by Artistic Director, Michael Dove (@michaeldove) with Jamil Jude (@mrjdjude)
As we open for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf I wanted to get a few thoughts from the show's director and founder of Colored People's Theatre Collective, Jamil Jude.
MICHAEL DOVE: What led you to wanting to direct this play? How does it connect to the founding of Colored People's Theatre Collective?
JAMIL JUDE: I wanted to direct this show for a couple of reasons:
I was really inspired by a reading of the show I saw at Prince George's Community College in 2009. I had the chance to meet Ntozake at the reading. Even in old age and declining health, she embodied the spirit of a Goddess and the security of self that I admire in women (so very much like Sechita!)
In 2010, Tyler Perry's version came out and it was nothing like the beautiful play I heard read. I wanted an opportunity to show people what the play could be. I wanted a chance to bring people back to the beauty of the poetry. I also had an amazing choreographer I wanted to work with.
Colored People's Theatre Collective; we tried to devise a show ourselves in early 2010 but our applications for space went unanswered. This play, for the obvious and also for the not so obvious, fits our mission exactly. Can this play, which is so distinctly about women of color, transcend the use of the "N" word and other cultural references and illuminate the universality of the piece.
So, in short (lol) that's why I wanted to do this piece.
MD: What was the experience of the first production, in the Fringe, like?
JJ: The Fringe production was a HUGE learning experience. Fringe has its own set of rules and restrictions, and at times, we found that hard to work around. On the other hand, we were SO thankful for the support we received from our Venue host and the rest of the Fringe team. We really felt like we belonged in the DC community with the amount of love and support we received. Opening night had to be the single-most rewarding moment of my artistic career and definitely set CPT off on the right foot!
MD: The show has really evolved since I saw it in the Summer. In fact, I've been surprised by and 
excited about the fairly radical changes you've brought to it. Can you talk a bit about the re-conception of the story and how that came about?
excited about the fairly radical changes you've brought to it. Can you talk a bit about the re-conception of the story and how that came about?
JJ: When we talked about putting the show up a second time, we wanted to keep the fun we had this summer but present something a little different to reflect the growth, as a company but also as a community.
Also, Lady and Brown, Nicole Brewer, is happily expecting her first child! AND IT'S A GIRL! When our 8th "for colored girl" was added to the mix, we needed to find a way to address our extra cast member. I had this idea of a baby shower and liked it but didn't know if it would work.
Jacqueline Lawton provided us with a really amazing dramaturgy packet for the show. In the packet there were quotes from Ntozake where she spoke about wanting to present a piece that can counter the emotionless, contraceptive talk young women were receiving as they matured through life. Her play removes the mystical/romantic ideas we have of growing up and shows us the reality of life. Life is beautiful, painful, delicate, complicated and magical and this play captures it all!
As I sat back down with the play after having read Jacqueline's packet, the shower idea seemed to work even better! Let's use the play, a play that would have still been new when Nicole was born, and let's pass it on to her baby. Let's allow the play to guide the future generations of young women much like Nicole's mom, her friends, and their generation were shaped by the play's experiences. Our collection of stories will be passed along to the future in a series of gifts, poems, stories, dance and reality!
MD: We met when you were working at Arena Stage. Since then, you've moved up to Minneapolis to be the Producer in Residence at Mixed Blood Theatre. What sort of work are you doing up there and how does that community compare or contrast to the DC area?
JJ: The Minneapolis theatre community is so dynamic! There are artists working in every direction of the genre and doing great work. It feels so good to be a part of that community.
Mixed Blood is dedicated to using theatre to address the artificial barriers that keep people from succeeding in America. Very much like CPT, Mixed Blood sees theatre as a vehicle for change and social justice.
This season we are looking for ways to revolutionize the way people access theatre. Through Radical Hospitality, we offer no-cost admission to all of our main-stage programming! We've seen an amazing amount of support for the program and our audiences have begun to better reflect the America we live in.
I head up our discussion series. These include our blog, nightly-post show audience conversations, speaker series, lobby post-it notes and social media. Talking to audiences about the art is my favorite part of theatre and I get to do it every night!!
