Theater

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "Promised Land (I Have a Dream)" speech, reaching out to African-Americans across the country, reassuring them that racial equality was more than just a dream.

Now, using that speech as a moral base, a group of black students in the Jacksonville State University drama department are reaching out to help their community by forming "Th' Promise," an African-American theater group.

"The title, Promise, derived from two things: Martin Luther King's "Promise Land" speech and from God's promise for you," said Omar Brock, a sophomore in mass communications and technical theater and member of Th' Promise. "And basically, from Martin Luther King's aspect, he speaks of your promise that you hold to your community as an African-American, and that's pretty much what we based ourselves off of. We try to be representatives of the African-American community, being positive and coming together and doing something that we all love.

"From a Christian point of view, before we all came here, God set in stone a promise, or something you have to fulfill in life — your promise — and basically, we're staying true to our promise."

Part of that promise is dedicated to helping the community. While there is nothing set in stone, Th' Promise has plans to help underprivileged residents and find ways to allow them to "creatively investigate their possibilities in life," said Susan McCain, artistic director of the group and a drama instructor at JSU. "We're really wanting to have a purpose in what we're doing so that it actually serves. Even what we develop, in terms of what we perform, we want it to have an impact that makes a difference."

The drama department's latest production, "Fences," by August Wilson, is a testament to that purpose. "Fences," which won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for drama, is the story of a black family living in Pittsburgh in the late 1950s. The father, Troy Maxson, is an embittered sanitation worker who believes he has been held back in life because of his race. To deal with that pain, he has put up fences, not allowing himself to love, or be loved, even by his family.

Though the play takes place 50 years in the past, the plot is still pertinent today, said Brock, who plays Maxson's teenage son Cory. "History repeats itself all the time," he said. "The situations that go on in the play are still relevant today in African-American homes. August Wilson brings understanding to what a family is and what it is not, and how do you fix your family and how you build and motivate your family. It's a perfect picture of all the different types of family situations in the world."

While relatively small now, with less than 15 members, Th' Promise hopes their group will draw more black students into the drama department, and therefore allow for more black plays to be produced.

Beyond community outreach, the group is also dedicated to helping its own members grow and learn as actors. Last year, a group of students went to Birmingham to see the George Gershwin opera "Porgy and Bess," which deals with black life in the slums in the 1920s.

"It was, I believe, the first opera most of them had ever attended," McCain said. "To be able to identify so well with the characters was really wonderful, so we want to do more things like that."

"Fences" opens tonight and runs through Sunday at the Ernest Stone Performing Arts Center on the JSU campus.

"Fences"

What: Jacksonville State University drama department production
When: Today, Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m.
Where: Ernest Stone Performing Arts Center, corner of 11th Street and Church Avenue, Jacksonville
How much: $10 adults, $8 seniors and JSU personnel, $5 students, military and children
Contact: 782-8428