Playwright’s reading inspires solo students

Nationally renowned poet, actor and playwright Dael Orlandersmith staged a reading of two new short scripts in the Seeler Studio Theatre on Thursday, Jan. 13 as part of her Winter Term residency at the College. The two plays, Rave and Man of Water, were performed by actors Jack Gwaltney and Assistant Professor of Theatre Alex Draper ’88. Rave was a solo piece featuring Gwaltney, who has appeared on numerous television shows including Law and Order and Grey’s Anatomy. The second play, Man of Water, was a two-man piece featuring both Draper and Gwaltney. After the performance, Orlandersmith, Gwaltney and Draper held a discussion and workshop about playwriting.

Orlandersmith is known for her hard-hitting and intense style of monologue. Born and raised in East Harlem, Orlandersmith’s solo work began as autobiographical accounts of her background and ethnicity. However, as time went on, she began to explore other identities and started writing monologues for characters that contrasted greatly with her background. For instance, she once wrote a solo piece about white, middle-class drug addicts; however, she was met with considerable resistance from critics for choosing to break away from her roots. This did not deter Orlandersmith, who continued to challenge both herself and the expectations of her critics.

Last week’s reading was organized by Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre Dana Yeaton ’79, who became acquainted with Orlandersmith while working with her over this past summer. Yeaton, also a playwright, teaches the Winter Term course “Performing Others,” a class that allows students to write and perform their own monologues. In the spirit of Orlandersmith’s boldness, Yeaton challenges students to create, write dialogue for and act out characters that deviate from their normal identities. In addition to attending the play reading and workshop, Yeaton’s students spent in-class time with Orlandersmith, who critiqued their monologues and provided insight into the creative process.

“My class is known as the solo class and [Orlandersmith] is known as a solo artist, so it was a no brainer to have her here,” Yeaton said. “Anytime you see somebody of her stature, I think everybody gets something different from it. For me, I watched how she responded to the student work [in the workshop] and it actually changed how we ended up responding to the students’ monologues.”

Yeaton also noted that Orlandersmith’s curiosity proved useful in improving students’ skills and even helped shape the class’ style of critiquing.

“She wanted to go deeper into who the students are,” he said. “She would say in response to many works, ‘I want to know more about this, or that.’ Her style of breaking out of the ‘self’ was perfect for ‘Performing Others’.”

Orlandersmith’s accolades as a playwright are certainly impressive — her play Yellowman was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, and she won an Obie Award in 1995 for her play Beauty’s Daughter. Her other works include Monster and The Gimmick. She now works in New York City as well as at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.