{"id":361642,"date":"2024-11-18T06:37:38","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T11:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?p=361642"},"modified":"2024-11-18T06:37:38","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T11:37:38","slug":"a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/","title":{"rendered":"A Black family confronts ‘Big White Fog’ in revelatory production at Howard"},"content":{"rendered":"

Under the direction of Helen Hayes award winner Eric Ruffin, the Howard University Department of Theatre Arts production of\u00a0Big White Fog<\/em> by Theodore Ward was a startling and invigorating revelation. The first revelation was the 1938 play itself. Director Ruffin has noted that the piece has been mounted only four times. So, it was surprising to find that while the subject matter and the issues in the play were challenging \u2014 as you\u2019d expect of any drama worth the effort to produce \u2014 the texture and structure of the play were hypnotically engaging in a way that delighted and rewarded the audience\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

You might expect a play from the 1930s to have language that is pompous or stilted, outmoded, or overly decorative. But the language of\u00a0Big White Fog<\/em> is rigorous, precise, and almost musical. When arguments erupted and simultaneous conversations overlapped, it was like listening to musical instruments playing counterpoint with each other in duets, trios, quartets, and at times a full orchestra on display. The cast of 15 student performers ate it up and \u2014 as the current saying goes \u2014 left no crumbs.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Scene from \u2018Big White Fog.\u2019 Photo courtesy of Trinity Joseph.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A second revelation was those seamless, energetic, and confident performances the students gave in a piece that required a kind of old-fashioned and sustained characterization that you don\u2019t see in modern plays. I was especially impressed with the smooth transformations of Alaysia Lawson (as Caroline Mason) and Jordan Leander (as Phillip Mason) growing from young children into high school students and Diezel Braxton-Lewis (as Lester Mason) growing from a high school graduate to a young adult and revolutionary community organizer. Both Joshua Leggett as patriarch Victor Mason and Nia Potter as Ella Mason gave us clear portraits of how the relationship between the matriarch and patriarch of the family is worn down by invisible forces maintained by a society.<\/p>\n

Big White Fog<\/em> is a timely play. From Director Ruffin\u2019s notes: \u201cTheodore Ward uses the metaphor of fog … to dramatize the experience of urban Black people in America living in a gray fog caused by their continuous fight against white supremacy.\u201d The Mason family has “hope.” Patriarch Victor Mason believes in the possibilities for prosperity and self-celebration among Black people as articulated by Marcus Garvey. At the beginning of the play he invests the money he and his wife Ella have painfully saved up in shares of Garvey’s Black Star Line. Ella’s brother-in-law Dan believes in capitalism. He tries to convince Victor to invest in kitchenettes to rent to other Black folk. Lester, Ella and Victor’s oldest son, a budding socialist, has just been accepted into a college and is awaiting a letter confirming his scholarship. Then: Lester is refused admittance and a scholarship because it is discovered that he is Black.<\/p>\n

The Great Depression arrives and things go downhill to the point that the family is about to be evicted from their rented home. The play ends as the sheriffs, who have begun the eviction process, shoot Victor when he resists being evicted. The sheriffs stand down as a large racially diverse crowd \u2014 comrades of Lester, who has matured and become more active and engaged in communal organizing \u2014 has gathered to oppose the eviction and the shooting. The contingent of neighbors bound together in solidarity win the day this time. This may be a reason this play has been performed as little as it has.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The chorus in \u2018Big White Fog.\u2019 Photo courtesy of Trinity Joseph.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ruffin stages the production so that the naturalistic action is framed by a chorus who dance during intervals between scenes. In addition, instead of the entry to the Masons\u2019 apartment being in some realistic space on the stage, the entry has been placed downstage facing the audience. At every entrance the actor breaks the fourth wall and looks directly at the audience. Each character’s approach to the entry shows how weighted down they are by the big white-supremacy fog and what their attitude is to it.<\/p>\n

The Howard production makes a good argument for reviving this play and searching out other plays that Ward has written for the possibility of producing them as well. It also makes a good argument for attending college and theater productions where you can catch productions that no other space can profitably mount.<\/p>\n

Running Time: Approximately two hours and 20 minutes with a 15-minute intermission.<\/p>\n

Big White Fog <\/a><\/em><\/strong>played November 7 to 16, 2024, presented by The Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts Department of Theatre Arts<\/a> at The Ira Aldridge Theater on the campus of Howard University, 2455 6th Street, NW Washington, DC.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Big White Fog
\n<\/em><\/strong>By Theodore Ward
\nDirected by Eric Ruffin<\/p>\n

CAST
\nHarper: Alexis Anosike
\nCount Stawder\/Officer: Uchenna Ukonu
\nNathan: Yisrael Robinson
\nCaroline Mason: Alaysia Lawson
\nCount Cotton\/Black Nurse: Tashi Mhoon-Cooper
\nVictor Mason: Joshua Leggett
\nElla Mason: Nia Potter
\nMartha Dupree: Amauriah \u201cMars\u201d Davis
\nPercy Mason: Tyler \u201cT\u201d Lang
\nClaudine: Nandi Talton
\nJuanita: Mahlaet Gebreyesus
\nDaniel: Kevoy Sommerville
\nLester Mason: Diezel Braxton-Lewis
\nWanda Mason: Elyse Miller
\nPhillip Mason: Jordan Leander
\nBailiff\/Lieutenant: Derrell J. Smith
\nOfficer: Jamal “Avinah” Richardson
\nOfficer: William Webb<\/p>\n

CREATIVE TEAM
\nLighting Design: Trinity Joseph
\nScenic Design: Kathryn Kawecki, Tiffani Sydnor
\nCostume Design: Brandee Mathis
\nSound Design: Rashad Davis
\nProduction Stage manager: Kaitlyn Dorsey
\nAsst. Stage Manager: Noelle mcDougl
\nStage Manager: Courtney Morgan
\nAsst. Stage Manager: Niara Phillips
\nLighting Design Supervisor: Prof. Anthony Gomes
\nMaster Electrician: Thelonious “Tony” Starnes
\nScenic Fabrication: Prof. Gregory Jackson
\nAsst. Costume Designer: Jordyn Packer, Tabitha Strakes<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Theodore Ward’s timely 1930s play dramatizes their continuous fight against white supremacy. By GREGORY FORD<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":361667,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[944,1119,1676],"class_list":{"0":"post-361642","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-university-shows","8":"tag-eric-ruffin","9":"tag-howard-university","10":"tag-theodore-ward"},"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nA Black family confronts 'Big White Fog' in revelatory production at Howard - DC Theater Arts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Black family confronts 'Big White Fog' in revelatory production at Howard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Theodore Ward's timely 1930s play dramatizes their continuous fight against white supremacy. By GREGORY FORD\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DC Theater Arts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-11-18T11:37:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BWF-Production-Photos-TJ-37.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gregory Ford\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gregory Ford\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/\",\"name\":\"A Black family confronts 'Big White Fog' in revelatory production at Howard - DC Theater Arts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BWF-Production-Photos-TJ-37.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-11-18T11:37:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ce43e4fc1317f87b2974d2acba5edf11\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BWF-Production-Photos-TJ-37.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BWF-Production-Photos-TJ-37.jpeg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"Scene from \u2018Big White Fog.\u2019 Photo courtesy of Trinity Joseph.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Black family confronts ‘Big White Fog’ in revelatory production at Howard\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/\",\"name\":\"DC Theater Arts\",\"description\":\"Washington, DC's most comprehensive source of performing arts coverage.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ce43e4fc1317f87b2974d2acba5edf11\",\"name\":\"Gregory Ford\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cropped-gregory-scaled-1-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cropped-gregory-scaled-1-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Gregory Ford\"},\"description\":\"Gregory Ford is an actor, director, and singer. As a Playback Theater practitioner he has performed with DC Playback and Synergy in Action. Under the auspices of Us Helping Us, an AIDS service organization, he founded Positive Image Performance Project (PIPP), a Playback Theater company that specialized in providing a platform for people affected by the disease. He is a clinical practitioner of psychodrama and was the 2003 Neil Passariello Memorial Workshop presenter at the ASGPP conference. He currently performs with District Community Playback. You can read\u00a0 more of his observations on performance and the arts here.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/author\/gregory-j-ford\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Black family confronts 'Big White Fog' in revelatory production at Howard - DC Theater Arts","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Black family confronts 'Big White Fog' in revelatory production at Howard","og_description":"Theodore Ward's timely 1930s play dramatizes their continuous fight against white supremacy. By GREGORY FORD","og_url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/","og_site_name":"DC Theater Arts","article_published_time":"2024-11-18T11:37:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BWF-Production-Photos-TJ-37.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Gregory Ford","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gregory Ford","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/","name":"A Black family confronts 'Big White Fog' in revelatory production at Howard - DC Theater Arts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BWF-Production-Photos-TJ-37.jpeg","datePublished":"2024-11-18T11:37:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ce43e4fc1317f87b2974d2acba5edf11"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BWF-Production-Photos-TJ-37.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/BWF-Production-Photos-TJ-37.jpeg","width":800,"height":600,"caption":"Scene from \u2018Big White Fog.\u2019 Photo courtesy of Trinity Joseph."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/2024\/11\/18\/a-black-family-confronts-big-white-fog-in-revelatory-production-at-howard\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Black family confronts ‘Big White Fog’ in revelatory production at Howard"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/","name":"DC Theater Arts","description":"Washington, DC's most comprehensive source of performing arts coverage.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/ce43e4fc1317f87b2974d2acba5edf11","name":"Gregory Ford","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cropped-gregory-scaled-1-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/cropped-gregory-scaled-1-96x96.jpg","caption":"Gregory Ford"},"description":"Gregory Ford is an actor, director, and singer. As a Playback Theater practitioner he has performed with DC Playback and Synergy in Action. Under the auspices of Us Helping Us, an AIDS service organization, he founded Positive Image Performance Project (PIPP), a Playback Theater company that specialized in providing a platform for people affected by the disease. He is a clinical practitioner of psychodrama and was the 2003 Neil Passariello Memorial Workshop presenter at the ASGPP conference. He currently performs with District Community Playback. You can read\u00a0 more of his observations on performance and the arts here.","url":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/author\/gregory-j-ford\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=361642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dctheaterarts.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}