By Dean Poling
VALDOSTA — With Dr. John Gaston standing on stage and Dr. Jimmy Bickerstaff in the theatre’s front row, the two men discuss the Pulitzer prizes of August Wilson.
Did Wilson win one of his Pulitzers for “Fences” or was it “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”?
Gaston and Bickerstaff go back and forth on this matter for a moment (“Fences” won the Pulitzer, by the way), but they both agree that Wilson won a second Pulitzer for “The Piano Lesson.”
As co-directors of Valdosta State University Theatre & Dance’s latest production, they have agreed more often than not on “The Piano Lesson.” Still, two directors isn’t always easy.
“It’s similar to having two drivers for the same car,” says Gaston, joined by Bickerstaff in laughter.
Gaston is VSU’s dean of the College of the Arts. Though his dean duties are mostly administrative, theatre has long been part of his career. He most recently appeared as Hoke in Theatre Guild Valdosta’s perennial production of “Driving Miss Daisy.” He’s written and performed a one-man show. He last directed “Flyin’ West” for VSU Theatre several years ago.
Since arriving at VSU, Bickerstaff has a talent for directing tight, intimate dramas, shows like “Shadowland” and Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” earlier this season.
“The Piano Lesson” seems a perfect fit for both men.
VSU Theatre provides this synopsis of the show: “It is 1936 and Boy Willie arrives in Pittsburgh from the South in a battered truck loaded with watermelons to sell. He has an opportunity to buy some land down home, but he has to come up with the money right quick. He wants to sell an old piano that has been in his family for generations, but he shares ownership with his sister and it sits in her living room. She has already rejected several offers because the antique piano is covered with incredible carvings detailing the family’s rise from slavery. Boy Willie tries to persuade his stubborn sister that the past is past, but she is more formidable than he anticipated.”
In directing this show, Bickerstaff, who is white, has concentrated on staging and atmosphere, while Gaston, who is black, focuses on the student actors’ characterizations and the culture of the show.
“We complement each other in a number of ways,” Bickerstaff says. “John brings a cultural wisdom and a sense of characterization ... I’m outside of the culture of this show and I know that.”
While VSU Theatre & Dance often produces shows with color-blind casts, such as a black actor playing the traditionally white Ebenezer Scrooge in the musical “Scrooge,” and shows with strong African-American casts such as Peach State Summer Theatre’s “Ragtime,” “The Piano Player” has an all-black cast. 100 Black Men of Valdosta sponsors this show.
“I had considered playing a role,” Gaston says, “but we realized during try-outs that we had the students we needed.”
Given his young cast, Gaston works with the student performers to portray deeper life experiences. He has worked with them on the culture of 1930s Pittsburgh.
“Our objectives have been to challenge our students,” Gaston says in his director’s notes, “to stay true to August Wilson’s colorful, rhythmic, poetic language and capture the emotional rollercoaster lives of Doaker Charles’ family as they laugh, cry, love, wish, hope, doubt and believe.”
In the moments prior to the first dress rehearsal, Gaston and Bickerstaff dig at the crux of the play which has roots in all cultures: How much of the past does a person or family hold onto? How much of the past shapes future generations? How much of the past can we forgo without forgetting? How much of the past can we remember without it becoming a burden to the future?
THE CAST: Antony Russell, Maurice Diamond, Kevin Lane, Kakisha Worlds, Brittanye Blake, LaMont Hance, Myles Grier, Darshanna Loveland.
DIRECTION, PRODUCTION: John C. Gaston & Jimmy Bickerstaff, directors; R. Keith Pugh, set & lighting design; Esther Iverson, costume design; Marty C. Lynch, technical director; Michael Elliott, music director; Deborah Morgan, production dramaturg; Shawanna Hall, stage manager; Christopher Wood, assistant stage manager; Melanie Harkness, props master; Ryan Ponsell, light-board operator; Josh Terrell, sound-board operator; Lauren Evans, running crew; Matthew Moran & Darshanna Loveland, props crew; DíAmante Wilson, Renita James, Natassia Johnson, Amanda Layton, dressers; Marty Lynch, master technician; Dominic Torres, master carpenter, scene shop assistant; Kathy Raess-Young, costume shop supervisor; Katie Barnett & Molly Nemecek, costume shop assistants; Joe Muncy, scene shop supervisor; Isaac Huntington, scenic charge; Shelby Nichols, box office manager; Uniquia Manigault & Esmond Pickett, house managers.
SHOWTIME
VSU Theatre & Dance presents August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson.” The show is sponsored by 100 Black Men of Valdosta.
When: Show plays 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday; 7:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Feb. 24.
Where: Sawyer Theatre, VSU Fine Arts Building, corner of Oak and Brookwood.
Tickets: Ticket: $12, adult; $10, senior adult; $8, child, or VSU student; $7, group rate of 10 or more.
Reservations, more information: Call VSU Box Office, (229) 333-5973; or visit www.valdosta.edu/comarts
