Fall 2021 Edition
Alumni & Friends Magazine
Stage set
BIPOC student-led campus theater takes root鈥攁nd prepares for its first production
Anita Martin, BSJ, 鈥05 | September 23, 2021
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is not the Diversity Show.
The student leaders of 51社区鈥檚 new theater collective for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) artists have no interest in filling quotas or educating white audiences.
For Janai Lashon, MFA 鈥21, Vibrancy鈥檚 founding co-artistic director, 鈥渟afe space鈥 is not a concept she can speak to. As a Black woman, she says, 鈥淚鈥檝e never been in one.鈥
As an actor, activist and cultural competency consultant, she does know 鈥渉ow to be courageous and advocate for myself.鈥 She sees Vibrancy as a space for courageous advocacy, an incubator of authentic, fearless art.
With Lashon and her peers in mind, Charles Smith, retired distinguished professor of theater, pitched the idea of a BIPOC student-led campus theater in spring 2020鈥攁s schools, theaters and companies nationwide hastened to officially respond to police killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and so many others.
For the student leaders who took it from there, Vibrancy represents actual institutional progress鈥攂eyond hashtags and good intentions. Whether publicly addressing systemic racism or directing work by a playwright of color, Lashon maintains that true authenticity comes from lived experience. Either you have it, or you listen and defer.
As she puts it: 鈥淭here are stories only we can tell.鈥
Not to say Vibrancy is BIPOC-only. 鈥淎nyone can join,鈥 says Keshawn Mellon, BFA 鈥21, founding co-artistic director. However, the work remains BIPOC-centric and led by BIPOC students 鈥渒nowledgeable about situations and themes involving them.鈥
Vibrancy鈥檚 mission includes providing a 鈥渟ustainable space for student theater artists to support and amplify BIPOC voices, stories and artistry in the spirit of authenticity and excellence.鈥 And while the often-politicized concept of guaranteed 鈥渟afe spaces鈥 may not resonate with Vibrancy鈥檚 founders (microaggressions and even outright violence unfortunately can occur anywhere), they do hold space for difficult dialogues among diverse viewpoints and backgrounds, they condemn violence, and they promote a supportive, inclusive environment.
Their mission also involves challenging dominant narratives while implementing anti-racist procedures鈥攆rom 鈥渃ircular leadership鈥 that subverts top-down hierarchy, to Black Acting Methods and approaches to hair, makeup and lighting design that serve all artists.
Building on seed money donated by Smith, other faculty and staff pitched in, and the College of Fine Arts matched a startup donation from the Miranda Family Fund, started by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and his family.
鈥淲e are committed to fully producing a Vibrancy Theater show each year as part of our main stage season, to support Vibrancy鈥檚 mission of promoting BIPOC stories,鈥 says Merri Biechler, MFA 鈥07, director of the School of Theater.
Graduate student Roberto Di Donato is one of the founders of Vibrancy Theater and serves as co-executive producer. Photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC 鈥02
Vibrancy co-executive producer Roberto Di Donato, who is pursuing an MFA in directing, emphasizes that, with the autonomy and resources it affords, 鈥淰ibrancy fulfills a need that wasn鈥檛 being met before.鈥 He points to other recent institutional changes adopted after listening to Vibrancy鈥檚 student advocates: adding BIPOC students to the main stage season selection committee, restricting theater work hours, and providing counseling to BIPOC students and faculty.
Vibrancy鈥檚 networking and leadership opportunities also translate into professional growth. Mellon notes that, during a recent job interview, the prospective employer referenced him as 鈥溾榓 person who has leadership skills and can start something on their own and work independently.鈥 If I wasn鈥檛 co-artistic director of Vibrancy Theater, it鈥檚 not likely that they鈥檇 be able to get that off my resume.鈥
During their first year of remote collaboration, these student leaders established Vibrancy鈥檚 mission, constitution, bylaws and leadership, as well as the Vibrancy Theater Fund to hire BIPOC guest artists. They even hosted their first teaching artist, playwright travis I. tate.
鈥淚鈥檓 almost embarrassed at how proud I am of these students,鈥 says Smith, Vibrancy鈥檚 faculty advisor. 鈥淭hey blew any doubt about whether they were capable of doing this work out of the water.鈥
In the spring, Vibrancy announced its inaugural main stage show, the November 2021 premiere of Absentia, a new American play written by Olivia Matthews, MFA 鈥20, and directed by Vibrancy guest artist Tanisha Lynn Pyron.
Matthews developed Absentia for her thesis production, canceled in spring 2020 due to pandemic restrictions. She describes the work as a family drama about a young Black woman who escapes prolonged captivity and abuse to confront and redefine notions of home and family.
鈥Absentia speaks to what motivates me as a writer, somebody young who is figuring themself out in the context of family dynamics,鈥 Matthews says. 鈥淣ow here鈥檚 this group who is figuring themselves out in the context of a broader theater program. So, for them to have chosen this play, I think it speaks to all of that.鈥
Matthews appreciates that not only did Vibrancy leaders want to do a work 鈥渂y a Black woman or alum, but they鈥檙e also interested in new plays by writers of color and what they have to say in the moment now.鈥
Smith sees the selection as a sign: 鈥淲e are listening to each other鈥檚 voices. We鈥檙e forging an identity out of who we are as a creative BIPOC community [at 51社区], instead of trying to ride somebody else鈥檚 coattails.鈥
Notably, the play does not explicitly deal with issues of race. As Mellon says, 鈥淲e can tell stories of racism any day, without a play. Our goal at Vibrancy is to show the broader community that we are here, and we have stories to tell about being human.鈥
According to Lashon, Vibrancy Theater not only represents, but also fully belongs to OHIO鈥檚 BIPOC students鈥攑ast, present and future.
鈥淲e stand on the shoulders of Shon Middlebrook, the only Black person in the graduate class that came before me, who helped start the school鈥檚 Diversity and Inclusion Committee,鈥 she says. 鈥淭o him and so many others: Thank you. You鈥檝e done well. You鈥檝e done enough. May the universe bless you with all the returns that you deserve. May your craft surpass all your expectations.鈥
For Lashon, sustaining progress means 鈥渂uilding on positive momentum with the spirit of excellence.鈥 To the BIPOC students who come next, she says: 鈥淲e鈥檝e laid the groundwork. Go play! You don鈥檛 have to play a stereotype. You don鈥檛 have to play one type of Blackness. You be you, and you play hard, and you create with everything in you and just sustain the momentum. 鈥 Other things will break as that happens.鈥
Feature image: Keshawn Mellon, BFA 鈥21, left 51社区 with a diploma and a legacy鈥攑artnering with his peers to create Vibrancy Theater, dedicated to supporting and amplifying BIPOC voices, stories and artistry. Photo by Rich-Joseph Facun, BSVC 鈥01
