February 18,1992
News
6
Young Director’s Effort a Rarity in Drama Department
By Karen Greene
Ink Staff Writer
Up-and-coming
stage director Cory
Blue is offering
students a chance al
ample exposure to
black history and
culture at an
opportune time:
during Black
History Month.
Blue’s
production of
Kulumu ya
Salaam’s “BLK
Love Song,” to be
performed by the
UNC drama
department’s Lab
Theatre, is a look at
the struggle between
the black man and
the black woman to
understand each
other.
In an effort to
add cultural variety
to the UNC Drama
Department asked
Blue to direct the
play after viewing
his previous
performanceas an actoranddirector.
According to Blue, diversity
has been a long time coming.
"You would probably have to
go back as far as 1970 to find a
minority—not necessarily black—
play in Lab Theatre,” he said.
Blue is outspoken about the lack
of minority involvement within the
department. Blue, a Speech
Communications major and a
Dramatic Art minor, considers
himself one of the few minorities
involved with the department, and
points out the lack of lead roles held
by blacks.
“If the role does not require a
specific race, (the directors) will
cast what they want—and what they
want is white,” he said. ‘This play
is the first play in Lab Theatre that
gives blacks a chance to play the
lead role—a strong lead role.”
The story of “BLK Love Song,”
set in 1%9, deals with a young
bbck man named Jethro, played by
James Taylor, and the toll that the
hardships of racial oppression have
taken on his condition and that of
his wife. Sara, played by Angela
Ray. Although the time period is
not quite contemporary. Blue
ventures into artistic license by
Charles Streeter, who plays Beat,
said of his character; “(Beat) gave
birth to people like Peaches and
played by Conswalia Green and
Teddy Daniels. They are cast as
strong-minded and righteous.
9
GrttndBiack
ames Taylor, Conswalia Green, Angela Ray listen
positive black men and women
Daniels
using the music of modern-day
artists like Patti LaBelle and Sounds
of B lackness to convey the ongoing
nature of the struggle.
“I wanted to tie the story
together through the music tosignify
the struggle over the years, not the
year, that the black race has been
going through,” Blue said.
The major supporting cast also
makes a
strong
statement
about the
stereotyping
of blacks in
our society. It
is made up of
a pimp named
Slick, a
prostitute
named
Peaches, and
Beat, an old
black man
who believes
that blacks
are barred
from
progress.
Slick. They’re a modem version of
him, doing what they do because
they think there’s no other way to
get by.”
Lucy Chavis and Larry Poston
portray these amoral, stereotypical
images society has created for
black.
The foils for Peaches and Slick
are Black woman and black man as
Kelly CreeneJBlack Ink
Blue, a senior, notes the lack of minority participation in
the drama department.
individuals with a sense of identity
sought after by many black
Americans. They represent the
goal, the hope at the end of the
struggle.
Although the play focuses on
the need to uplift the black man.
Blue hopes to provide more of a
balance between the sexes through
his direction.
“Kulumu ya
Salaam is a
black man,
and his point
of view
tends to be
somewhat
sexist, but I
wantlotry to
move away
from that.
We need to
show now,
that the
black
woman is
using her
mind as
well, these
days.”
The members of Blue’s cast
speak highly of his talent and note
that he relies a
great deal on their
input and
feedback.
“We’re all equal
here,” Ray said.
“I think that’s
what’s going to
make our play
successful.”
Poston
added, “Cory can
be difficult to
work with at
times, because he
requires one
hundred and ten
percent, but he
gives that much
as well.”
Blue
agrees with his
colleagues’
assessment
“I refuse to let
our play—a black
play—go up any
less than one
hundred percent,”
he said “Our
‘counterparts’ are
going to be
judging us by the image we project.
They want to see what we can do.”
“BLK Love Song” will feature
a racially- mixed minor supporting
cast.
Blue has injected much of his
own style into the original script,
ranging from his lighting
techniques , to his choice of
costumes and dance numbers. In
addition He designed all costumes,
and choreographed every dance
sequence.
Blue said he hopes to draw a
mixed crowd of both whites and
minorities. He wants to show whites
that blacks can play other roles
besides “janitors and slaves” and to
give blacks something to which they
can relate.
“Our objective is to create
something both symbolic and
entertaining,” he said.
Note: “BLK Love Song” will
have a showing today at 5 p.m. in
the Lab Theatre in Graham
Memorial Hall. Admission is free.
It played at the same site
February 15,16 and 17th.