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- In January of 1993 Lewis Campbell, an acting teacher from School of the Arts in San Francisco, got a call from former student and
professional actor Johanna Jackson. Would he work with some of her students while she was playing the role of Calpurnia in To Kill a
Mockingbird at Denver Repertory Theatre? He agreed and two months later a group of fourteen young actors presented an evening of
one-act plays at The Gough Street Playhouse in San Francisco. One of the actors in the March production was Ronnie Hatter, Arts
Coordinator at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House. Ronnie suggested starting a new theater company on The Hill, and Multi Ethnic
Theater (MET) was born. In June, Lewis took early retirement from teaching to become MET's full-time Artistic Director.
A July 1993 program note contained the following message:
- We have MET on The Hill ! Multi-Ethnic Theater is a true people's theater. Tickets are sold on a sliding scale beginning at $2.00. We rehearse mostly
on weekends, and everyone is invited to participate. Classes and production activities will begin again in the fall.
For the summer and fall of 1993 MET concentrated on training and the presentation of scenes and one-act plays. Then, in November,
MET presented its first full length production, a handsome and delightful staging of Moliere's Scapino.
MET continued at the Neighborhood House, training and producing plays, through 1996. In 1997 the company moved its training
operations downtown and began producing at The Gough Street Playhouse in alliance with Marcia Kimmell, director of The Next Stage
Training Program. In 1998 Ms. Kimmell and Lewis Campbell founded a California non-profit corporation, Theater Residencies
Incorporated (TRI), with MET and The Next Stage Training Program as two of its projects. At The Gough Street Playhouse, TRI / MET
has presented one or more productions a year and has also supported efforts by visiting theater companies.
Birdbath by Leonard Melfi Hope is the Thing With Feathers by Richard Harrity A Sunny Morning by the Quintero Brothers
THREE ONE ACT PLAYS FROM MET'S EARLY YEARS
| MULTI ETHNIC THEATER |
| MET is a project of Theater Residencies, Incorporated (TRI ), a California non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. |
| A BRIEF HISTORY OF MULTI ETHNIC THEATER |
| MET PRODUCTIONS -- 1993 TO THE PRESENT |
|
| REVIEWS OF THREE EARLY MET PRODUCTIONS (at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House) For more recent reviews click on the REVIEWS button above. |
- FENCES (1995)
by August Wilson
- Mari Coates SF WEEKLY Multi Ethnic Theater's Fences does August Wilson's drama proud.
The plays or August Wilson seem uniquely suited for community theaters, centering as they do on the experience of community itself.
Fences, his Tony-winning drama about a family in the late 1950s, is no exception; and Multi Ethnic Theatre's production (directed by
Lewis Campbell), now playing at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House, serves both Wilson's splendid play and the
company's declared purpose "to develop multicultural harmony and appreciation." Fences takes place in 1957 and depicts the
complex experience of the post-World War II years leading up to the civil rights movements of the '60s. Troy Maxon (Julius Varnado) is
a skirt-chasing garbage man who lives from paycheck to paycheck. His life seems reasonably satisfying and orderly. Weekdays he
works,trading good-natured complaints with his best friend, Bono (Ronald Hatter). Fridays, he buys a half pint of gin and gets a little
tipsy, to the annoyance of his loyal wife, Rose (Victoria Evans). But as ordinary and routine as his life seems, in his own way Troy is a-
rebel. As the play opens, he has been summoned to an ominous-sounding "commission" because he dared ask, "Why is the white
fellas driving and the coloreds lifting?"
Director Campbell has emphasized ensemble playing over individual fireworks and has succeeded in creating a mood that reaches
out to include the audience. As Troy. Julius Varnado gives a quietly powerful performance. At times he bears an almost uncanny
resemblance to James Earl Jones. who created the role on Broadway. As Troy's pal Bono, Ronald Hatter keeps his performance
understated, allowing the friendship to serve as a sounding board for Troy's enthusiasms and humor. Victoria Evans brings a as good
as she gets. She and Varnado create a wholly believable relationship. Fabian Herd brings energy and brightness as Gabriel, Troy's
brain-damaged brother. Ali Phelps is fine as Cory. Ditto Shawnte Alexander (alternating with Shoshanna Rosenzweig) as Raynell,
Troy's 10-year-old daughter. The set, handsome and serviceable, was designed by director Campbell.
Winifred Mann THE POTRERO VIEW Questions of Trust, Loyalty Posed in MET 's Fences
August Wilson's Fences, a moving, funny and thought-provoking slice of American family life in a bygone time and place,brought the
packed preview audience to its feet in exuberant appreciation of the Multi Ethnic Theater production directed by Lewis Campbell at the
Potrero Hill Neighborhood House. The able cast assembled by director Campbell is headed by Julius Varnado as Troy Maxon, head of
the family. A middle-aged former Negro Leagues baseball star who never got over having been too old when the game finally began
to be integrated, Maxon is now a garbage collector. His disappointment has long since turned to anger. Neither his neat little house,
his loving wife, two sons who would like to love him, but can never even win his approval, nor the acceptance of his ever-loyal friend
Bono - none of these has the power to assuage his rage. In Maxon, Wilson has created a character with the complexity, the conflicttng
passions, the stubborn willfulness almost of a King Lear. Unlike Lear, however, Maxon is gifted with the story-telling skill of his shaman
African forbears, along with the earthy wit and humor of some modern day rap artists. It was noteworthy to observe that the large
contingent of teenagers in the audience had no difficulty relating to the play, set in a time and place far removed from their own.
Clearly Wilson's broad perspective and deep perceptions and this clear production can bridge the gap of time - as well as of age,
gender and color, raising questions as he does, of the meaning of trust and the function of fences? To keep people in - or out?
- SARAJEVO VOICES and EURIPIDES' THE TROJAN WOMEN (1995)
Winifred Mann The Potrero View
In The Trojan Women it was refreshing to see how naturally and gracefully actors with disabilities were integrated into the action. With
its themes of war, rape, slavery, lust and loss, the play maintains its poignancy even today. The contemporary feel, fed by modern
costumes and sound effects lasts throughout the production. In Afi-Tiiombe Kabon as Hecuba the pain of loss seems quite real.
San Francisco Bay Guardian
... harrowing modern content...a compelling piece of theatre. Afi-Tiombe Kambon is strong and resonant as Hecuba, and Wanda
Johnson achieves vivid emotional immediacy as Andromache. Gabrielle Motarjemi is convincing as a shell-shocked priestess cradling
a hand grenade as she waltzes to Strauss's Blue Danube.
- PURLIE VICTORIOUS (1996)
by Ossie Davis
Lysa Allman SAN FRANCISCO BAY VIEW Purlie Victorious truly is.
Potrero Hill's Multi Ethnic Theatre (MET) is now presenting well-known author and playwright Ossie Davis' outrageous comedy,
Purlie Victorious. Set in the cotton plantation country of the Old South in the late 1950s, Purlie Victorious tells the story of an African
American preacher who returns to his homeland to reclaim the property that should rightfully belong in his family. The twist is that he
must outwit the old white plantation owner to do it.
- Starring ip the lead role of Purlie Victorious Judson is Rama Kellum gives a strong performance as the smart but crafty preacher,
clearly demonstrating his theatrical affinity and experience as an actor. Of his cast members, Kellum says they are a real ensemble
that gives the audience the best shows they can. "We change gender and nationality in roles all the time. We do theatre for the
community and that is-what it is about."
- Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, Purlie's primary accomplice, is portrayed by Tracy Ashford is hysterical as Lutiebelle, a young,
somewhat socially uneducated but bright young girl who has been shuffled from White household to White household as a cook.
Equally wonderful and believable in the role of O'l Cap'n Cotchipee, the old white plantation owner; is Andy Hamner portraying an old
"Southern boy" who has deluded himself into believing that he is such a good "Master" that he is actually respected and revered by
most Black folks - especially those who work for him. Strong performances were also turned in by James Otis Brown and Topazz, who
played Gitlow and Missy Hudson, as well as Janet Robinson in the role of Idella, The audience, which ranged from teenagers to elders,
all representing various ethnic groups, responded favorably, laughing enthusiastically throughout the performance.
Max Millard THE SUN REPORTER A Pearl of a Parody
If you were clicking through the TV dial and you landed on this scene, what would be your reaction? An elderly white man wearing a
Colonel Sanders outfit and brandishing a bullwhip, says to, his African American field worker: "My old Confederate father told me on
his deathbed: 'Feed;' the Negroes first, after the horses.' The worker, a Stepin Fetchit character who calls himself "a,
Nigra two Ol' three hundred' percent," cheerfully responds;' "You the boss, boss," and to lift his master's spirits, sings "Old: Black Joe"
on command. To present such material on stage to a mainly black audience" and to get laughs, not gasps, is a neat balancing act. It
works in Purlie Victorious, Ossie Davis' 1961 farce of the Old South, now in performance at Multi Ethnic Theater.
Rama Kellum makes a superb Purlie. Elegant and dignified, with a pleasant baritone voice that lends itself to powerful, moving oratory,
he has a talent for sermonizing that would make most real ministers envious. He is well matched by Tracy Ashford in the role of
Lutiebelle, the blushing, innocent young girl who worships him. Peggy Royster is another standout, in the role of Idella, the hilariously
bad-tempered maid who intimidates the other principal white character, the captain's son Charlie. When she pushes him around,
calling him "boy" and "son," and telling him to keep his mouth shut, he can only reply sheepishly, "Yes, Ma'am." Rex Southard js well
cast as Charlie, giving an appropriatcly wimpering performance, and even delivering a credible southern accent. James Otis Brown is
memorable as Gitlow Judson, the smiling, shuffling, field hand who secretly plots to gain the upper hand, and Topazz makes a
believable Missy Judson.
Now in its fourth season at the location, the Multi Ethnic Theatre lives up to its name. The staff, the actors and the audience for this
production were a good reflection of the racially mixed neighborhood, bringing people together for a,common goal. An organization
like this deserves support.
- CITY ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT -- SF LIVE
Community theatre is alive and well and living atop San Francisco's Potrero Hill. From its eyrie in the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House,
with spectacular views of downtown and the East Bay, the Multi Ethnic Theatre group is carrying the banner for low-bud- get, seat-of-
the-pants theatre. But don't expect performances to match the meager resources. MET's hard-working group of actors are capable
of conjuring characterizations worthy of many a downtown stage. Before a recent rehearsal of Purlie Victorious, Ossie Davis' '50s
Deep South tale of so-called afIection between masters and servants, director Lewis Campbell gathered his team as if for a pre-game
locker room p(r)ep talk. Nobody told Campbell he's just going out onto the practice field and not about to play in the Superbowl, as he
hands out small custom-scribbled note pages to each cast member, suggests ges- tures, explains motivation, dashes to stage
positions, even quotes Aristotle ("the first great theatre critic") amid talk of discovery and reversal, influence and resistance. If,
according to the play's Missy Judson (boldly portrayed by Topazz), "Life can be a lot of fun when ain't nobody lookin," things should
really get going when the audience turns up.