Inspired by the radical NYC troupe called Mabou Mines and by director Robert Alford, LSUS professor and producer of Black Box Theatre plays, Cherie Gray has flung herself and a dozen ambitious performers into a maelstrom of poetry, song and drama called Lumpy Grits.
The third Grits production, “Man V. ?” will materialize on the stage at East Bank Theater, Bossier City, on Friday, April 4 and Saturday, April 5.
Gray, a 2012 graduate of LSU in history and communications and a Caddo Magnet HS 2006 graduate, has written a spacey series of sketches around the talents of her cohorts.
“People are supposed to be in love on Mars,” says actress Jori Jackson to an imprisoned alien, Adam McCullough; he sees nothing wrong with ripping hearts apart.
Jackson, soon to graduate from NSU, is an actress, choreographer, and Grits production partner. Both she and Gray were weaned on Theater of the Performing Arts, have worked for director Vincent Williams, have done plays with Academy of Children’s Theater’s Lauren Ross and Cynthia Whitaker and college drama. Jackson gives credit for her development to additional community theater groups: Stage Center, SLT, Mahogany Ensemble theatre, and Shreveport Opera.
Jackson says of Gray, “She gives the performers a chance to experiment with their characters – most of which she created – and make choices. At the same she gives her insight on choices that she feels would engage the audience. She is also very hands-on with technical assets, making pieces for wardrobe and designing transitions. Even with visual and culinary artists, she lets them know what is working and what’s not.”
In the “Man V. ?” she has created eight characters from diverse planets and nations. They deal with the social issues that we experience on Earth. I think everyone in the audience will find a piece of themselves in at least one of the characters. Writing grants, passing out flyers, and giving Lumpy Grits an image that the troupe can be proud of, Gray is always working. She says, “When one of us is sleeping, someone else is working.”
There’s more: cuisine as an art form is one of Lumpy Grits’ offerings. Those who attend the 8 pm pre-show will taste food and drink from chef Chase Carroll. Musical backing is by Trey Bryant, Brandon Fountain, and Warren McShan.
Visual artists on display include Jules SJ Smith, Kedrick Williams, and Jordan Evans. Additional actors include Ephraim Fields, Melvin Nelson, and Salena Davenport Randle.Says Smith of Gray, “Cherie has without a doubt taken an idea from nothing and turned it into an astonishing collective art group who has become like family towards one another.
While Lumpy Grits began its odyssey in West Shreveport, Gray sees the troupe as a center for diversity. Moving its performing spaces from minicine?, to Aseana Park to East Bank Theater, the group is presenting itself to a wide swath of the metro area.
Gray says, simply: “We want to reach both sides of the tracks.”
