February 6, 2006VOL. 44, NO. 3Oakland, CA

Homeless thespians create powerful theatre

By Sharon Abercrombie
Staff writer

Wayne Pernell will always remember the morning he ran out of razor blades. He was living underneath the 580 freeway near Grand Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard in Oakland.

“Somebody sent me around the corner to the St. Vincent de Paul Society to get some more,” he recalled. Since then, Pernell, a former longshoreman, has become a regular visitor to the Champion Center, a men’s drop-in facility next to the St. Vincent de Paul Dining Room.
The Champion Center provides both daily necessities and long-term services to help men get back on their feet.

During the past two years, Pernell, 60 has partaken not only of shaving supplies, but also coffee, daily meals, laundry facilities, counseling, 12-step meetings, and, in recent days, Shakespeare. Shakespeare? Yea, verily.

Since last July, Pernell has been a member of the Seldom Seen Acting Co, a new Champion Center project. He is one of nine men who have immersed themselves in the timeless words of the Bard as well as other major literary figures. During the summer and fall, the men met for rehearsals at the Champion Center, around Lake Merritt, under the freeway, or in homeless shelters where some of them are living.

Through the process, they have found their own voices, told their own stories, and tapped into the dignity which lies within the soul of every human being no matter what their material circumstances might be, said Donna Foley, Seldom Seen’s founder and director.

“Even if they had never gotten on stage, the project itself has been a tremendous success,” added Steve Krank, Champion Center director.
But happily, these new thespians have had an actual stint before the footlights. On Dec. 10, company members experienced what Shakespeare meant when he said, “The play’s the thing.”

Gussied up in grease paint and costumes, the Seldom Seen Acting Company ensemble appeared in an original collaborative effort, “Sleeping: It’s A Wake-up Call” at the Oakland Museum’s James Moore Theater. The play was a fund-raiser for the Center, with more than 150 people in attendance.

It had been years since most of the new actors had set foot inside a theater.

But there they were – nine men resurrecting themselves from the pits of addiction, joblessness, homelessness, and jail time, basking in the thrill of a standing ovation from the audience.

“Sleeping” included both original monologues, some inspired by Shakespeare, as well as actual passages from the Bard, Gordon Parks, and “The Course in Miracles” writer and speaker Marianne Williamson.

One actor drew his inspiration from a small book of devotional poetry which is a literary mainstay at the Center. Four of the actors mimed a riveting Gordon Parks scenario, read by Pernell, entitled “I Ain’t Got No Out Date.” The scene depicts a man reading from the Bible as he sits tied down in the gas chamber, awaiting execution.

In another appearance, Pernell found personal meaning via Marianne Williamson’s words, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world.”

Fulani Carter, another actor, wrote a personal monologue—an outpouring of grief over the expanding ecological health crisis caused by corporate America. “It’s the end of the world and I’m getting offed. Got one lung and a hell of a cough. Forests gone. In the air is the stink of a world turning into an ash tray…will the greedy ones ever learn? You mess with Mother Nature and you will get burned.”

The play’s final scene is interactive. Audience members speak with the actors about their lives. According to Krank, dialoging is a powerful tool to help people realize that beyond the addictions, jail time, and joblessness, these men “are just homeless.”

The Seldom Seen company began coming together last summer when Donna Foley, a teacher for Midnight Shakespeare, an after-school program in San Francisco for at-risk youth, brought her theatrical expertise to the Center as a volunteer.

Midnight Shakespeare gives teens an opportunity to learn communication skills, discipline and teamwork through acting and play production. They sign a 10-week contract of commitment to the project.

Foley had learned of the St. Vincent de Paul Society’s work when she attended a social justice meeting sponsored by the Oakland Diocese last spring. “During the break, I started talking with Steve Krank. It sounded like a great place to volunteer.”

As a recent graduate of JustFaith, a nine-month intensive study series about social justice held at her parish – St. Joseph in Fremont -- Foley was primed for community service. The Champion Center seemed to be a good venue for combining JustFaith with her theater work.

Krank and his staff provided the bread and butter survival necessities. Through an adult version of Midnight Shakespeare, she could bring culture and self-expression – food for the soul and spirit – to the men.

Although she had never worked with homeless men before, Foley decided to run her new program the same way she did with her kids.
She would draw up a contract regarding meetings and rehearsals for them, then play it by ear.

Sometimes the road got bumpy. Guys would drop out for various reasons. Some would come back. Some wouldn’t.

“I needed to be so open, so flexible. I spent the first several weeks just listening. I wasn’t attached to any particular vision. I just wanted to honor what would happen,” she said.

But despite the uncertainties, a core group began developing. Gradually, the script that was to become “Sleeping: It’s A Wake-up Call,’ emerged. As the weeks went by, Foley began seeing changes in her cast. One of the men, “a very sweet, quiet, guy, grew so incredibly,” she said. “Vocally, he became so powerful. His voice became loud, clear, full of energy.”

Wayne Pernell has also discovered his personal power. He chose Marianne Williamson’s “Our Deepest Fear” as a reminder that he can be anything he wants to be instead of hanging back in mediocrity and anonymity. Eventually, Pernell, a recovering addict and a self-described “lost lamb,” intends to return to his profession as a longshoreman.
Then he will think about living in a real home once more.

He is currently sleeping in his car “by choice. God wants me where I am, to remind me that I am not going back to my former life,” he said.

Another actor, 46-year-old Dennis Forrester has been homeless since May when he got hurt at work. Following a dispute with his former employer who accused him of faking on-the-job injuries, his workers compensation was withdrawn and he ended up being evicted.
Forrester credits the Seldom Seen Acting Company “with giving me self-worth. This play has taught me to better myself, that all things are possible.”

Down on his luck and with his self- confidence eroded, Forrester came to the Champion Center in September. A St. Vincent De Paul staffer offered him the opportunity to become a volunteer, distributing toothpaste, razor blades, sleeping bags and clothing to clients.

He has since gone to work as a volunteer manager of The Lighthouse, a homeless shelter in downtown Oakland. For Forrester, his situation can only get better and is already doing so. “My kids are back in my life. All my family’s just starting to come together to help me out.”

In “Sleeping”. Forrester acknowledges, “When I first came to the center, my mind was like a fist. Now it is opening up like a hand, pointing to different directions and different avenues for me to take, in order for me to get my life back on track.”

Joe Rodriguez, a fellow actor, knows whereof Forrester speaks. “At the center we don’t have to look. We can see the blind regain their sight. And the sick take up their mats and walk again. We see it every day.”

“Sleeping: It’s A Wake-up Call” is a theatrical vehicle designed to go on the road with a minimum of props and stage equipment. It is suitable for audiences junior high to adults, said Foley. For further information, contact Steve Krank at (510) 444-0263.

Wayne Pernell reads his lines from the script for the “Sleeping” production.

Mike Mitchell gets used to his costume during a dress rehearsal.

Jose Rodriguez acts his part in practice for the stage production.

Donna Foley goes through the “Sleeping” manuscript with Dennis Forester as the actors await direction in the background.

CHRIS DUFFEY PHOTOS

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