OLRC Guest Artists let the Story Stand on its Own

Besides bringing a new brand of liveliness to the Logan theater scene, Patrick Sims has also packed in a provocative new work, “10 Perfect.” The play will be performed at the Caine Lyric Theatre July 9 and 16 at 7:30 p.m. Sims is an Old Lyric Repertory Company visiting director and assistant professor of theater from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The Old Lyric Repertory Company, a performance program based in Utah State University’s department of theatre, presents 10 Perfect.

10 Perfect is a one-person show featuring Sims and directed by Sheri Williams Pannell. Tickets are available by calling (435) 752-1500. Prices are $5 for general admission. Students are free with valid ID.

 

10 Perfect contains strong language and content. Viewer discretion is advised. For general inquiries, call (435) 797-1500 or visit the OLRC Web site. (www.usu.edu/lyric) 10 Perfect is co-sponsored by Utah State Theatre.

 

The work is inspired by the life of James Cameron, the only known survivor of a lynching in United States history. It is the tumultuous journey of Jimmy Soloman and Tommy, who negotiate a friendship within a society demanding their innocence. Born and raised in the heart of Northern Klu Klux Klan territory, Soloman revisits his earliest memories of his childhood with his white friend, Tommy, and how their troubled friendship came to an abrupt end on a fateful night in August 1938. According to Sims, the play presents three themes within the delicate backdrop of race relations.

 

“Two sides were wronged in a tragedy, but the reconciliation that still occurred through racial divides is compelling,” Simms said. “Another theme the piece addresses is the need to discuss race relations, even through the uneasiness of the subject creates tension. Basically, everyone is thinking the same thing, so let’s talk about it. You tell me where you’re coming from, and let me give you my perspective. I think 10 Perfect explores the societal pressure that divides. Kids don’t care if you’re white or black. Why does a young white man grow to learn to hate a black man? What is involved in that process? Lastly, the play is a story of forgiveness. The ability of Dr. Cameron to forgive is inspiring.”

 

Sims’ motivation to create 10 Perfect resulted from meeting Cameron at The Black Holocaust Museum in Wisconsin during his volunteer work there in 1998.

 

“His humbleness appealed to me,” Sims said. “I knew immediately that I wanted to develop a work that speaks out, that says ‘let’s have a conversation.’ I instantly wanted to tell this story, a story, to my bewilderment, I had never heard before. He was drawn to me, a young 21-year old theater student, who wanted to tell a story.”

 

Although the characters and the specifics are fictional, the play is centered around Cameron, with surprising correlations to Sims’ experiences. The occurrence was accidental, said Sims, who didn’t recognize just how much of his own background was involved in the work until after it was finished.

 

“The heartaches and frustrations — I thought I was telling Dr. Cameron’s story; it’s his story, but it’s equally as much mine,” said Sims.

 

Drawing from other renowned African American playwrights, including August Wilson and Suzan Lori Parks, Sims interprets theater as an inevitable combination of storytelling, information dissemination and political commentary.

 

The production’s director, Pannell, is a graduate student from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her professional life as a theatrical artist spanned 13 years before entering graduate school, where she is an adjunct instructor in the theatre arts department.

 

Like Sims, Pannell believes that theater serves a compelling role on a broader scale.

 

“The creative community has a responsibility to not just entertain but ‘edutain’ because we have a poise that is eloquent and the talent to present it in such a way that the community should be able to receive the truth. Even if you can’t read, you can watch it. You can feel it, you can experience, you can react.”

 

Sims and Pannell met while working at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, and partnered on producing Sims’ new play.

 

“It’s still a work in progress, and it’s only going to grow,” Pannell said. “I told Patrick that it’s wonderful as a one-man show, but it deserves to be an opera. It has so many dramatic moments. That’s my dream.”

 

Pannell said she is proud to be involved in building the foundation for the piece.

 

“I hope this community receives it as a gift, because it’s an aspect of American history that has been overlooked and has been buried,” she said. “It’s a treasure because it reminds us of a place we don’t want to go again. If we don’t discuss it in presentations such as this, I’ll say honor those men and women who lost their lives. If we don’t we’re going to continue to live in denial. And denial will result in repeating this history.”

 

10 Perfect debuted as a reading at the Madison Repertory Theatre Nov. 11, 2006, exactly five months to the day following Cameron’s passing. Prior to adding the work as an OLRC production, Sims and Pannell featured “10 Perfect” at the National Conference of Race and Ethnicity in San Francisco to capacity houses and positive reviews. From the presentation in California, Sims received numerous requests and bookings for future performances.

 

For Sims, the opportunity to present 10 Perfect with the OLRC, in conjunction with Utah State Theatre, is another moment to take advantage of dialogue about race and ethnicity, a topic constantly under scrutiny, yet commonly avoided.

 

“I am interested to discover how a community that is rooted in faith responds to something based in harsh reality,” Sims said. “Even more so, my curiosity of how willing the community is to engage in this discussion. It’s a simple piece of theater, and I want it to stand on its own. The imagination does all the work.”