Heritage by New York-based playwright JuCoby Johnson had its world premiere this week at the International Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem. The performance took place in the Ring Theatre on the campus of Wake Forest University.
The play is set in a tiny storefront church located in a neighborhood that’s being threatened by demolition in the name of progress. The sudden death of the church's beloved pastor leaves his church’s future even more in doubt. His estranged singer/songwriter daughter returns after a decade on the road, and old tensions begin to resurface throughout the community.
As people pass through the Ring Theatre lobby on the way to their seats, there’s a strong feeling of excitement and anticipation in the air for this dynamic new play. The room is filled to capacity with extra chairs brought in last-minute for overflow seating.
Director H. Adam Harris says he and his friend, playwright JuCoby Johnson, both share a particular interest in telling stories about Black Americana: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
"And sort of where that intersects with our religion, where it intersects with our sense of love," says Harris. "We both grew up in the church and so we think about how the church impacts Black America specifically and what we can and can’t do to sort of break those chains, and also celebrate those chains. The play is called Heritage."
Based on audience reaction to the sold-out performance, Heritage hit the mark.
Denise Laster, attended the play. She's visiting from New York and says she thought it was a great production with a powerful message.
"You know, it's a lot to take in. Some people don't want to feel it, don't want to see it, but it's real."
Rodney McCormick has supported the festival for 20 years and says it enriches the whole city for one week. When asked what strikes him most about Heritage, he answers without a pause.
"It's the content. You know, it's all happening in the church and around the church, and you kind of be surprised what goes on connecting with that church culture sometimes."
Marquisha Scott is a professor at the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver, and is also a congregational research associate at the Center for Religion and Cities. She says she was struck by the different stages of life represented in Heritage, and the organic play between the various generations that takes place on stage.
"The things that we do matter and the impact that we have in people's lives matter, which also says something about the importance of continuing to have these types of spaces available," says Scott.
Elise Edwards teaches courses in Christian ethics and theology at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, in the Department of Religion. She says the play spoke to the power of memory while simultaneously highlighting the need for shared spaces in which to create them.
"What stood out to me was the play of absence and presence and the way that stories that we tell or the secrets that we keep — the lies that we keep from others — how they take up space and how they have a presence, even when we think they're not there," she says.
The International Black Theatre Festival continues through Saturday, August 3rd at venues throughout Winston-Salem.