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| Gregg T. Daniel |
Over the years, Gregg T. Daniel has developed a working relationship with the late playwright August Wilson.
Whether he’s acting or directing, Daniel considers it “a real gift” to work on any August Wilson play.
A trained theatre actor from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Daniel directed Fences, the sixth entry in Wilson’s “Century Cycle,” a decade-by-decade series of 10 plays taking place in the Hill District of Pittsburgh that charts the African American experience throughout the 20th century. Daniel, the recipient of the NAACP’s Best Director award for the International City Theatre’s production of Fences, also performed in Fences at South Coast Repertory, and Jitney at South Coast Repertory and the Pasadena Playhouse. He’s also been in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Mark Taper and directed both Gem of the Ocean and Seven Guitars at A Noise Within.
Once again, Daniel is set to direct an August Wilson show at A Noise Within. This time it's Radio Golf, the final chapter in Wilson’s 10-play cycle exploring the Black experience in 20th-century America. Radio Golf plays out the continuing struggle between history and progress.
“We are going to attempt to do all 10 of Wilson’s cycle,” said Daniel.
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| Christian Telesmar, Matt Orduña, Alex Morris Photo by Craig Schwartz |
The 10 plays in Wilson’s cycle span a period of 90 years, from Gem of the Ocean in 1904 to Radio Golf in 1997 — with nine of them set in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, where Wilson himself grew up. But they were not written sequentially and are not connected in the manner of a serial story. Each play stands alone.
In A Noise Within’s Radio Golf, it’s 1997 in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, where Ivy League-educated developer Harmond Wilks (Christian Telesmar) is determined to gentrify the dilapidated and broken-down neighborhood where he grew up. He and his golfing buddy Roosevelt Hicks (DeJuan Christopher) are on the cusp of finalizing a plan to tear everything down and replace it with an upscale, mixed-use property.
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| Christian Telesmar and Sydney A. Mason Photo by Craig Schwartz |
In fact, Harmond and his wife, Mame (Sydney A. Mason) are staking his campaign to become the first Black mayor of Pittsburgh on the project’s success. That is until Elder Joseph Barlow (Alex Morris) and local handyman Sterling Johnson (Matt Orduña) step in to save a seemingly ramshackle old house from demolition.
Daniel, who has extensive television and film credits, is eager to sink his directorial chops into this production. He keeps coming back to the works of Wilson because “He writes with such care and dignity.”
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| DeJuan Christopher and Christian Telesmar Photo By Craig Schwartz |
“He writes about struggle and the freedom to stay alive,” said Daniel, who is married to fellow actor, Veralyn Jones, who, with him, co-founded Lower Depth Theatre Ensemble with Jason Delane Lee and Yvonne Huff Lee in 2008. “He invests them with a real respect and dignity. I’m stunned by his genius and creativity. When I’m involved with his works, I learn about our humanity, rhythms, physicality, and history. I get a sense of history and folklore, struggle, commitment, and survival.”
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| Gregg T. Daniel |
I recently caught up with Daniel to discuss Radio Golf, his third directorial adventure with A Noise Within, set for an October 22 through November 13 run.
DD: What are you looking for in the actors you choose?
GTD: It’s important that they can handle the language. They need to be sensitized to the rhythm and cadence and understand that this is poetry. Are they connected with the material? It’s like a musical score. Play the poetry and deliver the meaning. When I hold auditions - people of color come in ready to rock n roll. They prepare in a way you don't usually see in an audition. About 99.9% come in off-book.
DD: How do you decide what shows you’re going to direct?
GTD: I tend to mirror the African American diaspora. I can direct Shakespeare and the Greeks. I gravitate to people of color. We have so many extraordinary Black playwrights to choose from. It’s an exciting time right now for people of color.
DD: Why did you want to direct Radio Golf?
GTD: Part of it was wanting to do them in chronological order. It seemed like the one to do. This is the time for help. To see a young man who thought he was on the right path. You don't know what’s going to happen to Harmon or Mamie. In the end, he respects history. He pays in some respects – but what he learns – he’ll never be the same. Now he’s a different person. It felt right. At the end of Radio Golf, it says ‘Black’. That’s all it says. He [Wilson] knows how to use Blackout. He didn’t forget. He leaves us with an enigma. I thought, yeah, I don't know what he was trying to tell us, but maybe he was affirming who we are. That intrigued me. It’s up to us to decide what it means.
DD: You said in the press release “How much do we owe the past in terms of remembering where we came from?” What do we owe?
GTD: We owe everything. You have to acknowledge the past. All the ugly and the beautiful. Where did you come from? Who are you? Harmon doesn't know the past. Until he is reminded and discovers they’re cousins. He connects with the past.
DD: Another quote from you is, “Sure, we all want to get ahead, but what’s the price we pay for assimilation when it means losing parts of our culture? Explain.
GTD: We have to try not to lose parts of our culture. You can assimilate, but you don’t have to sound white or live in white neighborhoods. You have to do what assimilation might demand. We are America. We are enough!
DD: How do you tackle the work? Is Wilson intimidating?
GTD: I learn everything about the play I can. I go back. I follow his trail. I read his reviews. I took a tour of his house. I learn everything about who he is. He’s not that hard to access.
DD: What’s your biggest challenge with this show?
GTD: With any of his plays, it’s pacing. You have to make sure everything is life and death. You have to drive the play. I push my actors. Once the train leaves the station, don’t get off of it. Drive, drive, and drive. It’s pushed and paced. It can’t be casual. Make it urgent! I want them on the edge of their seats. It’s about finding our song.
DD: What makes great art?
GTD: Art that transcends. When a white audience can see themselves and their families in the play. In its humanity –portrayal of the human condition - where everyone understands it.
DD: What could happen in your career that would make it all worth it?
GTD: It’s happened. I get to do a variety of work. My work is considered good. I just agreed to direct a play at the Mark Taper next year. It’s ‘Twilight: Los Angeles’ by Anna Deaveare Smith. The opportunities that have been afforded me – it’s a gift.
DD: Are you ever completely happy with your work?
GTD: No. I see a lot of flaws. I’m my own worst critic. I don’t punish myself. I should always be questioning. I don't think I should ever be happy with my work.
DD: What have you learned about yourself directing this show?
GTD: I’ve learned that I’ve created a past now. The torch is being passed to me.
I’m now in the position to help mentor and guide. It's my time to teach and send the students on.
DD: Since 2010, you’ve been teaching MFA students in USC’s School of Dramatic Arts.
GTD: I’m with the BFAs this year. Young people inspire me. I love it there.
DD: How do you feel about being back with this theater company?
GTD: I’m happy to be back with this company. I feel like the luckiest director on the West Coast.
Radio Golf is presented by A Noise Within, Geoff Elliot, and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott, producing artistic directors.
Radio Golf, A Noise Within, 3352 E Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107, 7:30 p.m., Wednesdays-Thursday, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays through November 13, (no matinee on Oct. 22), (dark Oct. 27); $18-$25;
*Tickets to the preview on Wednesday, Oct. 19 include admission to a 6:45 p.m. pre-performance symposium with director Gregg T. Daniel.
**The preview on Thursday, Oct. 20 is “Black Out Night,” an opportunity for an audience self-identifying as Black to experience the performance together. Tickets include admission to a post-show reception.
Friday, Oct. 21 is: Pay What You Choose starting at $5 (available online beginning the Monday prior to that performance)
***Tickets to performances on Fridays, Oct. 28; Nov. 4; and Nov. 11, and on Sunday, Oct. 30 will include admission to post-performance conversations with the artists.
There will be two student matinees at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25, and Wednesday, Oct. 26. Interested educators should email education@anoisewithin.org.
Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.
Go to www.anoisewithin.org/covidsafety prior to each performance to find up-to-date Covid-19 safety protocols.
For information: (626) 356-3100 or go to www.anoisewithin.org
