INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR KENNY LEON
Education Dramaturg Ted Sod spoke with Kenny Leon about his work on A Soldier’s Play.
Ted Sod: Why did you choose to direct Charles Fuller’s A Soldier’s Play? Why is it important to do the play now, and why did you want to direct it at Roundabout? Kenny Leon: I’ve always loved the play. I was interested in it because of the importance of the Negro Ensemble Company (NEC) and all the contributions the company has made to American theatre. The NEC production of A Soldier’s Play was directed by Douglas Turner Ward and starred Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, Eugene Lee, Adolph Caesar, and others who have since made names for themselves and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. It’s one of those plays that started on stage and then was made into a film, A Soldier’s Story. Even though it was written in the early 1980s, it still feels very contemporary to me because of the style and scope of Fuller’s writing. He is writing about the depths of racism and the way that poison spreads if you live in a racist country. It’s a really important play that I think says a lot about the here and now. When I met with the playwright in Canada recently, he said to me, “I’m still angry.” And I said, “What are you angry about, Mr. Fuller?” And he said, “I’m angry because of all the sacrifices we’ve made and we still are not able to walk as our free, true selves in this country.”
So, with that in mind, I started thinking about our production at Roundabout—I want it to not only be the story of a murder mystery that takes place in the 1940s, I also want it to say something about now, about what it means to actually stand tall as an African American in this country. A country that has had huge problems with African Americans kneeling at a football game during the national anthem. That’s a complex issue. We live in a country that needs to embrace all cultures; many people have paid the ultimate sacrifices, and that includes African Americans. So it’s the time and place to do the play that reminds us that we need to be fighting for the day that everyone in the country feels that the country belongs to them, and, in this case, specifically African Americans.
I’ve been waiting for years to do a play at Roundabout because I think Roundabout should serve as our national theatre. I am truly interested in helping to diversify the programming at Roundabout along with Todd Haimes, who is an extraordinary leader and visionary. By choosing to do A Soldier’s Play, I hope I can help him to that end.
TS: Can you give us some insight into your process as a director? What’s the atmosphere in your rehearsal room like? KL: When I direct revivals, I’m not interested in just putting up museum pieces. I am interested in having an impact on the lives of human beings. And so, when I do A Soldier’s Play, I’m asking, “What does this play mean to us today?” In the rehearsal room, I will probably spend a day and a half talking with the cast about where we want to go with this production and what the big issues and themes in the play are— how they can impact audiences. I’m always trying to have the entire team understand what is relevant about the play. I try to create an environment where all the actors and the creative team are encouraged to participate as we collectively get at the core of the writer’s intentions.
My rehearsal room is always harmonious and is grounded in the present day in terms of what’s happening in the world. I always ask
6 ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY
Kenny Leon
a cast to take time as artists to notice what’s happening in the world, what’s happening around them. I think as artists that we can only do great work when we are paying attention to what the immediate needs are in the world around us.
TS: How do you understand the internalized racism of Sergeant Vernon C. Waters? KL: What I think is interesting about Charles Fuller’s writing is that he doesn’t play favorites when it comes to the theme of racism. Racism is complex, and the play delineates that. I think with Sergeant Waters, what you see is the result of institutionalized racism and how it infects specific communities and personalities. Waters is the victim of racism, and he goes too far trying to assimilate. He goes too far trying to assimilate and he loses himself. He says, “No matter what I do, I still can’t live in this country the same as white Americans.” He hasn’t seen or felt a lot of love in this country. His final lines are haunting. He says, “They still hate you.” When authorities lock out people of color at the border or when police arrest young Black men and kill them before they get them to the police station, you have to say to yourself, “Do they still hate us? Why is there so much hate?” There’s a lot there to unravel in Waters and in this play.
TS: What are you hoping audiences will take away from seeing this play? KL: The thing people should take away from this play is that it’s never too late to do what’s right. We are all connected to each other, and it’s never too late to do what’s good. And in many cases, since a lot of the white community is in powerful economic positions, it takes the white
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