Margaret and I took it upon ourselves to meet with one another and devise a way to form a theatre company that could allow black actors a chance to work, learn and grow in theatre. We talked about brain-storming with other actors, finding funding sources and how to market plays and educational workshops to the community. Over the course of a month, Margaret and I determined a name for this new company and wrote down potential prospects to contact.  Margaret and I never finished our work together on this venture. Something happened and we both lost touch.

I later found out from Director and Actor Jerry Maples, Jr.  that Margaret had moved to South Carolina and was designing costumes for a successful company there.  My dream to start this company never died.

 

One early morning in the summer 1999, in Orlando, Florida, I woke up, and walked from my hotel room to a nearby Dennys Restaurant and started scribbling on a note pad ideas about this theatre company that I wanted to see take fruitation in Miami, Florida. I thought about how many plays and/or musicals we could do a year, types of works, where we would produce these productions. Where we could get the funding to do so. The media sources that would give us free noise to make about our productions. I thought about what actors and directors, I wanted to become involved with to be our main advisory source and to make things happen.

I contacted a number of black actors and directors that I knew and had worked with. Among them was the co-founder of our company Andre' L. Gainey. The first time we met, there was Catherine Williams, Atiim Johnson and Andre'. At that meeting I remember that I mentioned that we should ask John Pryor to become the Artistic Director of this company. Andre' and I had been directed by John in many productions at the Pawley Theatre at Miami Dade Community College-North Campus. We really enjoyed working with John because of his laid-back approach to directing actors and how he allowed actors to find their way to a character.  I am not sure if that sat well with Atiim. I believe  he wanted to be the AD of this theatre company.  We never accomplished much from that meeting as I was not comfortable with most of the players sitting there. I did forge ahead and approached John Pryor about working with me to form this company. John was very helpful and gracious in offering his home for meetings. When we finally got organized enough we had present were Chat Atkins, Byan Keith, Gainey, Pryor and myself. In 1999, we must had met about six times to develop a name, bylaws, a mission, a purpose and objectives that would organize this company. I remember the name we first came up with was the Black Mask Ensemble. It was fun and exciting meeting with these guys who I had loads of respect for artistically.

We needed to get this company incorporated , so I participated in a program through Tools for Change in Miami. Tools for Change is a Non-profit that helps people who want to start a business. I paid $300 to get the company incorporated. That is pretty hefty with the ways that it can be done now, via the internet. But what came with it was this binder on minutes, bylaws and a seal for the company. Still, there are less expensive ways to do it.

These meetings and business things are really necessary, but I don't think anyones' hearts were in it like I was because quite frankly we were actors trying to do something that possibly a bunch of attorneys and accountants should have been doing. What we all wanted to do was to be on the stage performing. We needed to know  that getting a stage would require a rental cost and in order to do that we would need to become a non-profit to apply for government funding.

Luckily, we did not always meet to talk business we also read a few plays, one being Riff Raff, written by Laurence Fishburne and The Island by Athol Figard. John Pryor introduced us to Riff Raff and wanted to possibly stage the production at the Pawley Theatre. I remember inviting Kristoff Skalet to that reading and he, Gainey, Atkins and myself read the parts of this three-man cast production. John, later invited another actor firend of ours, Keith Wade to read one of the parts.  Riff Raff is an intense play with strong language. The setting is in an abandoned crack apartment in the Bronx, New York area. It creates major challenges for actors more so for the accent of New York, Bronx. I cannot speak for John, but my feeling is that he might have had some reservations about producing that play at the Pawley Theatre. I introduced The Island to him and Gainey. I read that play with another actor several years before on the campus of Broward Community College and always wanted to stage it. The Island, is set on Robben Island, the same prison that Nelson Mandela was a prisoner of. The play is a two-man production, about two South African prisoners, dealing with their tribulations at the prison, but aspire to perform a scene from the play Antigone for their fellow inmates and warden. Its set seemed simple enough and the director could probably play the role himself. Skalet and I first read the play for John and I thought he liked it.  Gainey also read for a role, but had a problem with going bald for the character. Gainey has said to me since then that he  regrets not doing that. We had hoped that Pryor would direct The Island, but he had an obligation to  MDCC at the time. Blessfully, Gainey directed the play and did a wonderful job with Skalet as Winston as myself as John. The picture that you see taken by, Juan E. Cabrera is one of many photos. Christine Dolen, critic for The Miami Herald gave the production a favorable review.  the production was performed in the auditorium of Liberty Square public housing community. We hosted a free production for its residents and ran the show for 4 weekends. It was a major challenge, because we had to bring in our own lights. Dudley Pinder designed and constructed the set that was a dingy prison cell. Sherrie Winston from the Sun-Sentinel also was impressed with the show and wrote about the production in her column. That is basiccally how we started this striving and  promising theatre  company.

 

We closed the production of  King Hedley II written by the great August Wilson on February 26, 2006. The play was being produced at the Charles Hadley Black Box Theatre 1300 NW 50th Street. We went directly into our latest production, The Taking of Miss Janie. If you want to see some dynamite actors working out their craft on a  happening stage designed and built by Dudley Pinder and lighting designed byApon Nichols and directed by yours truly plan to attend. The play runs through the weekends of April 23, 2006. And a Monday evening performance is our Industry night, inviting all you talented theatre Folks! If you are interested call 1-866-390-4534.

 

Miss Janie is AAPACT's final production for 2006. Thanks for all your support.