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March 21, 2018 The Skanner Page 7 Arts & Entertainment By Anna Grace I t isn’t only on stage in the dialogue of the characters that the themes of August Wilson’s award-winning play, “Two Trains Run- ning,” get explored. The ideals of determination, persistence and resil- ience also revealed them- selves in the capricious process of getting this production ready for its month-long run at the Interstate Firehouse Cul- tural Center. Four-hour weekday rehearsals, which began Jan. 30, stretched to eight hours on Saturdays and six on Sundays. Passi- nArt: A Theatre Compa- ny recruited from Texas the play’s director, Wil- liam Earl Ray--who has been directing and per- forming on stage for 40 years. During rehears- als, Ray was brutally honest and relentless in making sure the actors met his expectations. “You need to count- er her,” Ray instructed Portland-based actor James Dixon, who plays Sterling, who was just released from prison on a bank robbery con- viction. Throughout the play, Dixon’s character clumsily tries to woo the belittled waitress, Risa, masterly performed by experienced film and stage actress Cycerli Ash of Atlanta. Ray continued: “You need to move quicker when she says, ‘Go on, Sterling’ ...and then I need you to stop fid- geting. This ping pong shuffling, you need to get over that.” The play, with its pro- found metaphors and in- tense language, was writ- ten to reflect a slice of life in the midst of the Civil Rights movement. At that time, racial tensions were high. Urban renew- al programs were forc- ing black people and the black-owned businesses that depended on them out of their neighbor- hoods. And, hastily or- ganized rallies brought people into the streets to send up a call for justice to the new president in the White House. And, then there’s now: 2018 and America has a “ ‘Doctor done moved out. Dentist done moved out. Ain’t nothing gonna be left but these (folks) killing one another. That don’t never go out of style’ relatively new president. Black Lives Matter ral- lies across the country are demanding justice for marginalized com- munities. And Portland, where city policies have endorsed the razing of hundreds of Black homes since the 1950s, is now one of the top U.S. cit- ies pushing Black and low-income people out- side of its core neighbor- hoods and into the mar- gins. “Ain’t nothing gonna be left around here,” noted the play’s central the original Social Media NEWS character, self-made businessman Memphis Lee, portrayed by stage veteran Wrick Jones. “Supermarket gone. Two drug stores. The five and 10. Doctor done moved out. Dentist done moved out. Ain’t nothing gonna be left but these (folks) killing one another. That don’t never go out of style.” The deeper meaning of the play’s title “Two Trains Running” refers to the tracks of life and death, and how we all, at one point, ride them both. To emphasize that point, one of the charac- ters, West, is a funeral director and land owner, portrayed by Jerry Fos- ter, artistic director of PassinArt. At the same time Foster is acting in “Two Trains Running,” he is also co-directing “And in This Corner Cas- sius Clay,” produced by Oregon Children’s The- ater. PassinArt is also part- nering in May 2018 with the Rose Community Development to pro- duce a play “Repulsing the Monkey” by Michael Eichler, which is about the impact of gentrifica- tion on White business owners. PassinArt is the PHOTO BY KYRA SANFORD Play’s ‘I Want My Ham’ is More Of A Deeper Message Than A Menu Item James Dixon (Sterling), Jerry Foster (West), Cycerli Ash (Risa), and Wrick Jones (Memphis) perform a scene in August Wilson’s ‘Two Trains Running’ on stage now through April 1. oldest African American producing theater com- pany in Oregon. It was established in 1984 with a mission to entertain, ed- ucate, and inspire artists and theatergoers, while celebrating Black culture and highlighting critical issues that impact the Black community. “We talk about gentri- fication and how it dis- places families, “ Foster said. “but, it also displac- es businesses, which im- pact the overall health and sense of community.” This is the fifth time that Ray, a Texas resi- dent, has been a part of a “Two Trains Running” production. Most of his experiences were as the character Memphis, who is being forced by the city to sell his restaurant to make way for urban renewal. Memphis’ eat- ery, though, has been a gathering spot for black residents to find connec- tion, share gossip and make sense of their lives, while dealing with dis- crimination, poverty and displacement. “I love this play,” Ray said. “It’s one of my fa- vorites by (Wilson) be- cause it’s so dense in its language and the humor in it is just fascinating.” PassinArt’s production is the second time that unforeseen circumstanc- es have forced Ray to move out of his director’s chair in order to replace an actor on stage just be- fore opening night. Ray says it took him about a week to memorize half of the lines of the steady character of Holloway. He plans to be completely off book well before the show ends April 1. “With August Wil- son, it’s not easy to do his plays,” Ray noted. “You’ve got to get it into your body.” Before directing any production, Ray said he listens to jazz and rhythm and blues music in order to set a certain mood with how the play’s seven characters “of loud voices and big hearts” interact. “This play for me is like a symphony and each character is a musical piece,” Ray said. “How they fit into that is on their own terms. I’m just trying to stage it; you need to find your own way.” Read the rest of this story at TheSkanner.com
