African-American Shakespeare Company’s annual holiday production of “Cinderella” in San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre on Dec. 20-22 has been reenvisioned. This year, the young maid breaking free from her stepfamily and oppressive domestic duties is sporting Black fashion and hairstyles from the 1940s to the 2000s in a production including hip-hop, rap and “nods to Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott and MC Lyte.”
The show is directed by Tavia Percia, who played the Fairy Godmother in 2015, and was mentored by Lorraine Hansberry Theatre Artistic Director Margo Hall and AASC Executive Director Sherri Young.
“My heart fills with joy because these opportunities I’ve had don’t happen often, especially for a Black girl in theater,” says Percia, who’s adamant about the tone and content of her “Cinderella,” which highlights Black women as lovable, valuable, victorious and influencers whose lives shape Black culture not just in fashion, but in the geopolitical world.
While directing Anese Jade, who plays Cinderella, Percia, co-chair of Oakland School of the Arts theater department (she graduated from the school in 2011), tapped into aspects of her own childhood: “I grew up with a mother who was a functioning addict. She never left me entirely alone, but I had to take care of her at a young age. …. Essentially, in all my relationships, I’ve felt like I need to take of people, and rarely, take care of myself. This Cinderella, her journey to love is not to the prince, it’s a journey to self-love.”
Rehearsals are intense, but full of laughter. The actors understand each other in ways that feel natural, Percia says: “Most of the time, as a Black person, you walk into theater spaces and don’t see yourself or know [that] your jokes will land. It doesn’t feel like a stress [here], like crunch time. My process has open dialogue that’s ensemble building. The magic of this show has opened super special magic in the ensemble.”
The hardest roles to cast were the stepsisters, who are played by men. Percia mindfully worked to avoid simplistic portrayals that might offend the drag community. She says, “There’s an innocence I wanted to see (because) they aren’t actually mean. They’re just like children who’re exhibiting what they’ve been taught.”
Percia, who studied and taught in New York at the Stella Adler Studio, returned to the Bay Area in 2015, worked with AASC and formed The Blackberry Collective, a youth theater group. She also launched OSA’s Every 28 Hours Project, which contests the 2015 statistic that every 28 hours a Black person in America is killed.
She’s attuned to messages she sends in her shows: “What statement am I making and how will it affect the next generation? How do these stories say we, Black folks, are powerful, lovable, ready to fight back, and here to stay?” she says.
Percia, who believes America wasn’t set up for Black people to be successful, has been moved by powerful images of Black women like Kamala Harris, and how women who supported her during the recent presidential campaign rose above racism and racists and stood their ground. She says, “What if Black women knew their power, their strength in numbers? It’s important to me that not just the country, but the world, knows their influence.”
That feeling coalesces with her view of AASC’s work and mission. She says, “What I respect about AASC is [that] the stories are not oppression-based. When they do Shakespeare, it’s not just ‘let’s put Black people onstage doing Shakespeare,’ it’s also doing it the correct way, in a respectful way that represents us in all the magnitude Black people exist. The environment is three-dimensional, patient, conversational and there’s support you don’t come by often.”
AASC founder Young says, “What we do is more than performing Shakespeare and work from other playwrights. It’s breaking through the barriers that affects the job opportunities, and the social and economic mobility of our artists. Our goal is to not only elevate their talent but also empower them with the skills and connections needed to succeed in today’s ever-changing world.”
African-American Shakespeare Company’s “Cinderella” runs Dec. 20-22 in Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco. Tickets are $18 to $45 at (415) 392-4400 or African-AmericanShakes.org.
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