****HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Whenever you see Anna Deavere Smith's name attached to a project, you can be sure that you will experience a unique and well-researched theatrical presentation of often under-appreciated and frequently marginalized voices, which -- when listened to closely -- become both educational as well as emotionally authentic. Whether dealing with the Los Angeles riots following the beating of Rodney King in her legendary "Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992" or the segment titled "The Walkers," which detailed efforts to curtail violence on the South Side of Chicago and made up the bulk of the three stories presented in the contemporary opera titled "Proximity" at Lyric Opera of Chicago last season, Smith has always created works that are rallying cries for social justice. Her "Notes from the Field," receiving its Chicago premiere at TimeLine Theatre Company in a rousing production, is no exception. 4 SPOTLIGHTS
Created in 2016, "Notes from the Field" is the product of over 250 interviews that Smith conducted with a wide array of different individuals, from students, teachers, parents and administrators to the three P's -- preachers, prisoners and even politicians. It details, primarily, the disturbing trend that has been referred to as the school-to-prison pipeline, which affects students from under-funded and most often minority-centered school districts. Surprisingly, the U.S. military introduced a Zero Tolerance policy during the 1980s which quickly, a decade later, became the foundation for the school-to-prison pipeline itself in schools across the country.
What is so thrilling about Anna Deavere Smith's work is that, in play after play, she has created her own distinctive style, collectively called documentary theatre, but also known as verbatim theatre. Because all of this work is interview-based, the script consists of the exact, actual words spoken by each individual, including pauses, verbal intonations, repetitions or phrases which circle back upon one another, ohs, ums, etc. It is this very authenticity which gives these voices their power.
Originally "Notes from the Field" was performed by Smith as a solo piece, in which she miraculously performed all of the 19 monologues herself. For the TimeLine production, director Mikael Burke, who has done a sensational job of modulating the energy and corralling the verbiage, has assembled a cast of three very strong performers to share the duties. TimeLine Company member Mildred Marie Langford is joined by Shariba Rivers and Adhana Reid. All three of them perform multiple characters throughout, often altering their speech patterns and physicality as they enact members of the opposite gender or of a much younger or older participant.
They all have their moments to shine. Reid is most effective as Allen Bullock, an 18-year-old YouthWorks maintenance laborer and young protestor.
Langford shines as the activist lawyer Bryan Stevenson but she is most emotionally raw and honest as Denise Dodson, an inmate of the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women who has found her vocation in raising and training dogs.
But it is Rivers who simply smolders as Reverend Jamal Harrison Bryant, the pastor who delivered the eulogy at the funeral of a young Black man named Freddie Gray, killed by the Baltimore Police Department.
Eleanor Kahn's scenic design feels both intimate and especially cosmopolitan in its sleek simplicity. A very large circular ring light is suspended above the stage at a slight angle, which is just a small part of Eric Watkins' efficient lighting design. This light fixture hints at a halo which rests upon the heads of these saintly figures as they recount the generational sins which have been inflicted upon them. Also, the surface of the playing area of this pristine set is covered in what appears to be freshly tilled soil. A nicely subtle but no less ironic reminder of which particular field these notes have originated from.
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"Notes from the Field" continues until March 24, 2024
TimeLine Theatre Company is located at 615 West Wellington Avenue, Chicago, IL
Tickets: Please call 773-281-TIME (8463) or visit www.timelinetheatre.com
Run time is approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes with one intermission