By Jay Whipple
Trend Magazine Online™
Edutainment At It's Best!cont'd.
Trend Magazine Online™
Edutainment At It's Best!cont'd.
Welcome to Part II of my exclusive 2022 National Black Theatre Festival (NBTF) review. 🎭🌟 As promised, I'm thrilled to share my experiences from the second half of my memorable day in the charming city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina 🌆 during this iconic festival.
I attended a powerful play about the life and times of two of my favorite emancipators, Mr. Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey b.k.a. Frederick Douglass (1818 - 1895) 🎩 and Ms. Isabella Baumfree b.k.a. Sojourner Truth (1797 - 1883) 🌷, entitled Frederick Douglass: No Turning Back by the Actors' Theatre of South Carolina, Summerville, SC. As an avid student of Black history 📚, I was eager to see how the producers interpreted the lives of these heroes of the anti-slavery movement 🛡️ during a crucial period of American history that is currently under threat by opposing forces.
I attended a powerful play about the life and times of two of my favorite emancipators, Mr. Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey b.k.a. Frederick Douglass (1818 - 1895) 🎩 and Ms. Isabella Baumfree b.k.a. Sojourner Truth (1797 - 1883) 🌷, entitled Frederick Douglass: No Turning Back by the Actors' Theatre of South Carolina, Summerville, SC. As an avid student of Black history 📚, I was eager to see how the producers interpreted the lives of these heroes of the anti-slavery movement 🛡️ during a crucial period of American history that is currently under threat by opposing forces.
I arrived at approximately 6:50 pm 🕖 after getting a bit lost because my GPS (Global Positioning System) 📍 initially directed me to a house in an adjacent neighborhood. This mishap occurred despite entering the address provided by the NBTF program. The situation improved when I switched to entering the Reynolda House Museum name into my GPS, which led me correctly. Upon arrival, my concern grew as there was no NBTF signage at the entrance 🚫🛑, leaving me unsure if I had arrived at the right location. Adding to the confusion, there were groups of younger people exercising and walking along the long driveway after entering the site 🚶♂️🚶♀️.
I felt relieved when a shuttle bus arrived around 7 pm 🚌, and folks who appeared to be theatre goers disembarked and headed towards one of the site's front entrances. This sight helped me relax and I took the opportunity to grab a bite, feeding my face until about 7:25 pm 🕖🍽️. Then, feeling more at ease, I walked up to that entrance, arriving in my usual 30-minute early timeframe to secure a good seat. It had been eons since my last visit here; so long, in fact, that I couldn't recall exactly when or why I was here, or even who was with me. I have a faint memory of being with a female, but that's about it - it’s so vague, it might as well have been a dream. 🤔💭 Whether reality or not, I couldn’t say for sure.
I was treated to a warm and friendly welcome upon entry by the greeters that were present 😊. This setup was a lot more organized than the 2 PM Aretha play downtown 🎭. Some theatre-goers were already gathered in the lobby where there were restrooms 🚻 and a water fountain 💧 in proximity to the theatre entrance. The staff began allowing us in at about 7:40 PM 🕣 to this very quaint modern-style theatre with descending seats to the stage level 🎟️.
There was a lady playing the piano 🎹 and singing old spirituals 🎶 -- dressed in a green robe with white lace, including a matching, white-laced top hat 👒. Audience members were still trickling in just after the 8 PM advertised start time, and the players took to the stage at approximately 8:05 PM ⏰. There was a 10 second moment of silence for the NBTF's co-founders Mr. and Mrs. Hamlin 🌟 who some may say were watching from above 🌠. Our mixed audience of mostly seniors (60+) were then treated to some more singing and piano playing by Ms. Sandra S. Barnhardt 🎤, who brought to this stage nearly 60 years of music experience and an illustrious career as a musician and music educator 🎼.
The Frederick Douglass (1818? - 1895), played by New York actor Kyle Taylor 🎭, portion of the play began after his escape to freedom in 1838 when he was 29 years old 🏃, and the setting is an integrated church ⛪ in western Ohio in 1872, 34 years later when he was about 63 years old. They brought up Mr. William Lloyd Garrison (1805 - 1879) and his The Liberator anti-slavery newspaper (1831 - 1865) 📰, and Douglass's North Star anti-slavery newspaper which was first published in 1847 📜.
They then mentioned how his two sons (Lewis and Charles) fought on the side of the Union (north) for the historic colored 54th Infantry out of Massachusetts during the American Civil War (1861 - 1865) ⚔️. Next, they got into his endearing quest to learn how to read 📚 and how he paid white kids with pieces of bread 🍞 to teach him, as well as assistance from Ms. Sophia Auld, and other white as well as colored (today Black/African-American) folks that crossed his path to freedom. The performer Kyle Taylor then broke off into the song "Still Away" 🎵 which featured his deep bass voice followed by applause from the audience 👏.
