by Roseann Cane

I’ve had the good fortune to see some exceptional theater in my time, plays that are the product of finely tuned writing, acting, directing, and design, and to me there is no better feeling than the exhilaration of knowing that I’ve been changed in some way between the rise and fall of the curtain.

Debra Ann Byrd, in her solo performance, Becoming Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey, is nothing less than supernal. Her living memoir of personal transformation is as astonishing a performance as I’ve ever witnessed.

A classical actor, Byrd is the founder and producing artistic director of Take Wing and Soar Productions and the Harlem Shakespeare Festival. The road she travelled to her current life could have destroyed her, if not for her remarkable curiosity, her love of truth, and her innate understanding of universal humanity.

Normally performed outdoors in Shakespeare & Company’s charming Roman Garden Theatre, the unrelenting rain on the day I attended made it necessary to move the show into the spacious Tina Packer Playhouse. That Byrd managed to convey intimacy in a very different setting is testament to her exceptional gift. That the Company (or is it Byrd?) promotes the show as a “multimedia theatrical production” does not, in my opinion, do it justice. Certainly, Byrd sings and chants throughout in a loud, lush voice, and there are some sound effects, but (to me, anyway) there is an implied detachment in that description, and nothing about Becoming Othello is detached. Boyd’s courageous, lyrical performance is the hard-won achievement of a woman who thrives on sharing all facets of her being, her history, and her wrestling and rising above preconceptions of privilege, gender, race, and sexuality.

Byrd grew up in Spanish Harlem, the daughter of a Puerto Rican father and a Black mother. She would eventually find herself in the foster care system, a pregnant teenager who became a single mother. Throughout the most soul-searing times of her difficult young life, she managed to find sparks of joy. Her all-but-absent alcoholic mother gave her an encyclopedia for her birthday, and she became entranced with language. 

Her magnificent stage presence brings to life her earlier discovery of theater. She had seen a troupe of Black actors perform Shakespeare at a Harlem theater, and was excited but perplexed at the familiarity of the actors’ words. She would soon realize the connection of these words with the language she grew up with in the church, the King James Bible, the rhythm of preaching, the similarity of the actors’ performances with the preacher at the pulpit. She would begin attending college at the age of 30 to earn a B.A. in acting. She began learning a variety of Shakespearean monologues. During a workshop with Charles Dutton, his performance of a monologue from Othello stunned her, and would lead her on a path to understanding herself while connecting with Shakespeare. Told that a career as a classical actor would be difficult for a Black woman, she started her own company.

I’ve had the good fortune to see some exceptional theater in my time, plays that are the product of finely tuned writing, acting, directing, and design, and to me there is no better feeling than the exhilaration of knowing that I’ve been changed in some way between the rise and fall of the curtain.

Debra Ann Byrd, in her solo performance, Becoming Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey, is nothing less than supernal. Her living memoir of personal transformation is as astonishing a performance as I’ve ever witnessed.

A classical actor, Byrd is the founder and producing artistic director of Take Wing and Soar Productions and the Harlem Shakespeare Festival. The road she travelled to her current life could have destroyed her, if not for her remarkable curiosity, her love of truth, and her innate understanding of universal humanity.

Normally performed outdoors in Shakespeare & Company’s charming Roman Garden Theatre, the unrelenting rain on the day I attended made it necessary to move the show into the spacious Tina Packer Playhouse. That Byrd managed to convey intimacy in a very different setting is testament to her exceptional gift. That the Company (or is it Byrd?) promotes the show as a “multimedia theatrical production” does not, in my opinion, do it justice. Certainly, Byrd sings and chants throughout in a loud, lush voice, and there are some sound effects, but (to me, anyway) there is an implied detachment in that description, and nothing about Becoming Othello is detached. Boyd’s courageous, lyrical performance is the hard-won achievement of a woman who thrives on sharing all facets of her being, her history, and her wrestling and rising above preconceptions of privilege, gender, race, and sexuality.

(Continued)

by Macey Levin

When Debra Ann Byrd, who wrote and performs Becoming Othello, enters the stage at Shakespeare & Company’s Roman Garden Theatre she repeatedly sings the line “I can hear them calling.”  She is referring to her racial ancestors who were enslaved by European countries even before they were imported by America as mere commodities.

The first several minutes of her two-hour monologue traces the history of slavery into Elizabethan England when William Shakespeare was writing and debunks the belief that he never knew any blacks.  This tie-in to the Bard resonates through her entire autobiographical narrative.

Debra Ann was raised in and around Harlem as a product of a broken marriage.  She was introduced to the King James Bible which became a guide for her life and fostered an ambition to become a preacher.  But while drifting through the early years of her life she knew she needed something to give her structure.  She sees a poster that says “Marymount Manhattan College Theatre Program – The Center of Excellence.”  This encourages her to become an actor and to strive to live up that motto.

Her private life is also dramatized including the despair that surrounds her: she survives rape, having an ill child, one of whom nearly dies at the age of ten, living in a home for unwed mothers.  Still, she is determined to learn how to act.  

She enrolls in a course that teaches the techniques needed to perform Shakespeare.  When the course is over she is told she’ll never be an actor who can perform the “Classics” and that she should stick to August Wilson and other black playwrights.  Hellbent to succeed in her vision she is motivated to create her own Black company dedicated to Shakespeare and ultimately decides to do an all- Black female production of Othello, whom she will play.  We watch her preparation and performance of the role in which she discovers and dissects the conflicts Othello faces.  The revelations he discovers with the death of Desdemona helps Debra Ann to identify her inner motivations and, even more, to learn to live with herself. Much of her story is powerful and some times upsetting, but it is also a celebration of her fortitude.  Byrd’s joy of discovery resonates with the audience.

Ms. Byrd’s acting is painful as she reveals her life to us.  It is also accomplished.  When reliving the moments of her childhood or introducing other characters, her voice and body alter to define the personality and tone of the scene.  She has a lovely singing voice which she uses to deliver hymns, Gospels and the recurring “I can hear them calling” throughout the play.

Tina Packer, the founder of S&C, worked with Debra Ann to develop the play and has directed it.  She has wisely helped the actor to refrain from becoming maudlin or overly-emotional while theatrically telling her story.  Packer’s staging is somewhat compromised in that it is a relatively large playing space and the audience is on three sides.  When Debra Ann addresses the audience on her left, the right and center sides cannot hear her well since it is an outdoor venue.  Perhaps she should have been mic-ed.

The production values are simple and effective.  The set by Devon Drohan utilizes several pieces of furniture including a throne-like chair, a bed, a preacher’s podium and several items to hold props.  David D. Wright’s sound design surrounds the seating area with speakers so that the various voices, i.e. God, and sounds encompass the audience.  Byrd’s costumes, designed by Gail Cooper-Hecht, are a full-length black dress until she changes, with the aid of a stagehand, into Othello’s uniform.

Becoming Othello is a deeply involving piece of theatre that reveals the growth and artistry of its writer/performer.

Becoming Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey runs July 16-25, 2021 in the Roman Garden Theatre at Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble Street in Lenox, MA.

Written and Performed by Debra Ann Byrd. Directed by Tina Packer. Set Designer: Devon Drohan. Original Costume Design: Gail Cooper-Hecht. Sound Designer: David D. Wright. Movement Director: Dyane Harvey-Salaam. Stage Manager: Diana Evans. Assistant Stage Manager: Amie Jay.

Run time: 100 minutes without intermission. For tickets CLICK HERE or call 413-637-3353.

**CONTENT WARNING**
This show discusses topics and personal stories of rape, abuse, and trauma. A gun / gunshot will occur on stage during this play. These occurrences may not be suited for some audience members. Please contact the Box Office for more information.