Robey Theatre’s ‘The Talented Tenth’
Santa Barbara Black Culture House’s Founders Darrell McNeill and Sally Foxen-McNeill presented their two final cultural events of the month over February 24 and 25, at Soul Bites Restaurant.
First was a music performance by Los Angeles band The Funky Neighborson Saturday. The band members are Damon “Super Day” Wilson (keyboards), Terrence “Smoke” Huggins (drums), and Stevie “The G Roofa” Martin (bass). The Funky Neighbors bridge the gap between BeBop and Hip Hop to keep the tradition of original music created and played by musicians alive. They have been in service as backing musicians, either individually or collectively, for a myriad of artists including George Clinton, The RZA of WuTang Clan (both touring and solo projects), George Lopez, Lakeside,Mallia Franklin, and others.
On Sunday, the renowned and award-winning African American theater arts organization, the Robey Theatre Company, performed a reading of Richard Wesley’s The Talented Tenth. It was directed and produced by Ben Guillory,who co-founded the theater with Danny Glover in 1994, centering on the Black theatrical canon. It was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1996. The theatre is named in honor of Paul “Robey” Robeson, a respected humanitarian, artist, and activist.
Guillory explained to me how they came to perform at Soul Bites: “Stirling Nix-Bradley is an actor who performed in the play at the Robey Theatre November – December 2023. He would drive to L.A. to rehearse and perform in the play; and then drive back to Santa Barbara to manage Soul Bites, the restaurant that his family owns. Sterling suggested they perform the play at Soul Bites in conjunction with Santa Barbara Black Culture House’s Black History Month Program there.”
The actors that performed were Nix-Bradley as Ron, Guillory as Griggs, Tiffany Coty as Pamela, Monte Escalante as Rowena, Nic Few as Bernard, Julio Hanson as Marvin, Jessica Obilom as Tanya, and Ezekiel Ajeigbe as the Young Man.
Guillory introduced the play and taught us about it: “W. E. B. Du Bois’ The Talented Tenth refers to the one in 10 Black men who have cultivated the ability to become leaders of the Black community by acquiring a college education, writing books, and becoming directly involved in social change. He argues that these men should sacrifice their personal interests to lead and better the Black community. As many of us understand, leadership skills are not exclusive to gender, type, class, and academically educated persons. We know that these do not always produce the kind of person who contains values and character to serve the best interest of the people. Wesley’s play speaks of a commitment to something beyond oneself, of idealistic values and innocence that produced a social consciousness that had been compromised and how its attempted retrieval exacts a dear price.”
The performance was straight up brilliant, even though they performed without costume changes, staging, professional lighting, and certainly due a larger attendance. Unphased by these peripheral accouterments, the actors gave their performance seamlessly to the tiny audience as if we were at the Apollo Theater. The actors’ dialogue timing was impeccable, with every emotion the intensely impactful play required of them. And they performed for three hours without intermission. The script gave us insight into Black Culture as well as touching upon life’s circumstances one faces at various stages in life.
The attendees were overcome and feeling blessed for the gift brought here by them and Santa Barbara Black Culture House.
Let’s, as Guillory said, “Celebrate the history, the legacy of people of color every day.”
Santa Barbara Black Culture House is sponsored by the Black Rock Coalition and made possible by a Towbes Fund for The Performing Arts grant through The Santa Barbara Foundation.
Wesley’s The Talented Tenth, originally published in 2002, covers the life and career of Bernard Evans, a civil rights activist and Howard University graduate, and successful African American radio executive whose midlife crisis has reached critical mass. Wesley himself is a prolific author, playwright, and graduate of Howard University, residing in New Jersey.
411: SBBlackCultureHouse@gmail.com
Instagram: @BlackCultureHouse
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