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    Theatre Preview: Nanette Marie’s Mamas’ Drama Returns to the Columbus Performing Arts Center

    Local playwright and novelist Nanette Marie’s Mamas’ Drama has racked up an astonishing amount of buzz since premiering locally in 2011 through Nia Performing Arts. In the intervening years, Marie’s work has seen readings and performances at some of the most prestigious festivals in the country including the world-renowned National Black Theatre Festival based in Winston-Salem, NC, as well as an excerpted performance at this year’s Columbus Arts Festival. These national festivals are built around blind-reads and juried selection making it all the greater a stamp of quality for a Columbus playwright to be read and produced in these hallowed situations.

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    Nanette Marie, Author and Playwright. Photo by DSg Photography.
    Nanette Marie, Author and Playwright. Photo by DSg Photography.

    Mamas’ Drama is a semi-autobiographical piece that follows four generations of a family from 1929 through 2004. What ties these stories together is uncertainty about the identity of their fathers, the power whispers have in a community and in a family and how patterns repeat themselves whether consciously or unconsciously. Epic in scope but leavened with humor, Mamas’ Drama aims for catharsis and healing while never losing sight of theatre as entertainment. As the author told me, “After each performance, someone invariably comes up and asks how I knew their story.”

    The cast for Mamas’ Dramas is led by Shelby Holden, perhaps best known in Columbus theatre circles for her work with Ujima Theatre particularly their great production of Gem of the Ocean by August Wilson, who stars as Josephine. Other cast members include performers known around Columbus and beyond like Cynthia Wingo, Syretta Bates, Keith Carter, and Lawrence Tawneven Lemon as well as newer names like Carolyn Thompson and Kenneth Lamar, the latter making his return to the stage after a 19 year hiatus.

    Director Mark Pinkston, who also plays George, has been a collaborator of Marie’s since the first production of Mamas’ Dramas. He will also be directing her new work, Suzette’s Saga, at the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival in August this year, again under the auspices of Real Good Productions, LLC. Columbus theatre fans may have also seen Pinkston’s work earlier this year directing and playing Malcolm X in Jeff Stetson’s The Meeting, as well as earlier work with Center Stage and Ujima, among others. Assistant Director Yolanda Board, who also plays Shirley, has directed works as varied as The Laramie ProjectWaiting for Godot, and Bianca Sams’ fascinating Rust on Bone.

    Mamas’ Drama first saw life as a play but as she embarked on its first readings in 2010 it was apparent to her collaborators and trusted colleagues there was more material than could be contained by a play. Mamas’ Dramas is reaching and enriching new audiences through both print and audio book versions. published in 2013. Marie said she wanted to steer clear of the typical single-voiced audio book so the audio version of Mamas’ Dramas includes 30 voices – including many of the actors in this production – in addition to Marie’s own voice as narrator, as well as sound effects and original music.

    After these performances of Mamas’ Drama, Nanette Marie’s focus shifts to Suzette’s Saga, her new play which will be given a full production in the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival in October 2015 with a Columbus production to follow in Spring of 2016. Suzette’s Saga picks up on threads in Mamas’ Drama and fleshes out the story of the younger generations who appear fleetingly in the first play. 

    Mamas’ Dramas has performances at 7pm on Friday, July 31 and Saturday, August 1, as well as 3pm on Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August at 2pm at the Columbus Performing Arts Center (549 Franklin Ave.). For tickets and more information please visit http://mamasdramaplaybook.com/mamasdramaplaybookcom/

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    Richard Sanford
    Richard Sanfordhttp://sanfordspeaks.blogspot.com/
    Richard Sanford is a freelance contributor to Columbus Underground covering the city's vibrant theatre scene. You can find him seeking inspiration at a variety of bars, concert halls, performance spaces, museums and galleries.
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