RothackerT_Shipment
The Shipment, written and directed by Young Jean Lee and produced by her theatre company in association with On the Boards asks audiences to ante up and admit to recognizing black stereotypes. After a particular sketch, three of the actors stand downstage in formal attire. They stare at the audience. We witness their breathing. This goes on. Is this a reprieve? What next? Viewing this production virtually and in the comfort of my own home allowed me to react in a way that’s different when seeing something live. I shouted out in appraisal of stereotypes being performed and broken almost concurrently. I stopped and went back to review passages I wanted to make sure I was understanding correctly. In this format, the play and performance lived with me longer.
Lee has been quoted as saying; “What's the last play in the world I would ever want to write?” The fear of taking that leap into the unknown and exploring identities, cultural boundaries, and anything else in the margins led her to write a play about Black identity politics in collaboration with an ensemble of black actors. Lee structures The Shipment as a minstrel shows. Sketches, caricatures, dance and musical performance with a hint of Brecht collide on stage in a mashup of comedy and a fast and dirty look into the mirror. Using this theatrical convention from the early 19th Century pays homage to black performers of that time and highlights the double entendre that this play is exploring; the struggle of Black identity and the theatricality of presenting injustice on stage.
The play begins with two actors dancing to a choreographed, yet with an improvised feeling, routine which is reminiscent of street dance. It’s funny, light, jubilant and sets a specific tone. A “Black Stand-Up” routine follows, with Douglas Scott Streater blasting the audience with a rant that is reflective of the world of Def Comedy Jam. Making jokes and telling stories where the offense is equally divided between the black and white worlds allows audiences to laugh at the stereotypes and shake our heads in agreement.
Other sketches and shorter scenes include the young man being forced into a world of drug dealing to make money in order to support his dream of becoming a famous rapper, and a Grandma appearing from Heaven. Cut to the moment of the actors alienating the audience and demanding them to take in all of the stereotypes and misnomers they have just witnessed. The final scene of the play, after a carefully articulated and lengthy scene change, is a blend of realism and absurdism. A group gathers for a birthday party in an upscale apartment, in formal-wear, and things rapidly unfold. Something seems off though. The behavior of each of the characters goes against the stereotypes that precede the scene.
This stellar example of technically executing a live performance and it seamlessly bleeding into another medium (video recording) allowed me to feel like I was there in the theatre but having the cognizance to know that I wasn’t. That is a very difficult line to balance. As the play ends abruptly, and with a major twist, the audience realizes the culmination of all they have witnessed and the different packages that stereotypes come wrapped up in. Do you admit to seeing and knowing what was displayed on stage tonight?