![]() That was the human cost of constructing the Canal, and many of those lives were Black West-Indians who were recruited to do that very dangerous work. I’m working on a piece now with Marc Anthony, called 500 Lives per Mile which is inspired by the construction of the Panama Canal. I’ve done work on the Watts Towers Project. I think that in many ways is theatre work is documentary theatre. I just saw the new documentary on Hal Holbrook and his career performing Mark Twain at AFI Docs (Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey.) Speaking of documentaries, have you ever considered making a documentary of your own? The same way Mark Twain has been the hallmark of Hal Holbrooke’s career. That’s something straightforward that has been the kind of the hallmark of my work for many years. That piece is bookended by original narrative which I have done, and I suppose that will change as the years go on. A lot of my work is scripted and a lot of it is unscripted and improvised, and always changing and flexible.įor example, I’ve been working with Frederick Douglass speeches since I was an undergraduate. Those letters – they don’t change. I have performed them basically in chronological order, always editing and reediting material – but it’s always Frederick Douglass. I think that in a sense I am, but I don’t think that my plays are traditional that they are banged out by typewriter or a computer. The definition of that word – citizen – is something I aspire to.ĭo you think of yourself as a playwright? But before I’m a cultural worker, I am a citizen. I would like to think of myself as a cultural worker. What title do you most embrace? What description best identifies your career? As you just mentioned, you are a Professor, you are a writer, a Director, a performer, and you are an actor. Sydney-Chanele: Let’s talk about your many professional lives. With Cinema Speak with Sydney-Chanele, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to speak with Roger about his intriguing film career, the 25th anniversary of Do the Right Thing, and his auspicious quarter of a century Actor-Director teaming with Spike Lee, an unparalleled collaboration in America Cinema. In The Playwright’s Playgroundinterview, Roger discusses the inspiration for his Rodney King solo performance, the depth of his emotions when he heard about Rodney King’s passing, and his playwriting /performance art theatrical career. once again as Woolly presents his latest provocative solo work, Rodney King. Newton Story, a performance that he won a 1997 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Non-Resident Production.įor two weeks, July 9-20th, Roger Guenveur Smith returns to Washington, D.C. In 1996, Smith electrified Woolly Mammoth audiences with his landmark A Huey P. Newton Story was adapted into a Peabody Award-winning telefilm directed by Spike Lee. ![]() This classically trained Yale School of Drama artist is also a non-traditional playwright of numerous performance art one-man shows, and his Obie Award-winning solo portrayal of Black Panther leader Huey Newton in A Huey P. Roger Guenveur Smith is a writer, director, and one of those enigmatic actors whose work continues to illuminate the international stage and screen. Courtesy of Columbia Pictures.‘Rodney King’ by Roger Guenveur Smith. © 1988 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. “Wake Up” Finale.įrom SPIKE by Spike Lee, published by Chronicle Chroma 2021. “Wake Up!” “When We Were Young.” Cast Photo. Big Brother Almighty And Gamma Ray Jane Toussaint. Big Brother Almighty Curses Out Half-Pint. “Be Alone Tonight.” Gammites Of Gamma Phi Gamma. * “I Still Got This Jacket.” Woke Students of Mission College. “We Often Have Dope Crew Jackets On My Joints. And unlike Dap, his cousin Half-Pint (Spike Lee) wants to rush the frat. On the other hand, Julian (Giancarlo Esposito), resident big man on campus and head of the school’s biggest fraternity, prioritizes rigid social order. Dap hopes that he can one day convince the students to form a united front. In 1988, Spike Lee released School Daze. Written and directed by Lee, the film centers on Dap Dunlap (Laurence Fishburne), a student and activist at the fictional HBCU Mission College.
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