Portland Observer, September 8, 1962 Page 11
JOE
TEX
DEAD
Wright Blumfield prepares for his demanding role In David Rabe's
Streamers, at the Storefront Theatre.
Photo by John Zagone
Streamers
bv Lucretia Gardner
A powerful black man sprawls on
the barracks bed sharing a bottle
with three other soldiers. A tension
has begun to build and the joking
turns mean and hard. The powerful
black soldiers’ rage, never far from
the surface, erupts into violence. A
quiet voice comes out of the dark.
"Take that scene again." The sol
dier stops and momentarily relaxes
tense muscles before beginning
again.
Wright Blumfield is an actor
preparing a demanding role in
Streamers, David Rabe’s award
winning play about a barracks com
munity during the Vietnam War.
Blumfield is rehearsing at Store
front Theatre, preparing the role of
Carlisle. Carlisle is a man full of
rage and the certainly of his own
death in Vietnam.
I, is a hard show, demanding of
both actors and audience. The real
ities are honest in this play but so
are the insights. Tenderness is pres
ent in the small barracks community
even in the midst o f a brutal envi
ronment. Close bonds are devel
oped, and shattered by the violence
that tears the community apart.
Carlisle is the catalyst for violent
change in this play and Blumfield
has been exploring him for weeks.
" H e ’s a man who jives people and
ends up jiving himself,” says Blum
field. " In the end he just goes o ff —
explodes. It ’s a good role with a,,
range all the way from playful to
tragic."
Blumfield is experienced in devel
oping a character. H e’s been acting,
directing and producing for twelve
of his thirty years. Home, recently
playing at the Wilson Center, was
done by his own company, “ Three
B Productions.” A lengthy list of
credits includes The Trial o f A bra
ham Lincoln with Henry Fonda and
Billy Dec Williams, appearances
with the Black Repertory Company,
and The River Niger at PSU.
PSU.
For the role o f Carlisle, Blumfield
showed o ff his mustache and has
been running daily to get into as
good physical condition as a man
who has just gotten out o f basic
training. "Acting is ‘what if ’ ," says
Blumfield. " I spend the rehearsal
period experimenting and constant
ly saying, ‘I f I were Carlisle in this
situation, what would I do?’ The
character becomes a part of m e.”
" I was trained in Los Angeles bv
Frank Sevilla, who has the ‘Theatre
o f Being.’ He taught me how to use
my own feelings and tune in to the
feelings of the character so that the
character's responses become natu
ral. You have to listen to what the
other actors are saying and
respond."
Working at Storefront has been a
positive experience for him. " I have
a lot o f respect for John Zagone (the
director) and the rest o f the compa
ny. They are professionals doing the
job. The play comes first here and
there are no ego trips.”
Although there are sometimes few
opportunities for black actors in
Portland, Blumfield is optimistic
about his future here. "Y o u need to
make your own opportunities," he
says. " T h a t’s why I started my own
company. Everything special that
has been done in the world has been
done by someone making his own
opportunities. T h at’s reality —
you’ve got to make people want to
see what you do best.”
Streamers, by David Rabe, di
rected by John Zagone, runs Satur
day September 3 through October
16th at Storefront Theatre, 6 S. W .
Third Avenue (224-4001).
H E A R T A T T A C K C L A IM S
L IF E O F JO E T E X A T H O M E
IN T E X A S
The entertainment world was
shocked to hear of the untimely
death o f rhythm and blues singer
Joe Tex. Tex died August 27 from
heart failure., He was admitted to
Grimes Memorial Hospital in Nara-
sota, Texas on August 11th after
suffering a heart attack at his home
in Navasota.
Joseph Arrington, Jr. was born in
Baytown, Texas, but music officials
are uncertain o f the date, which has
been published as 1933 and 1935.
a
Powerhouse
ber o f gospel groups and perform
ing popular music at local functions
in his home town.
A Baytown amateur show gave
the song stylist his first big break at
the age o f 18. Taking first place,
Tex was awarded a two-week stay in
New York C ity., Once in New York,
Tex found his way to the famed
Apollo Theatre where he took first
place in a weekly amateur show,
place in a weekly amateur show.
Powerhouse, a unique concept in family programming, will debut nation
ally over the Public Broadcasting Service in mid-December, 1982 (check
local listings for exact time). It combines the spirit o f The Hardy Boys and
Huckleberry Finn, and examines comprehensive concepts o f mental and
physical health appropriate to the young through the adventures of a con
tinuing group o f characters. Featured are several young people between the
ages o f 12 and 18 (known as ’The Powerhouse Gang’) and their adult friend
and helper at the local after-school youth center (Called 'Powerhouse’/.
The singer’s biggest hit came in
1967 when he recorded “ Skinny
Legs and A ll" on the Dial label.
“ Skinny Legs” made it to the top 10
o f the Billboard record charts and
for 15 weeks was listed in the Bill
board top 100.
Over 25 of Tex’s songs made it to
the Billboard top 100, including " I
Gotcha,” “ Y o u ’ve Got What It
Takes,” “ The Love You Save,"
"One Monkey D on’t Stop No
Show,” and others.
Geneva’s
HAPPY HOUR
W ell drinks 2 for 1
Tue-Sat 4-7 pm
Inflation Fighters Spec
all 2s drinks are *1*
Tue-Sat 5-9 pm
Tex gained notoriety for his ram
bunctious, energetic and creative
style and many experts have com
pared him to such greats as Sam
Cook and Big Joe Turner.
In 1972 Joe Tex retired from the
music business due to religious be
liefs but returned in 1977.
SINGER JOETEX
Tex began his singing career in the
church. By the time he was in high
school, he was singing with a num
Tuesday is Blues Night!
In the late 1970s he recorded the
LP "Bumps and Bruises” on CBS
Epic label which featured the hit
tune “ A in ’t Gonna Bump No More
W ith N o Big Fat W om an.”
In recent years he adopted the
Muslim name Joseph Hazziez.
Blues M om m a will be spinning
your favorite blues.
Bring yours, w e'll spin them tool
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