Author’s note: since the publication of this article, two new Black Chicago theater leaders have been brought to my attention—Arlicia McLain, the artistic director at Halcyon Theatre, and Myesha-Tiara McGarner with the newly-formed Perceptions Theatre Company.
As she takes the helm, one of her biggest challenges is grappling with COVID and the safety of returning to live performance. Selemon says, “We are never going to jump the gun on something like that. There are so many opportunities to keep that measure of artistic integrity while remaining safe.” She sees virtual performances as a silver lining to help bring in historically underrepresented artists. The other silver lining is the opportunity to hear from artists, and incorporate community suggestions such as the We See You W.A.T. (White American Theater) document. Selemon says equity “is something we need urgently in this moment. There is no other way forward.”
As Regina Victor steps into the artistic director position of Sideshow Theatre, they are one of the few trans people to lead a Chicago theater company—a bit of information which has proven challenging to fact-check. (Will Davis served as artistic director for American Theater Company before it folded in 2018.) Ironically, the difficulty tracking down this information speaks to the need for more diverse theatrical journalistic coverage—an area where Victor has already led the charge, launching the publication Rescripted (of which I am a contributor).
When asked about something that could radically change the Chicago theater community, Johnson answers “Communication. What I would love to see is the community banding together and finding ways to work with each other.” The mentors who provided creative guidance and inspiration during his career include Brenda Didier and Jermaine Hill. When he reflects on the next generation of leaders, he lists David Robbins and Jos N. Banks as people who are currently making their mark.
When asked about those who provided a helping hand along the way, LeBlanc mentions the Black performers who were at Second City when he started performing, including Claudia Wallace, Keegan-Michael Key, David Pompeii, and John Hildreth, who provided emotional support weathering microaggressions from white colleagues in the greater comedy community at crucial junctures in his career, and his mother. “I grew up in southeast Texas and my parents grew up in the Jim Crow South. One mantra that I often say in rehearsals that I learned from her is that she was someone who followed the rules, so that when you break the rules, it means something.” To that point, LeBlanc muses on the audition process and how actors often leave the room never knowing why they weren’t cast. “Do we have to do it that way?”
Rolle lists Richard Smith and Robert McKee of Inaside Chicago Dance as mentors (“They were able to see things in me that I was not able to see in myself”) as well as Jackie Taylor, founder of Black Ensemble Theater, and Vershawn Sanders-Ward, founder of Red Clay Dance. “They as leaders have made an impact on who I am and where I am in this moment.” Two up-and-coming leaders Rolle respects are writer-director-activists Kristiana Rae Colón and Sydney Chatman.
