Reenah Golden loves trees.
During a pivotal moment in “Blood at the Root,” the play Golden is currently directing, an ensemble of multiracial local youth come together to form a human tree onstage.
“We start to see this tree as more than just a space that would offer shade,” said Golden, who uses she/they pronouns. “It represents the power to care for a community, to heal.”
On August 18 and 19, The Avenue Blackbox Theatre will present Dominique Morisseau’s “Blood at the Root,” a 2014 play inspired by true events in 2007, when a noose was hung in a tree at a high school in Jena, Louisiana. The play chronicles student responses and incorporates hip-hop elements such as dance, graffiti, and a live DJ.
The play will feature an all-student cast and is part of The Avenue Children Theatre’s Project, which Golden likes to view as a tree: a nurturing entity that builds community, with its mission of providing an affirming, creative space, especially for BIPOC and LGBTQIA youth. In 2018, Golden, whose career in arts education and administration spans two decades, founded and now directs the vibrant theater on Joseph Avenue, in an underserved neighborhood in the northeast quadrant.
The Avenue Blackbox offers a wide range of free arts education for youth age 22 and younger, including programming in acting, technical theater and design, poetry, spoken word, and even yoga and mindfulness. Older youth can audition and interview for the six-week arts training fellowship program, which provides a stipend.
Samyria Blythers, who plays Raylynn in “Blood at the Root,” knows the Avenue’s impact firsthand. Though interested in poetry, she didn’t have many opportunities to explore the arts until a friend told her about the Avenue fellowship. She loved it so much, she did it twice.
“The Avenue fellowship immediately clicked as a welcoming, pro-Black space,” Blythers said. A 2022 graduate of School of the Arts, she is now pursuing an acting major at Finger Lakes Community College and credits the Avenue and Golden with igniting her interest in theater.
In honor of the Avenue’s fifth year, they are taking on the challenge of producing five full-length plays – more than they’ve ever done in one year. This season includes “Zooman and the Sign” by Charles Fuller, “Sarah and Sally,” “The Brothers Size” by Tarrell Alvin McCraney, and “Steal Away” by Ramona King.
But first up is “Blood at the Root,” which Golden said sparked immediate conversation when the Avenue fellows did a table reading of the script.
“They had so many stories of what they felt were parallel incidents of segregation and discrimination,” they said. “I knew this was one to put on the front burner.”
For Blythers, the audition call for a production by her favorite playwright came at a perfect time.
“I had been feeling down in the dumps. I needed a creative space, something to motivate me and push me,” she said. “I thought, this is a sign. This is what I need.”
However, the role did bring Blythers out of her comfort zone.
Set in Louisiana, the characters speak in Southern dialect and African-American Vernacular English, neither of which is how Blythers is used to speaking. Finding her voice as Raylynn has helped her become more confident as an actor.
The rehearsal process has also led to frank discussions among the actors about what it means to be Black in America, and insecurities they face about being “Black enough.”
“It’s caused the cast to do a lot more bonding with our different Black experiences,” Blythers said. “As a people, we come in many different shapes, sizes, shades, colors, and personalities, and we should all learn to accept each other and our differences.”
In addition to making up most of the cast, Rochester youth also fill offstage roles including tech crew and front of house. They learn from and work alongside more seasoned professionals. In addition to Golden, who wears many hats as director, technical director, and lighting designer, the production includes work by DJ East Harmony, lighting technician Anderson Allen, and multimedia designer Michelle Harris.
As the young artists learn about theater, they’re telling a story that mirrors what the Avenue Blackbox is all about—young people speaking out against racism and disrupting white supremacy.
“This play is a beautiful look on how youth can change the world,” said Blythers.
The production runs at 780 Joseph Avenue on August 18 and 19. Tickets are $10 and available online. There will be an encore performance at the MuCCC as part of the Sankofa Festival on August 26.
This article appears in Aug 1-31, 2023.
