Winthrop Theatre brings horror, faith and black culture to the stage
By Samiyah Heyward
Staff Writer
Arts, Culture & Technology
At the Johnson Theatre, Winthrop’s Department of Theatre is set to perform Covenant, a southern gothic thriller and black horror play written by York Walker. Taking place in a small town in Georgia during the Jim Crow era, this show explores themes such as hidden trauma, rumors, faith, systemic racism and the thin veil between the divine and demonic.
Samiyah Jeffery, senior theatre performance major and director of the play, explained her process in choosing the play.
“Originally, I had a completely different play chosen. It was more family oriented and comedic while still commenting on serious topics concerning the black community, but I couldn’t get the rights to that show,” Jeffery said. “Because of this, I decided to jump off the deep end and do horror as I realized it’s so rare to see live horror plays, making black horror plays even more rare to see. This is how I found Covenant.”
Jeffery went on to explain the meaning behind the play, emphasizing the role of religion and how the line between faith and desire can be ignored
“It shows the differing perspectives on religion in the black household depending on the generations that live within it. The elder versus the young perspective clashes throughout the play as pieces of the past unfolds before us all […] It is a common experience for black youth to experience a heavy inclusion of religion from elders and this is meant to bring about the question of how religion has been utilized [and] weaponized in the black household.” Jeffery said.
She added, “I view religion, Christianity especially, as something that has carried us through enslavement, acting as a beacon of hope. In the later generations however, it began to become a form of restriction for the youth […] Change is inevitable so we must learn how to carry our values and traditions on in a manner that allows room for the evolution of our community,” Jeffery said.
Covenant is rooted in a variety of meanings that are anchored to black culture and history, but the rehearsals are where the story gets built.
“ [Rehearsals] naturally add on stress and require more time and dedication to get everything ready and done for the show,” Jeffery said.
She further explained the process behind the production and the amount of time and effort is required to piece the plot together during tech week.
During the beginning of rehearsals, cast members walk through an imaginary grid for a physical and vocal warm up in order to help them embody their characters. From there they proceed to do two tap ins, one for bonding and another to check in with boundaries, to ensure that rehearsals run according to plan.
“This is also where they can state that they do not want to do anything intimacy related during the run. Afterwards, they do a complete run of the show and I, as the director, may stop them to fix various things”.
Jeffery went on to speak about how individuals in the crowd may relate to the characters, along with the message she wants to convey amongst the audience.
“I don’t want to give too much away for the sake of the audience seeing the show for themselves, but the connections between each character has an entire history of its own both implied and stated throughout the play. When getting a glimpse into their past, their actions have so much more meaning to it as it completely controls their everyday life mannerisms,” Jeffery said.
“I want the audience to reflect on how one’s own desire or faith overpowers their life and those around them.”
Covenant is set to open its doors on Nov. 4 and close on Nov. 8. Tickets are five dollars for Winthrop students and senior citizens and ten dollars for general admission.
