AMERICAN THEATRE | Brandon J. Dirden Caps the Wilson Cycle With a ‘Gem’

This month Brandon J. Dirden joins a choose group of theatre artists. Along with his look as Caesar Wilks in Gem of the Ocean at Two River Theater in Pink Financial institution, N.J., by way of June 30, he completes the August Wilson cycle—i.e., he has both acted in or directed each one of many 10 performs the late playwright wrote, every set in a special decade of the twentieth century.

Dirden bought a little bit of a head begin on this journey, showing at age 11 within the canon’s youngest position, Reuben Scott, in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone on the Alley Theatre in his hometown of Houston. Since then he’s racked up spectacular credit on TV (The Individuals) and on Broadway (All of the Means, Skeleton Crew), with a recurring backbeat of Wilson working by way of his résumé.

As he advised me in a current Zoom dialog, Wilson isn’t the one long-running theme in his life: Two River Theater has additionally turn out to be a creative house, as Gem marks his twelfth look there in 12 seasons. He and his spouse, the proficient actor-director Crystal Dickinson, stay in close by West Orange, and he or she has additionally been a frequent presence at Two River, each alongside Dirden (in Gem in addition to A Raisin within the Solar) and as an actor below his path (in Seven Guitars and 2022’s Wine within the Wilderness).

Gem of the Ocean, set in Pittsburgh in 1904, follows a younger migrant from Alabama, Citizen Barlow, who seeks therapeutic from the non secular chief, Aunt Ester, whereas battle brews on the native mill between its Black employees and Caesar Wilks, the city’s lawman.

The next has been edited for readability and concision.

ROB WEINERT-KENDT: Congrats on finishing the cycle. Inform me, that are those you’ve directed however not appeared in?

BRANDON J. DIRDEN: King Hedley II, Seven Guitars, and Radio Golf—although there’s an asterisk there. I directed it one and a half occasions, you would say, as a result of we began it in January 2020, and we bought by way of the primary week of previews earlier than it was shut down in March 2020 for the pandemic. They left the arrange at Two River Theater for 2 years whereas the theatre was darkish, and we got here again and reopened the theatre with our manufacturing. However a few days earlier than opening, the actor who performed Previous Joe had an emergency appendectomy—we have been about to open and he simply fell on the stage in rehearsals. So I needed to go on, e-book in hand, for a few week as Previous Joe. So technically I acted in that one too.

Caesar Wilks, the character you play in Gem, is the grandfather of Harmond Wilks, the lead in Radio Golf, and people performs are sort of the bookends of the cycle.

I’m so comfortable I’m doing this one final—you understand, they are saying the final shall be first and the primary can be final. Gem is the primary chronologically. I really feel like my understanding might be nearly enough in regards to the lineage of the Wilks household and what August is doing with ancestry. That’s an enormous factor for August—in his physique of labor, but additionally personally. What I knew of him personally, within the conversations I used to be fortunate sufficient to have with him, is that he was very massive on lineage and on the connective tissue of household. So in a whole lot of his performs—though he by no means claimed to be a historian—I believe he was laying the groundwork to say that our roots are very deep as a individuals.

To come back to Caesar now, after having directed Radio Golf, the place Previous Joe and Harmond Wilks uncover they’re kin—it takes 100 years for that separation to seek out itself resolved in Radio Golf, however this the place we see that separation, in Gem of the Ocean, between Black Mary and the Wilks lineage. Then we see it repaired and are available collectively in Radio Golf. I’d wish to assume that was fairly intentional on August’s half, to say: It could take a while, it might take a number of generations, however there’s a gravitational pull towards reconnecting and remembering who you’re, the place you come from. There’s power, there’s energy, there’s legitimacy in an understanding that we now have a previous that’s a lot deeper, a lot richer than the one we’ve usually afforded or allotted as Black individuals on this nation. I don’t understand how a lot I can use that as I’m taking part in Caesar, however simply as an artist I recognize the breadth and the scope of what August was trying—and never solely tried however truly did—with the ten performs.

August didn’t shy from depicting battle amongst Black of us, not simply in intimate human phrases but additionally in divisions of sophistication, generations, gender. This one has one other edge as a result of Caesar has a badge and helps implement the white man’s regulation. Are you able to speak about how he bought to that place?

Completely. Caesar thinks that for each human being, our foremost objective is survival—and never simply to outlive however to finest survive, given the alternatives or lack thereof. Caesar took a path that will have been unpopular for lots of people. He noticed that the lane wasn’t too crowded for somebody who was prepared to be unlikable to different Black individuals, to keep up regulation and order and be handsomely rewarded. You realize, we all the time had the overseers on the plantations. So this isn’t a novel method to having a greater life as one can see it.

I believe Caesar additionally feels that method due to the way in which he had been handled by different Black individuals alongside the journey. In his efforts to attempt to be honest, to be an sincere Businessman, he says, “I’m going to make a bakery and promote meals,” and folks complained about his meals and gave him a tough time. He says, “Okay, I’ll open up a playing joint behind the store,” and there was a whole lot of combating, he had his life threatened, he needed to put some holes in individuals. So he feels the individuals weren’t treating him pretty, and I believe he has a really sensible method of taking a look at issues. He has divorced himself from any allegiance based mostly upon pores and skin shade for an allegiance to the pure order of issues, and the pure order of issues right here in America is that there are particular advantages to upholding and sustaining the rule of regulation, even whether it is upholding an iNFLuence construction for someone who doesn’t appear to be you. You’ve bought to be savvy; you’ve bought to play the hand that was dealt you. I believe that’s Caesar’s modus operandi: I’m taking part in the hand one of the simplest ways that I can.

I’m listening to from you what I hear from a whole lot of actors once they’re taking part in a villain or an antagonist—that you simply turn out to be an advocate in your character, to a fault. It’s a must to see your character from their viewpoint to play them. Is that proper?

Completely, otherwise you let someone else do it. As a result of all of the characters on this play deserve a good shake.

What are you drawing on to play Caesar?

I’m initially from Houston, Texas. Excuse me for leaping round, however we’re in an election season, and one factor you hear lots about is the courtship of the Black vote, and also you hear on a regular basis that Black individuals are not a monolith. I believe August is exploring that concept, or constructing on that notion in his physique of labor. So you will have a Caesar and you’ve got a Solly; you will have these completely different factors of view; in Two Trains Working, you will have Memphis and you’ve got Sterling—very completely different factors of view. They’re formed by life experiences, after all. In Texas, you do discover a number of conservative Black Republicans. I completely imagine that if Caesar have been alive right now, he can be a Sheriff Clarke, proper? However you even have in Houston an extended custom of Black Civil Rights activists and congressman, like Al Inexperienced. Rising up in Texas gave me a full perspective of the completely different factors of entry which are attainable inside the Black neighborhood, and residing aspect by aspect.

The opposite factor that was so advantageous rising up in Houston versus wherever else within the South is that Houston had one of many largest regional theatres, the Alley Theatre, so I used to be afforded the chance to be within the manufacturing of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone once I was 11 years previous. It was one of many first regional productions of the play, and it was directed by Claude Purdy, who was August’s finest good friend, and with the late, nice Roscoe Lee Browne as Bynum. That was my first skilled expertise.

On that play there was an actor, Alex Allen Morris—who could have completed all 10 performs within the cycle by now too—who was an organization member on the Alley Theatre, and he noticed how and dedicated I used to be, at the same time as a younger actor, and he stated, “Keep in mind this identify, August Wilson; he’s going to feed your loved ones in the future.” I took this to imply, okay, I’m simply going to do August Wilson performs for the remainder of my life. I wasn’t even serious about Broadway; I noticed this because the lifetime of a regional theatre actor. There was one other man, Russell Andrews, who has completed a bunch of August WIlson and was one in all my massive brothers; the subsequent 12 months or two years later, I noticed him do Levee in Ma Rainey’s, so I used to be like: “That is going to be my life, I’m simply going to do August Wilson performs.”

How lengthy was it till your subsequent one?

You’ll be able to’t actually matter these—and I don’t rely these in my cycle—however in highschool, we did a manufacturing of Ma Rainey’s Black Backside, and I might work on scenes from Fences. The following one was one other manufacturing of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at Dartmouth Faculty, directed by Clinton Turner Davis; I performed Seth in that one. That’s how I met August. I wasn’t even a pupil there; I had a good friend who was at Dartmouth, and he or she knew how a lot I really like August, so she known as me once I was at Morehouse and stated, “Pay attention, August goes to be educating right here for this semester. We’ve got an alternate program with Morehouse, and you should apply for the alternate so that you will be up right here whereas he’s right here.” I jumped on it, and I bought to go on the final minute—my dad and mom needed to scrape collectively some cash to fly me to Boston. I didn’t also have a winter coat; I’d by no means seen snow. I needed to audition for it, and I used to be already off-book for your entire play. I memorized your entire three-hour play, and I’ve by no means forgotten a line—that’s the sort of impression it made on me. Clinton Turner Davis was like, “Okay, nice, you sound like you understand what you’re doing.”

August was round, and fairly frankly, he didn’t appear to have a full schedule when he was there; we’d see him strolling round or sitting on the nook smoking cigarettes. So I might nudge as much as him and bum some cigarettes. I didn’t even smoke—I might get sick as a canine attempting to smoke, however I simply wanted these 10 minutes. After some time he discovered what I used to be doing, he was like, “Man, you bought the identical smoke breaks.” However he simply beloved speaking to individuals and telling tales and sharing. He was such a individuals individual.

So that you performed Reuben, then Seth—you would work your method by way of all of the generations simply in Joe Turner. And there are many components for you within the different 9 performs too.

That’s the goal, proper? I simply hope to maintain my nostril clear lengthy sufficient to the place I can play Bynum. I imply, that’s a present, particularly to Black actors—I’ll even refine that to say, Black male actors. What he gave us is simply an countless quantity of alternatives for self-exploration by way of his work. At any given time, I don’t care the place I’m or how previous I’m, there’ll all the time be one thing applicable for me to do in an August Wilson play. That’s releasing in a method that offers me such an anchor as an artist, to know that there’s something on the market that I can do, even when I simply wish to decide up a e-book with my son and skim aloud. It’s simply exceptional.

You simply alluded implicitly to at least one criticism he all the time bought—that he didn’t create as many good roles for ladies as he did for males, although he did attempt to tackle that with the likes of Berniece and Aunt Ester. The opposite knock he bought is the sense that he was handled because the anointed Black genius, and that his success didn’t do sufficient to open the door for different writers of shade. What do you consider that criticism?

I wrestle with this query, Rob, I actually do. I don’t assume that was his accountability or his door to open. I believe it’s society’s job to guarantee that anyone can stroll by way of that door. Did his performs make an incredible case for the riches which are to be discovered when that door is open to everybody? Completely. However did he open the doorways? I imply, do these doorways get opened with out Lloyd Richards at Yale Rep saying, “That is stage-worthy”? I don’t know. So I can’t give credit score to August for opening these doorways; I can’t converse for him or say that was his goal. I solely provide that, as we begin to actually in truth look at our deficiencies within the American theatre as an entire, as is the present mandate, we can’t search for this downside to be solved by somebody of the marginalized group—for them to jot down one thing so simple that it makes the case. We should demand as an American theatre that these doorways stay open to everybody, to all tales. Proper?

Completely. Mentioning Lloyd is absolutely vital, as a result of he actually did have the ability to open doorways for August and for others, and that did set an instance for others. However I take the purpose—it wasn’t August’s job to do this.

All of it goes into the pot. Subsequent season I’m going to direct Eden by Steve Carter, a playwright who was an affect on August Wilson, identical to Ron Milner or Amiri Baraka. They opened the doorways simply as a lot as August. So you possibly can’t speak about August opening doorways with out wanting on the physique of labor that got here earlier than him that was informing his style and his talent. Once you say “open the door,” that assumes it’s some extent of origin, and it’s positively not.

Proper, and Samm-Artwork Williams’s House is at Roundabout; there’s positively a legacy past and earlier than August. It jogs my memory a bit little bit of how Shakespeare is finished to demise, however corporations like Pink Bull are round to remind us that there have been different playwrights of that interval and earlier than who’re additionally value doing. Additionally like Shakespeare, I discover August Wilson a dialog starter, a lingua franca that simple to check notes on with so many individuals. Alongside these traces, do you will have a favourite play of his?

Actually, no matter one I’m engaged on turns into my favourite. I want that I wouldn’t cop out and provide you with that reply. However as I’m now engaged on Gem of the Ocean, with an actual intentionality of getting to inform the story in entrance of an viewers, it’s like, “Oh my God, this play is the most effective one.” After which if I decide up Ma Rainey tomorrow, I’ll be like, “No, that is the most effective.” It’s an not possible query for me to provide an sincere reply to.

I’ll say there are particular performs, simply based mostly upon what they did for my trajectory as an artist and what they taught me—as a result of each time I work on one in all his performs as an actor or a director, it makes my humanity greater, it implicates me in a method, it exposes me; I get to seek out out, I’m not as dangerous as I believed it was, or I’m even higher than I believed I used to be, you understand what I’m saying? However definitely The Piano Lesson, the 2012 manufacturing we did on the Signature the place I performed Boy Willie, is a seminal second in my profession. Speak about opening doorways—the rooms that I used to be invited to be in after that exact manufacturing, it’s simple. And I made my directorial debut with Seven Guitars; I now have a directing profession, and I’ve to credit score Seven Guitars and my exploration of that play. So there are these two performs—however you must by no means have requested this, as a result of now I’m remembering that once I did Ma Rainey’s Black Backside on the East Coast, my brother Jason was taking part in Levee on the West Coast on the similar time, in order that was an enormous second for our household and the way we intertwine with the canon as properly.

Jason was additionally in that Piano Lesson with you, is that proper?

Yeah, and earlier this 12 months, I watched Jason do Boy Willie on the Ensemble Theatre in Houston. For years, he wouldn’t contact Boy Willie; he didn’t wish to do it. I needed to direct him, however he was like, “I don’t know, man, I can’t get your Boy Willie out of my head. I want extra distance.” I suppose he does have distance now; he did an unbelievable job. He would name me generally when he was in rehearsals and go, “Look, you’re gonna see this present, so I’m simply gonna let you know—there ain’t no different strategy to say this line. So don’t assume I’m attempting to steal your fashion.”

Earlier than you go, I simply wish to ask in regards to the house you’ve made at Two River.

There are Two River posters throughout my workplace. If anybody needs to jot down the story of Brandon Dirden, you possibly can’t write it with out Two River Theater. You simply can’t do it. That’s the place I started my relationship with Ruben Santiago-Hudson and August Wilson—I’d labored with Ruben on one other play in New York previous to coming right here, however by way of the connection with Ruben and dealing collectively on August Wilson performs, Two River afforded that first alternative. It afforded me my first alternative to direct with Seven Guitars. It has simply been an incredible nurturer.

There’s additionally an unwavering religion that what I can convey to the work as an artist will all the time be value investing in. Not a whole lot of artists, I don’t care who you’re, even you probably have Pulitzer Prize, can say they’ve establishments that sooner or later don’t transfer on and favor the subsequent scorching factor. I’m taking a look at a run the place I’ve both acted or directed a play there each season for the final 12 years. And never simply me: My brother has labored right here, and my spouse. My father even bought his Fairness card throughout the manufacturing of A Raisin within the Solar on the age of 72 years previous: I used to be doing Walter Lee, Crystal was doing Ruth, and we introduced my dad in to play Bobo, that small however actually pivotal position on the finish. In order that theatre has supported not solely me however my whole household. It provides me such a confidence in figuring out that this place is right here, and that I can stretch out as I broaden my creative sensibilities. Subsequent season I’m gonna direct Arthur Miller’s The Value there.

I believe that is the closest factor we now have to a repertory firm. I grew up in a city the place on the Alley Theatre you would watch Alex Allen Morris and James Black and different rep members play a number of roles over a decade or two. That’s such a uncommon factor now, and I believe to the detriment of the American theatre. However this neighborhood in Pink Financial institution, and the New York audiences that come down, we get to be on this journey collectively. The artist I used to be 12 years in the past once I began there—I’m in a special place now. So are they. And we bought to do this collectively. It’s like once you grew up as a child and you set your top markings on the wall, and yearly you get a bit taller. I can choose my life as an artist by the reveals I’ve been in a position to do at Two River. I can see these markings 12 months after 12 months after 12 months after 12 months.

Rob Weinert-Kendt (he/him) is editor-in-chief of American Theatre.

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