Introduction
Dominique Morisseau’s “Blood at the Root”, which was first performed in 2014 at Pennsylvania State University, is a strange play with a title which comes from Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit”. This song – which much like Morisseau’s play, centers around African American lynchings in the South is a play which can be met with mixed reactions. “Blood at the Root” is not Morisseau’s only work; “Detroit ’67”, among many of her plays, share similar themes of inequality, power, and intersectionality. As well as this, Morisseau is not just a playwright, she is also a prominent writer on the 2011 drama “Shameless” – another work that focuses on marginalized individuals and their struggles.
On November 10th, I attended ODU Rep Theatre’s reproduction of “Blood at the Root”, directed by Brittney Harris, an alumni and professor herself at Goode Theatre. Harris, much like Morisseau, has a history of tackling social inequality in her works, such as “Tag: You’re It!” which she wrote and directed last year. So far this year, I have attended three different performances by this company, including “Blood at the Root”, “What the Constitution Means to Me”, and “Women of Troy”, directed by Katherine Hammond and Deborah Wallace respectively. Of these three, Morisseau’s production is the most fascinating, as it deals with a very present and very real issue within our society. Going into this performance, my expectations going into the performance were mixed. Each of the performances I witnessed were good, though with each one, as each were done by different directors, improvements were made in the weakest areas, especially sound design. Overall, I would say Harris’ execution was certainly successful, and exceeded my expectations.
“Blood at the Root” is a reframing of the injustice which the Jena Six experienced; the Jena Six were 6 six black students that were arrested for assaulting a white student after a series of growing conflicts between the white and black students in Jena, Louisiana including the hanging of nooses from a tree in the center of the courtyard. One of the black students; named De’Andre in Morisseau’s production, was initially charged as an adult, deepening the outrage in tens of thousands of people. The other important characters include Raylynn, the production’s main character and De’Andre’s sister, Justin and Toria who work for the school newspaper, and Colin a white transfer student who is the victim of the assault.
When it comes to “Blood at the Root”, Harris exceeded in terms of conveying her message, and connecting it to her audience, making the audience boil with rage themselves in the wake of the blatant racism which De’Andre, and the other black students experience, or Justin’s frustration when Toria accuses him of not caring. It is difficult to deny that “Blood at the Root” is not an emotional piece, with its deeply accurate representation of social issues that affect people on every level, but especially in our personal interactions. Harris’ casting and subsequent rehearsal process with the actors shows an emphasis on authenticity, in my opinion, which results in the ability for the audience to connect with not only the characters, but the story as a whole. This is seen and heard best in the dialogue between characters, as well as the design of the costumes for each character.
The Review
One of the most impactful scenes in the production is an argument between Justin and Toria, with the two being in an empty classroom where Justin was working on finishing the paper before Toria barges in, asking if he received her article. This quickly devolves into Toria screaming at Justin, when she finds out that he willingly excluded her article, filling the spot (reserved for seniors) with pieces by underclassmen. Despite his mask of indifference, Toria manages to get under Justin’s skin by accusing him of being ashamed (of being black) and being too removed from what is going on around them. As this scene progresses, Justin, who begins the scene ignoring Toria and flippantly answering her questions while avoiding eye contact and moving around the room as if she isn’t there- slowly gets into her face as his tone shifts from sarcastic and uncaring to annoyed and frustrated. This scene, which involves Justin pushing Toria back at one point, was directed and executed flawlessly. Angelina Paquin and Koby Lomax who play Toria and Justin respectively, orchestrate the scene in a way which left the audience stunned. These actors, who showed no apprehension or worry about the execution of the scene, fit into the roles necessary for it to feel real, ignoring any thoughts that may lead to them breaking character. Especially Lomax, who in this scene is responsible for executing a major character revelation to the audience, accepted his role in stride. As he explains to Toria how he should not be expected to care for people who couldn’t care less about himself, I felt within myself and saw within the audience a wave of sympathy and recognition for the character. This is an example of not only white privilege on Toria’s part, and the black experience for Justin, but intersectionality on a more personal level. These different experiences, identities, which attempt to stand up for and raise awareness for others are crucial in our society. Harris’ guidance and Lomax ability as an actor together are able to convey Justin’s disconnect from not only his peers, but other people of his race in general. It is not only through his dialogue in which the audience is told this; it is his reluctance to stand up or speak out against the injustice happening around him, it is his reaction to Toria’s accusations, which illustrate this.
One of the most telling details about a character, other than what is explicitly given to us through their dialogue, is able to be seen in the design of their costumes. In this adaptation of “Blood at the Root”, Harris has the characters in relatively uniform outfits, with each of the cast wearing either polo shirts or button downs, with a few exceptions. One of these exceptions is Colin, the football player and transfer student, who is seen wearing his varsity jacket over top of his shirt. In a way, this characterizes Colin as being more of a jock, similar to De’Andre, although he is less known. De’Andre is also a part of the football team, but almost everyone is familiar with him, seeing as when Raylynn is running for class president, she is mostly known as Dre’s sister and even introduces herself that way to Colin. Colin does not have the same luxury as Dre, he is not as well known, and thus he must wear the varsity jacket as a way of telling people who he is and bringing attention to himself. People do not know who Colin is, and thus he uses his status as a football player and makes it a key aspect of his personality. As a queer character in the South, this can also be read as Colin hiding his identity and attempting to fit into a heteronormative society, so that he is not discriminated against or outwardly attacked like the other minorities (black students) at the school.
As if the costumes were not telling enough, the lighting which is used throughout the play and in certain moments of tension are used to emphasize the isolation of characters like Colin, by either illuminating more or less of the stage as they saw fit. Throughout the performance, there was an emphasis on the tree as the centerpiece of the stage, which appeared to have words scrawled on the brick seats which characters periodically sat under, although only became visible under specific lighting conditions. Music and sounds were also an important piece of the play, something which the two other performances I watched struggled to execute well. However, with scenes such as the cafeteria fight or protest, in which both the lighting and sound were crucial for their execution in a meaningful manner. Without the proper practice, the protest scene especially- which relied on the sounds of police sirens and the echoing of the actors pieces as well as specific lighting to only illuminate certain features of the actors, making it difficult to tell who was who, would have fallen apart. Harris’ flawless execution of these elements allows for the audience to connect with the themes of this play in a way which allows them to see their importance and value acted out on stage, an interpretation of what occurs when racism is left unchecked and how community organization is key in preventing institutional injustices.
Summary and Conclusion
The way in which an audience is able to see characters interact with one another, underscored by exceptional lighting and music which Harris’ was capable of executing in “Blood at the Root” are crucial for their understanding of the play itself. If an audience member is unable to understand a character’s motivations in a way that is not just told to them outright, even though the element of telling is certainly important, it leaves them unable to connect with the characters. Unless the goal of the performance is to represent characters who are completely disconnected from the human experience, having a disconnect between the characters and the audience is a detriment to the production itself, often leaving the audience unable to determine what the play was about or its significance in the slightest.
Thus, this thorough dissection of character through their dialogue, dress, as well as the intersections of lighting and music with those elements is necessary to grasp the complex themes of “Blood at the Root” and how it can be seen through the characters themselves, as well as the story. Colin’s apparent struggle with his internalized homophobia in a heteronormative society, and Justin’s disconnect from other black students shape their actions throughout the play, with the audience able to see how these injustices impact Justin, pushing him further away from his peers, and Colin’s fear of being put into a similar situation as the black students, putting him more on guard and defensive about his own identity, resulting in his punching of De’Andre. These moments in the story are crucial for the audience as much as they are for the characters, as we are able to witness in real-time how these events affect every member of a community, both directly and indirectly, all in different ways.
Works Cited
Laws, Page. “SUBSCRIBER ONLY Harrowing, Spellbinding ‘Blood at the Root’: ODURep Play Draws on History and ‘Strange Fruit.’” Pilot, The Virginian-Pilot, 15 Nov. 2023, www.pilotonline.com/2023/11/15/harrowing-spellbinding-blood-at-the-root-odurep-play-draws-on-history-and-strange-fruit/.
“Meet the Cast of Blood at the Root! ‘School Pictures’ of 8 Cedar High Students[…].” Instagram, ODU Rep Theatre, 8 Nov. 2023, www.instagram.com/p/CzZsgJCu9j7/?img_index=8.
“More by Morisseau: A Dominique Morisseau Chronology of Works.” Marin Theatre Company, 2023, www.marintheatre.org/productions/skeleton-crew/more-by-morisseau-a-dominique-morisseau-chronology.
“Professor Shows Theater’s Power to Transform.” Old Dominion University, Nov. 2023, ww1.odu.edu/al/news/2023/11/professor_shows_thea.html.