homework to look up the artwork referenced in the play to find out the significance, the artist and when it was made,” she said.
After 20 years as a director, Coury is nothing if not dedicated to her craft, in turn drawing the same level of commitment from her cast. Her years in the profession have allowed her to recognize talent when she sees it, which is why she double cast some roles.
“Everyone was so great, I couldn't turn them away,” she said, adding that the passion they displayed was what she knew the production needed.