By Farris Willingham, Editor-in-Chief
Jenna Conner, acting sophomore, performs as Ernestine in “Crumbs from the Table of Joy” on Wednesday in the Black Box Theater in Wanda L. Bass Music Center. Photo by: Marianne Pickens
Racism and other topics will be addressed through humor in the Black Box play “Crumbs from the Table of Joy.”
Comedy is the best way to approach these issues, said Sarah d’Angelo, assistant professor of acting and the play’s director.
“This is a very funny story,” she said. “While it may deal with uncomfortable topics, I think they’re important to discuss.”
TheatreOCU students will present the show at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $5 and only available at the door.
The play is about the coming of age for 17-year-old “Ernestein Crump,” who moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., with her father and sister, d’Angelo said.
“Lillian Green, who is Ernestein’s aunt, shows up to the Brooklyn apartment unexpectedly to assist Godfrey in raising the two daughters,” she said. “Godfrey also meets Girt, a white German refugee, whom he marries in an attempt to bring in a more positive influence to his girls.”
Conflict arises from this relationship because the girls don’t respond well to his father dating “Girt,” d’Angelo said.
“We see Ernestein take a stand against her father for her life path,” she said. “In the end, she turns down an opportunity offered by her father and goes on to get a college education.”
The show’s action is ordinary, d’Angelo said.
“The mother dies prior to the beginning, the family moves to New York, and Ernestein graduates from high school,” she said. “What makes this play compelling and dramatic are the issues that come up as a result of these ordinary things.”
This is a pivotal time in history, d’Angelo said.
“It’s important that there is an acknowledgement of this history because it really wasn’t that long ago,” she said. “There’s value in studying history in terms of what we don’t want to repeat.”
OCU is a diverse campus, capable of exhibiting its commitment to diversity, d’Angelo said.
“This play is a wonderful demonstration of that diversity,” she said. “It’s also a viable source of opportunity in the professional realm.”
Jenna Conner, acting sophomore, said people should come to experience the reality of racism before the civil rights movement.
“Things that occur in the play aren’t things that we think about daily,” she said. “It’s also so much more real and compelling when these topics are acted out.”
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