John Henry on The Importance of African American Theatre and “The Life of John Henry”

By Kash Goins
In 1988, while in the tenth grade my class read the book “Native Son” by Richard Wright.  It was customary for my English teacher Mickey Harris (R.I.P.) to call on different members of the class to read a page or two before passing it on to another person.  I would honor each opportunity to “present” in the reading of the story with all the color and energy it deserved.  It was at this time and during this process that my love for a dramatic flair that was suppressed in my background since my toddler years began it’s process to move to my forefront.  Ms. Harris proclaimed to me “When you get to Lincoln University, you make sure you get involved in Drama”.  I agreed.  During my freshman year I was so caught up in the prospect of my new found freedom and independence that drama didn’t even garner an after thought.  As a sophomore, I saw a flyer for an audition for “Purlie Victorious” and inquired about it only for it to be dismissed to me as being a music concert.  I took a semester of Acting as a junior and subsequently auditioned for “A Raisin in the Sun”, getting cast as George Murchinson.  My addiction had officially begun.

In my journey through Drama Ministry with my church, community theatre, regional theatre, and the eventual establishment of my own production company “GoKash Productions” I have had the exclusive experience of presenting stories that centered around both historic and current aspects of the African American experience.  From my introduction as George Murchison, who represented the opposite of the oppressed and helpless Walter Lee Younger in Raisin to the distressed father in my  highly provocative and educational HIV / AIDS themed Award Winning play VI Degrees and finally my Tyler Perryesque creation of the matriarch Aunt Jessie in “Man, I Shoulda Put a Ring On It!”, I have embraced the notion that the African American experience deserves to be told in all of it’s richness and diversity… onstage.

Kash Goins as John Henry

I remember studying George C. Wolfe’s “Colored Museum”, specifically one passage titled “The Last Mama-on-the-Couch Play”.  The piece parodied the familiar themes of some early African American theatre works that seemed to consistently focus on a super strong woman exhorting, protecting, supporting, and teaching the remnants of an African American man who seemingly worked harder at embracing the devastation of oppression that undoubtedly influenced his current position in life than at legitimate and plausible remedies for making a change.  Over time, there has been a significant advancement on the landscape of African American theatre.  I’m very thankful to a pioneer (and an idol) like August Wilson, who in an act of artistic genius granted the theatre going world an authentic anthology of work chronicling the African American experience through every decade of the 90’s.  What’s consistent in Wilson’s plays are instances where there is a strong African American man who has harbored a sincere sense of self and fought to advance and protect his family.  He’s the anti Walter Lee in most cases in that he refuses to succumb to his social inequities and instead fights to create an island of protection from it.  The character Troy Maxon in Fences immediately comes to mind.  I’ve seen many August Wilson plays from coast to coast and find that the consistency is that a small percentage of the audience is African American.  While I wouldn’t consider this detrimental in any way since theatre has the amazing ability to transcend all genders, ages, colors, and creeds; I do feel that a majority of African Americans are missing out on a valuable artistic experience.  In contrast, the aforementioned Tyler Perry style productions reap bundles of commercial success and are widely attended by a majority of African American patrons.

Through my production company, and the projects I pursue as an actor I attempt to bridge the gap between the two worlds.  It’s as important for a theatre goer to get the laughs, self uplifting and spiritual fulfillment that is experienced in a gospel or quasi gospel stage play as it is to reap the intellectual gains and sense of self that comes from experiencing pieces of a historical nature.  Or from pieces that are contemporary, yet have a serious and non-musical theme.  Through my throngs of supporters who are either friends on social networking sites or have supported me in previous endeavors, I hope to increase the footprints to Iron Age for the production of “The Life of John Henry”.  I think that anyone in attendance will leave “filled up” as well as enlightened by experiencing the force and energy with which this story of racial and social injustice is told.  It will provoke conversations and potentially debates about when innovation is good vs when it’s detrimental to all people.  This is a significant consideration in the midst of record job losses and a struggling economy in America.  The issue of male bonding is sure to provide intrigue.  The “bluesy” undertone will allow for some toe tapping.  I hope that my immediate circle of African American supporters will join the non – African American audience in embracing this opportunity to experience history in the making with this World Premier.  I will continue to embrace what I believe to be my mission… the bridging of various worlds of African American theatre and to create a holistic theatre going history one patron at a time.