the past is the past/sarah & sally
by Richard wesley by vickie hampton
directed by david shakes
Fri, february 23 7:30 pm week one
matinee-sat,february 24 2:00 PM week one
The Past is the Past by Richard Wesley
The scene is a pool hall, where Earl Davis (David Shakes), a man in his mid-forties, plays a solitary game. He is joined by Eddie Green (Anderson Allen), a young college student, who watches the older man in silence, and then challenges him to a game. Their conversation, casual at first, soon makes it clear that these two men, who have never met before, do, in fact recognize each other; are, in truth, father and son. In the end this truth is conceded—but so is the fact that the years of neglect that separate them are too great a gulf to be bridged, and the past must, indeed, remain the past.
Sarah and Sally by Vickie Hampton
Set in Paris in the early 19th century, Sarah "Hottentot Venus" Baartman (Kat Rina Davis) is visited in her dressing room while on tour by a young Sally Hemings (Arianna D’Arienzo) who is traveling with her enslaver, Thomas Jefferson. The two women spend time together exploring issues of freedom, exploitation, spirituality and dare to dream of possibilities for their future lives. After a quick turn of events in both of their lives the future they once imagined becomes tragically uncertain.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
David A. Shakes, born in Philadelphia, PA, was raised in Brooklyn, NY, where his interest in dramatic arts was nurtured as a young student in the schools of New York City. David continued his work as a young adult during the Black Arts Movement of the late 60’s and early 70’s and became one of the founding members of the Spirit House Movers and Players, a prominent theatre company that presented dramatic and poetic works around the country, under the direction of Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones). As a member of Spirit House Movers and Players, the group produced two performance albums, Nation Time and A Black Mass. During that time, he worked and studied with many dramatists and authors including Haki Mhadabuti, Woodie King, Jr. and Yusef Iman; he also studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. In addition, he shared the stage with theatrical icons including Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Samuel L. Jackson, Debbie Morgan, Lou Myers, Theresa Merritt, and Josh Brolin.
Mr. Shakes is a long-time resident of Rochester and has worked with numerous theater groups in the Rochester community as an actor, director, guest artist, and producer in performances and productions that have received critical as well as public acclaim. At GeVa Theatre Center, his roles included actor, director, teaching artist, and he acted in, as well as consulted in the mounting of August Wilson’s Century. In 2022, GeVa Theatre Center presented David with the Essie Calhoun Diversity in the Arts Award. He also was a contributing artist at the JCC Centerstage, Shipping Dock, Blackfriars, RAPA, Downstairs Cabaret Theatre, Eastman Theater with Kathleen Battle and the Rochester Community Players. In addition, Mr. Shakes founded the Village Theatre, showcasing many budding, local actors and was director of Public Arts Services, bringing performing arts to hospitals, nursing homes, and correctional facilities. Currently, he is artistic director of the North Star Players, an artist-in-residence at The MuCCC and collabortive producer at Avenue Blackbox Theatre.
Mr. Shakes is an actor in local films. His film credits include Brick by Brick, an award winning short film, directed by Tina Chapman DaCosta, Look Where He Brought Me From, The Alphabet Killer, Cherry Crush, and Cotton Comes to Harlem. In addition, he has worked on advertising campaigns and is a historical interpreter of such persons as Langston Hughes, William Wells Brown, Dr. Martin Luther King.