© 2024 Milwaukee Public Media is a service of UW-Milwaukee's College of Letters & Science
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

"Smart People" Director Aims to Connect Audiences to the Black Experience

UW-Madison Department of Theater and Drama

When we think of Material Culture, the subject in question is an object, a physical entity. But what happens when it's a ideal, a system of beliefs and practices or an ism...like racism? How do we communicate beyond the objects? How do we get past the fear of a hoodie, for example, and get to the flesh and blood underneath? 
 
Chuck Smith has a long and lauded history of bringing the African American experience to life on stage to diverse audiences. Based in the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Smith has produced works by Lorraine Hansberry, Pearl Cleage, and August Wilson. He is currently in Madison directing a work entitled Smart People, written by Lydia R. Diamond. The play tackles themes surrounding racism and implicit bias in today's society. What's most important to Smith is that the message is sent clearly to audiences that may not be predominantly African-American.
 
"What we have to do is make sure that the characters are understood... " says Smith, "First you have to start slowly, and make sure [the audience] gets the rhythm of the words, then you can just speak normally."
 
Smith explains that the audience first needs to grasp the accent and way of speaking. "Once that ball is rollin', you're in the theater, watching a play. You're not caring about 'oh, these are white people and these are black people and these are Asians'... you don't care, you go with it, they're people."
 
 
Material culture contributor Gianofer Fields curates the Radio Chipstone series. The project is funded by the Chipstone Foundation, a decorative arts foundation whose mission is preserving and interpreting their collection, as well as stimulating research and education in the decorative arts.