By Megan Kok

Staff Writer

This week, the first play calling for an all black cast ever to be performed at Calvin will open in the Gezon Auditorium.

As part of an academic institution, it is important to the Communication Arts and Sciences department that students participate in theatrical productions in many styles and genres of work in order to communicate the diversity of life. Previously, however, no production at Calvin has spoken specifically to the African-American experience. This week's theatre production, ``The Piano Lesson,'' ends that silence and serves to extend the audience's exposure to human experience with historic significance.

``The Piano Lesson'' calls for an all black cast, a requirement not easily met at Calvin College. Despite the fact that theatre professor Debra ``Doc'' Freeberg has always wanted to produce August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize winning play in her eleven years at Calvin, she knew it would be impossible if there weren't enough black students to fill the cast. As recently as three years ago, there were only two African-American men on campus, and only one of them was involved in theatre.

Freeberg credits two theatrical productions organized by the Multicultural Student Development office with having paved the way for this season's production. In February and November 1999, Director of Multicultural Student Development Michael Travis directed plays that dealt with the African-American experience and racism. The small, low-budget productions proved that there were black students interested in theatre on campus, though they had not found a home in the Calvin Theatre Company.

Last spring, Freeberg recognized that she finally had the people to bring her vision to reality.

Senior actor Damon Shearer is grateful that African-Americans at Calvin will have the opportunity to showcase their talents on a greater scale than ever before. Four of the actors in this production have never had roles in major productions previous to ``The Piano Lesson.''

Shearer praises his co-star Jena Cooksey: ``She is one of the most talented women I've met in my life. She radiates beauty and grace.''

The play centers on the Charles family and their struggle to honor their heritage while understanding their present identity. At the outset, Boy Willie wants to honor his family by buying the land on which his ancestors were slaves. In order to do so, however, he would have to sell a family heirloom, an intricately carved piano that illustrates his family's story from slavery to freedom. Currently, the piano is in his sister Berniece's possession and she will not easily sell the significant symbol of her family history. The play is most compelling because the conflict arises from two positive impulses in direct conflict.

Concepts of family honor, spirituality, and ownership strike the audience as the characters communicate the oppression of their grandparents that lingers generations later. They seek liberation but are uncertain of how to do so, and often their efforts are at the expense of each other. Parallels between the past and present, and between conflicted characters are rich and thought-provoking.

August Wilson's script unfolds beautifully as the characters narrate their shared story. Each one imparts a unique insight into where they have come from. Generations removed from slavery, Boy Willie and Berniece struggle for freedom from the haunting past without sacrificing their present well being.

Like many of Wilson's plays, ``The Piano Lesson'' asks the question: ``Who am I?'' More specifically, ``Who am I, a Black American in the United States? How can I live with dignity?''

Freeberg embraces the play's depth, saying that the Christian artist ``has to talk about profound things [in order to] make an impact on culture.''

Monday's Grand Rapids Press included an article on ``The Piano Lesson'' which featured a lovely photo of Freeberg in the foreground with her cast below on the stage. Their presentation of the production, Freeberg notes, denotes ``a white college's effort to do a black play.''

``I am very grateful they wrote the article,'' she said, but continued to express her dismay for the tangential message communicated. ``What African-American in Grand Rapids is going to come to see this play with my white face on it?''

While directing any full-scale theatre production requires a great amount of work, Freeberg emphasizes that this story is about the African-American experience, not her own: ``I just want to facilitate.''

Shearer is thrilled with the message of ``The Piano Lesson'' and hopes that everyone will come and see the show for two reasons. ``First, because the play is an honest portrayal of what we African-Americans in America deal with today. We still struggle with heritage...the way our families were destroyed through slavery. And secondly, because what we go through is not so different from what they go through.'' The gap between white and black people, he says, ``is not as big as racism makes it seem. It is understanding and appreciating the differences between cultures that end racism and stereotypes. You need both.''

``The Piano Lesson'' will be performed in the Gezon Auditorium January 31-February 2 and February 7-9 at 8pm; a talkback will follow.