Poetry-Play Explores Black History and Art
by Julie Johnson and Michael Severino

Don’t You Want To Be Free?, a poetry-play by Langston Hughes, was performed last weekend to large crowds at Hall Auditorium. A slight departure for Hughes, Don’t You Want to Be Free? finds a link between poetry and African-American music on stage. The play chronicles black resistance, in the form of song, music and dance, from slavery “through the blues and beyond.”
Directed by theater and dance professor Caroline Jackson Smith, the focus of the production was the ensemble. The cast spent the first few weeks of rehearsals getting to know each other and discussing the history, issues and ideas presented by the play.
“We shared fairly intimate details about our lives with each other almost daily as a group. We experienced the pain of reenacting the world’s history of slavery and oppression together, often shedding tears and comforting each other when the experiences became overwhelming,” junior James Anderson said. “Caroline wanted us to understand the message that Langston Hughes was trying to communicate through the play so that we could effectively relay it to the audience, and she spared no activity, time commitment or resource in achieving that goal.”
The play moves chronologically through the history of the African-American experience, beginning with the kidnapping of Africans and their harsh arrival in the New World. Time periods are marked by music: the spirituals of the plantations, the blues of Reconstruction’s Jim Crow laws and the gospel and jazz of the Harlem Renaissance.
Act Two had more narrative focus than the first, the latter being dominated by expressionistic ensemble dances while the former came alive with dynamic vignettes of quarrelling lovers singing the blues, a traumatic lynching and scenes in which black and white workers unite.
The success of the play came from the overwhelming sense of camaraderie among the cast members. It was clear that the cast were working as a cohesive group, even during difficult scenes depicting violent events of history.
“It was good to face this shared history together and put our bodies in a time we read about in books, but then also have the closeness of the community of the play in the present day to remind us that while we live the legacy of slavery, things are different today,” senior cast member Emma Cott said.
Last Friday afternoon, the cast and crew of Don’t You Want to Be Free? presented a performance workshop at Eastwood Elementary School. Director Jackson-Smith, set and sound designer Johnny Coleman and sound designer Caleb Miller began the session by describing the history of the play, explaining the meaning of the props they used and demonstrating how sound can create different atmospheres. The ensemble then performed a few select scenes for the kids and then gave them the opportunity to ask questions.
As a production dedicated to self- and audience education, Don’t You Want to Be Free? came across as the product of discussion and dedication, not to mention talent. Anderson and senior Aqila Mayle delivered phenomenal vocal performances, and renowned drummer Matthew Hill (OC ’00) provided a powerful rhythm score.
“The director, the production staff and the ensemble were all able to breathe new life into the script and make it personally relevant and appealing,” Anderson said.
He added: “Caroline Jackson-Smith left the doors of improvisation and creativity wide open, so that every idea was heard and considered, and the final result was a mixture of ideas, talents, and gut feelings that we could all be proud of. This was far from an ordinary play production experience.”