Alice Childress' 1955 play, "Trouble in Mind" comes to life on The Old Globe's stage this month, directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg. The play stars Ramona Keller, Bibi Mama, Victor Morris, Tom Bloom and more. Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, who is one of The Globe's current resident artists, and Bibi Mama joined Midday Edition to discuss the work.
The plot takes place in the mid-1950s and centers around actress Wiletta Mayer, played by Ramona Keller in The Globe's production. Wiletta is cast as the lead in the "play-within-a-play," an anti-lynching play written by a white playwright and directed by a white director.
Turner Sonnenberg said that as the story unfolds, audiences see the reality of the rehearsal process, as well as the way the primary conflicts begin to take root.
"The audience gets a real inside scoop into a theatricalized version of the rehearsal process, until there's some conflict about the story or the script and performances, all the performance sort of gets stripped away and we're left with the people and their truth," she said.
67 years later
Playwright Alice Childress wrote "Trouble in Mind" in 1955, nearly 67 years ago. It first appeared Off-Broadway, then was picked up by Broadway producers. According to Turner Sonnenberg, those producers requested edits, sending Childress into two years of rewrites.
"They wanted her to change the ending, and so she changed the ending. But then she changed it back, so ultimately, it didn't make it to Broadway," said Turner Sonnenberg, who also directed a San Diego production of "Trouble in Mind" in 2015 at Moxie Theatre.
"Trouble in Mind" eventually found a home on Broadway, in a Roundabout Theatre Company production that opened October 2021 — nearly three decades after Childress' death.
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'The limits of understanding'
"This play uses the 'play-within-a-play' format to example stereotypes and race and the limits of understanding between a white producing team and Black performers as they begin rehearsal," Turner-Sonnenberg said. "This is important to me as a director — or as an artist in general: who's the final word on somebody else's story?"
She said that the conflict arises when the actors raise concerns about the way their story and culture is portrayed.
"They're telling an anti-lynching story with a white playwright. And when a Black actor asks questions about that story or the truths in that story, her questions get dismissed," Turner Sonnenberg said.
'How much do you hold your tongue?'
San Diego-based actor and playwright Bibi Mama portrays Millie Davis, a younger actress working with Wiletta on the fictional production.
"Millie is bright and fun and charismatic, and I think is really excited to be performing on Broadway and performing this show with these people — and is also aware of the stereotypes that are present not only in this play, but in the work that she's done in the past and sort of just takes it on the chin," said Mama. "When Wiletta starts to bring voice to some of the problems that arise when they start working with the script, I think Millie, her eyes are open and she really starts to support and understand that, what is on the line, however, that conflicts with her desire to do the job and be employed and pay the bills."
Mama said that in some ways, she recognized some of Millie's journey as an actress.
"There have been times where I found myself questioning the work I was doing, or the way we were doing the work, and having to find the balance between how much do you say but also how much do you hold your tongue in order to preserve relationships or the work that you're doing?" Mama said.
A story still relevant
Mama said that the issues and conflicts in this play still plague the American theater, 67 years later. That even with the tremendous reckoning over the last few years about race, diversity and a need for systemic change, "Trouble in Mind" is still eye-opening and resonant.
"As an actor and a playwright, as an artist in general, whenever I approach a piece of work, whether it's something I'm trying to write or something I'm trying to direct or something I'm trying to act in, I ask myself: why this story, and why now," Mama said. "When I read 'Trouble in Mind,' it was painfully clear we need to hear this story now. It says a lot that almost 67 years later, the conflicts in this play are conflicts that we are still dealing with today, showing us that they haven't been resolved, which means that we have to keep talking about them."
Turner Sonnenberg added that someone asked her early on in rehearsals if the script had been updated — it hasn't, of course, since Childress' 1957 rewrites. "It made me thrilled that the audience was going to see a play that is still relevant, but also sad that the questions that this play asked 67 years ago are still questions that we're asking today, even in art," she said.
'We're watching a comedy, until we're not'
Turner Sonnenberg also looks for brilliant writing and surprises in a plot, and Childress' play delivered both along with its relevance.
"I'm a director who's moved by words. So I love poetry in a play. I love the way the playwright uses language to reveal ideas or deeper truths. I also love bold characters, and I look for work that is smart and surprising," Turner Sonnenberg said. "Not just plot twists, but a character that I think I have a bead on that does something that is completely surprising, that explodes into some truth. And that is what I love about 'Trouble in Mind.' Like, we're watching a comedy, until we're not."
"Trouble in Mind" preview performances continue at The Old Globe through Wednesday, Feb. 9. Opens Thursday Feb. 10 through Mar. 13, 2022.
The Old Globe Presents 'Trouble in Mind'
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