Interview with Director Chuck Smith
Let's Play had the honor to interview one of the world's greatest directors, Chuck Smith. Smith came together to bring us this remarkable story about two sisters who were trailblazers, activists, and best friends in "Having Our Say, The Delany Sisters First 100 years."
The daughters of an enslaved person, the Delany sisters, reminisce about life before passing Jim Crow laws that established segregation by race. As young women, they moved from Raleigh, N.C to Harlem during its heyday in the '20s and '30s. Having Our Say presents a historically accurate, nonfiction account of the trials and tribulations the Delany sisters faced during their century of life.
They have a story to tell, and thanks to Goodman Theatre and Chuck Smith, we get an enormous opportunity to relive history from the eyes of these sisters.
Let's Play had the honor to interview Chuck Smith. We discussed his thoughts and his upcoming play, Having Our Say.
LP: Without question, you, Mr. Smith, have done a lot within the theater world, but give us one of the things on the bucket list that you would like to accomplish?
Chuck: Please, call me Chuck. One of the things I would like to accomplish is to get Chicago plays on the road. We have some great plays in Chicago, but they go up, die, disappear, and never be seen again, so why not take these plays to other cities. Please bring them to schools and universities, take them somewhere. I want to get a touring circuit where these great Chicago plays can be seen worldwide.
LP: To follow up on that question, why do you feel that happens (the death of theatrical plays within a city), and why are we so disconnected to where a play can premiere in one city and doesn't go to different cities or places?
Chuck: Why it's not happening is because no organization exists to make it happen. Chicago needs a touring organization that will take plays from Chicago to other places. Even if it's just touring the Midwest, bringing it to Detroit, Columbus, Ohio, wherever they need to go somewhere and not just die out and disappear. Chicago provides too many great plays for them not to be seen at other venues.
LP: Chuck, tell us about your current play, Having Our Say.
Chuck: This is a play that first premiered in the 90s, and it's about the story of the Delany sisters who live to be over a hundred years old. These ladies were so well-educated and lucid; they could tell the story about their family background from the War of 1812 and had documentation verifying this fantastic story, which encompasses the whole history of the twentieth century.
I wanted to do this play this year because it's an election year, and we got to get people out to vote, and the Delany sister talks about the importance of voting in the play. It's so prevalent with what we are going through today in our politics. They expressed almost the same thing 25 years ago, so it's time for Having Our Say right now!
LP: You also have some great actors in the play.
Chuck: Yes, we do! Ella Joyce, who I worked with here at The Goodman Theatre in 2006, where we did "Crumbs From The Table Of Joy," and Marie Thomas and I worked together in New York on a play called "Knock Me A Kiss." They are two exceptional women that I have had the pleasure to work with, and they bring to life these sisters.
LP: What has kept this story of the Delany sisters so prevalent?
Chuck: Well, the sisters passed away some two decades ago; however, their story is alive today because of the New York Times article about the sisters who lived through the Jim Crow laws. This article leads to a book that ultimately leads to a play, and here we are now bringing it to The Goodman Theatre.
New York Times article on The Delany Sisters: https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/22/nyregion/two-maiden-ladies-with-century-old-stories-to-tell.html.
LP: Chuck, as the director of "Having Our Say," did you incorporate anything different from the previous adaptation of this play?
Chuck: Yes, the structures are different from the original Broadway performance. They had three acts, and I split this production into two acts. I also switched around some of the slides in the play. There are many visual effects that I played around with within this version. I'm not saying that it's (the original play) dated. Still, I wanted to change it to meet today's audience because today's audience has changed, and I wanted this play to be as engaging to today's audience as the original production kept its audience engaged.
LP: Tell our readers why they should come to the Goodman and see this version of Having Our Say?
Chuck: Well, for me, I'm a history buff, and history is not being taught in schools the way it should be to our children. This play, Having Our Say, is one of the most valuable history lessons you will ever receive in the theater. Schools, especially in the Midwest, should bring their students to Goodman to see this historical performance. This play tells it like it is and provides an exceptional story about our history that is not in books.
Chuck Smith himself is an exceptional person of history. As a member of Goodman Theatre's Board of Trustees, Chuck is Goodman Theatre's Resident Director. At Columbia College, Mr. Smith facilitated the Theodore Ward Prize playwriting contest for 20 years and was editor of the contest anthologies Seven Black Plays and Best Black Plays. He won a Chicago Emmy Award as associate producer/theatrical director for the NBC teleplay Crime of Innocence. In addition, he was the theatrical director for the Emmy-winning Fast Break to Glory and the Emmy-nominated Martin Luther King Suite. Chuck Smith was also a founding member of the Chicago Theatre Company. His directing credits include productions at Fisk University, Roosevelt University, Eclipse Theatre, ETA, Black Ensemble Theater, Northlight Theatre, MPAACT, Congo Square.
See Chuck Smith Bio:
https://www.goodmantheatre.org/Artists-Archive/collective/Chuck-Smith/
