51乱伦

Taking place in the building that inspired the story, 鈥淔ree Man of Color鈥� will return to 51乱伦 on Saturday, Feb. 10, at 3 p.m. for a reading 20 years after the play鈥檚 initial development and performance at the University.

鈥淭his year's theme for Black History Month is African Americans in the arts, so it just seemed like a perfect time for bringing this play in,鈥� OHIO Assistant Director for Experiential Design Courtney Kessel who is also on the University鈥檚 Black History Month committee said. 

Distinguished Professor of Playwriting Emeritus Charles Smith wrote 鈥淔ree Man of Color鈥� in 2004, a few years after his arrival at OHIO. Smith initially read about the history of Templeton-Blackburn Memorial Auditorium, which was named after the first black male and female students to attend the University, and was surprised at how little people understood the importance of the name of the auditorium. 

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鈥淚 thought, if I ever got the chance, I would try to humbly do something about that,鈥� Smith said. 

Around the same time, former 51乱伦 President Robert Glidden commissioned Smith to write a play to commemorate the University鈥檚 bicentennial anniversary in 2004. 

鈥淎t first I was like, 鈥榶ou know I鈥檓 not that type of writer, I don鈥檛 want to do a pageant... I want it to be an honest play,鈥欌€� Smith said.

Although hesitant, after researching more about the University, he eventually wrote a play chronicling John Newton Templeton鈥檚 story. He went on to develop the play in Chicago, utilizing connections in the Chicago theater industry developed throughout his professional career to assist bringing the story of Templeton to the stage. 

According to Emerita Professor of Theater Shelly Delaney, the play initially ran at the Victory Gardens Theater with a Chicago-based director and actors. Delaney originally played the role of Jane, the wife of President Robert Wilson, and has the unique opportunity of returning to her experience with the script two decades later as the director for the upcoming reading. 

鈥淢y attachment to the play is both because I was at the birth of it, and also because as an actor it remains one of the single most challenging and rewarding things I have ever done. It was as costly and exhilarating as anything I have ever done,鈥� Delaney said. 

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Besides its tie to Black History Month, the show is also timely because 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of black students being on campus. Smith believes the play will be received similarly now as it was in 2004. His assertion is supported by the similarities drawn from the play over many years to current events. 

For example, the play has been performed across the globe, including in Australia, where Smith said he was asked how he came up with the idea to write a play about American slavery as a metaphor for Australia鈥檚 relationship with aboriginal people. Another correlation was seen during the Democratic primaries in 2008, where Smith was asked about the intersection of the play鈥檚 abolitionist and feminist themes as a metaphor for the relationship between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. 

鈥淭he play apparently has some universal and everlasting truths about colonization, about a white-male dominance that ends up crushing everything,鈥� he added. 

Smith recalls a positive reception from the press in Chicago, despite the residents of the city not knowing much about Ohio, let alone 51乱伦. Delaney also recalls a successful run in Chicago, specifically within the alumni audience members who traveled to see the production. 

Unlike the original run of 鈥淔ree Man of Color,鈥� the upcoming rendition is a reading, rather than a full-blown production. While Delaney recognizes the audience鈥檚 desire to witness a heavily-produced performance, she believes 鈥渨hen the play is this good, nobody cares.鈥� 

鈥淲e will have put 30 hours in a rehearsal room breaking it apart, so these actors are excited to be working on it and will know what they鈥檙e doing. I promise people will forget they have a script in hand,鈥� Delaney said. 

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While the director is often tempted to take the performance to the next level, she recognizes the power of the script when it isn鈥檛 cluttered by other aspects of performance, allowing the actors to preserve the clarity and depth of the writing. 

鈥淚 read the whole play and I don鈥檛 feel like it needs anything else,鈥� Kessel added. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so much about the dialogue and the鈥ntensity of those three people and the conversations about what鈥檚 happening at that time, my imagination is lit up.鈥� 

To enhance the message of the play, Smith will be participating in a talkback after the reading, joined by Delaney and some of the actors. The dialogue will be moderated by OHIO Associate Professor of Theater History Dr. Matthew Cornish. 

鈥淚 really hope the audience learns the history of where they live and where they go to school, for students and community members. I hope that it also sheds light on a white-washed history, how much isn鈥檛 told or known from the blurbs,鈥� Kessel said. 

Kessel and Delaney both believe the work Smith put into understanding the history and research behind his play makes it a special piece of work that everybody would benefit from seeing. 

鈥淐harles is invested deeply in what these plays have to say, and any opportunity to be in a context where what he wants to say through these plays鈥nd characters can be shared in a way that elicits dialogue and questions and provocations, he鈥檚 in,鈥� Delaney said. 

Smith hopes to help the reading in any way he can, but doesn鈥檛 intend to be a 鈥減laywright police.鈥� 

鈥淭hey have the freedom to do what they please with the play鈥owever they want to do it, they can do it,鈥� he said.