Travis Knight, Tiffany Yvonne Cox and Marti Gobel were all understudies in the Rep’s production, and they all knew Dennis F. Johnson, who had worked often as a theater director since attending University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After several discussions about the need for more opportunities for African-American actors in Milwaukee, and the desire to grow black theater audiences, the foursome founded Uprooted Theatre.
Like any organization, Uprooted has evolved, even in the short time since its founding. Today, Cox and Knight are based in Chicago, and Gobel and Johnson have been doing heavy lifting for the company. The mission has morphed as well: “Initially, it was ‘Let’s be a black-owned theater company that tells the African-American story,’” says Gobel. “Then for a while, we were just a black-run theater company that tried to tell good stories. Now, I think, we have a nice combination of both.” The next step in its evolution will happen this month, when Uprooted mounts a full production of Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly, Last Summer with an all African-American cast. It’s one of the company’s largest undertakings, but it will also be its last. Although Gobel and Johnson will continue producing a monthly cabaret performance, and host “diversity general auditions” (see “Inside the Mind”), the company announced in March that it would dissolve after this production.
During its brief tenure, Uprooted has been a valuable addition to the Milwaukee theater community, staging notable collaborations with other theaters and on its own. It has showcased the work of celebrated young playwrights like Tarell Alvin McCraney, as well as renowned writers like James Baldwin and Dael Orlandersmith. But it has also made a mark by producing shows and readings that offer “good stories,” told through a particular shift in perspective. Sometimes, that involves what’s often called nontraditional casting. For example, Gobel, who is African-American, played Maggie in a staged reading of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, while other principal roles were filled by white actors. Uprooted even staged David Mamet’s celebrated all-male story of testosterone-infused capitalism, Glengarry Glen Ross, with an all-female cast.
Directors have used “nontraditional” casting for different reasons over the years. Often, it’s “color-blind,” as when James Earl Jones recently played the father in Broadway’s You Can’t Take It With You. Sometimes, directors have a point to make about race or gender. For Uprooted’s recent productions, the reason is somewhere in between.
“We want the story to be told through a different voice – to perhaps add layers,” says Gobel. “When I played Maggie, the central relationship became biracial, and it added another layer to the play. How someone in the audience processes that is a fascinating thing.” Suddenly, Last Summer, another Williams play, offers Uprooted a similar opportunity. “I’ve been wanting to do it for years, but the timing has to be right,” says Johnson. “Now, we have the right players to do it.” The play revolves around Mrs. Violet Venable (played by Gobel), who wants doctors to lobotomize her mentally ill niece, Catherine, whose condition, we discover, stems from her witnessing the brutal murder of her homosexual cousin, the son of Mrs. Venable.
In March, Gobel and Johnson weren’t sure what “different flavors” would emerge from performing this play with an all African-American cast. But they are excited by the potential riches of Williams’ script. “The language is just stunning,” adds Gobel. “The strong female character really appeals to me,” says Johnson. “Marti is an amazing actor and we like to showcase her, and I think Williams writes really well for women.” Adds Gobel: “To jump into that is exciting and a little bit scary, but I think it’s a great exercise in conversation and listening.”
Inside the Mind
Behind the scenes of an unusual casting.
➞ Uprooted Theatre has had an important impact on the Milwaukee theater scene that reaches far beyond its own productions. As the group’s artistic director, Marti Gobel receives the resumés of area actors, and, in turn, gets requests from theater companies looking for people of color for particular roles. Last summer, in fact, Uprooted’s own audition process became a communitywide opportunity for actors, the first “diversity general auditions.”
“Generals,” or general auditions, are typically held in a community to allow local companies a broad survey of area talent. Actors – mostly those not well-known to casting agents – don’t audition for particular roles, but simply present a monologue or song to show their stuff. Before Uprooted held their own auditions this summer, Gobel got a call from Chicago’s Claire Simon Casting, and then another from the Goodman Theatre, Chicago’s flagship regional theater, wondering if they could sit in on Uprooted’s auditions.
“Word got out,” explains Gobel, “and eventually every single major theater company between Madison and Milwaukee contacted me. We had a table of 13 casting people.”
Knowing that many of the participants were auditioning for the first time, Gobel offered to coach people. She also offered to send post-audition feedback to anyone who wanted it, a rarity in the theater world. In the end, more than 50 actors showed up to audition.
“People came from all over,” she says. In addition to filling the Uprooted roles, “at least a dozen [actors] have gone on to do film or work with [the Goodman Theatre].”
And even though Uprooted will no longer produce plays, it will continue to help people of color find their places on stage.
[mark]Suddenly Last Summer[/mark] (May 14-24), Next Act Theatre. 255 S. Water St., 414-278-0765, uprootedmke.com.
Hear more about the group on WUWM’s “Lake Effect” May 14 at 10 a.m.
