The experience of working for a protégé he greatly respects. The ability to direct a play he is passionate about, one with messages about where we were and where we are now. Oh, and there’s that perk of escaping Minnesota in January.
Lou Bellamy couldn’t wait to get back to SCR. And no wonder SCR Artistic Director David Ivers couldn’t wait to bring the director of SCR’s 2020 production of Fireflies back to direct What I Learned in Paris by Pearl Cleage. The smart, funny romantic comedy about political operatives finding themselves as they find love in a pivotal time in history runs Feb. 19-March 19 on the Segerstrom Stage.
“When I was here last time, we sort of conspired I would come back again. It was a good experience,” Bellamy said. “We turned out a good show and people were happy with it. I’ve known David since he was a grad student (at the University of Minnesota) and he wanted to have me back. It was then a matter of finding the right vehicle. We looked at several plays, but because of various reasons, we settled on this one.
“I think it has something to do with where this country finds itself. There’s a lot of turmoil, a lot of division, a lot of animus—all these things. This is a chance not to run away from them, but take a breath, get a little slack and come into the theatre. We’re excited to bring you in, breathe the same air and experience this wonderful story together. And we sorely need that.”
One of the leading theatre directors in the country, Bellamy is the founder and artistic director emeritus of Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul, Minn. While teaching theatre at the University of Minnesota for 32 years, Bellamy built Penumbra into the nation’s premier theatre dedicated to exploring the African American experience.
At Penumbra, Bellamy developed a healthy respect for Cleage’s work. During the 1999-2000 season, he produced and directed Cleage’s Blues for an Alabama Sky. In 2015, he directed What I Learned in Paris for Indiana Repertory Theatre. He’s read all of Cleage’s work and said he still talks to her, “more than occasionally.”
That mentor and protégé reunite over Cleage is apt, considering Ivers wanted to bring Cleage’s Blues for an Alabama Sky to SCR. But Bellamy kept pushing Ivers to read What I Learned in Paris again. Once he did, Ivers said he caught the uplifting play “at the right moment.”
And once again, Ivers realized his former professor had the right answer.
“He’s just a beacon for many people, me included,” Ivers said. “He’s a man of grace, of keen intelligence. He’s focused his career on the things that matter and the things that are important to him and several generations of artists coming up. … He knows the material like the back of his hand. He’s just well-versed in anything he’s working on. And of course, he’s always been focused on the canon of the Black experience in this country and how that intersects with his life and the life of the arts around him.”
For his part, Bellamy always viewed his directorial legacy as evangelistic. Go in, show future generations of theatre directors the art of storytelling comes with a responsibility to show the wisdom, courage and humanity of his characters in a respectful, honest manner for both audiences and actors. And between Cleage’s captivating material and the talented cast at his disposal, What I Learned in Paris provides him another rich, storytelling tapestry to do just that.
“African American writers perceive the position of African Americans in the U.S. as tenuous and fraught with issues and these playwrights write within the context of the world they’re in. They have to address that,” Bellamy said. “Pearl Cleage has done exactly that in centering her play in 1973 around Maynard Jackson’s election. But it’s a rom-com. You get all the info, the stakes are all there, the consequences of racism and all those things are still around. But yet, she’s found a space for joy around that. People have babies and affairs. It’s a relief. This remains true to what’s happening in the world. But it’s happy. You laugh. And we need to laugh.
“The audiences, they’re going to leave happy. Without giving away the ending, her lovers solve their problems and it ends the way you hope it would end. But they will also leave informed by what it takes to be part of a movement like the election of Maynard Jackson as the first black mayor of a large Southern city. The cost of that will be there, but that cost is the hurdles these people are forced to run over trying to live life. But it doesn’t stop there. They’re vulnerable, they make mistakes and they do all the things we all do while still accomplishing monumental things. It’s really satisfying.”
This is why Bellamy joked that he’s like “Johnny Appleseed,” when it comes to spreading the word about how he embraces his craft. And he enjoys embracing it at SCR, where a healthy, creative atmosphere fosters Bellamy’s vision.
“All the people who make things happen at South Coast Repertory are very welcoming and willing to do anything for the text and the show, so it’s just a pleasure to be around them,” Bellamy said. “All the craftsmen are very, very skilled and the work is top-notch. I bring in a design, they realize it right down the inch.
“David is a very, very skilled leader. He gives you what you need and the room to be the best you can be inside of that. Artistic directors vary all over the country. David has settled on a formula that gives you what you need, but he doesn’t hover over you or push you too hard. It’s a very healthy atmosphere.”
That formula created a partnership with What I Learned in Paris that stood the test of time. Retired from teaching, Bellamy turned over the artistic direction of Penumbra to his daughter, Sarah. These days, Bellamy and his wife travel the country, directing four to five plays a year. For him, it’s the best of all worlds. He gets to stay active and involved for the reasons that brought him into theatre more than four decades ago, spreading his talented vision to audiences and actors.
“But I don’t have to worry about the budget or any of the other stuff, like faculty meetings. I just get the fun part. It’s a pretty good existence. It really is,” Bellamy said.
“I’m excited he’s back and the plays in good hands,” Ivers said. “That’s really the highest compliment I can give him. It’s in the best hands and it’s in the right hands.”
Learn more about What I Learned in Paris and buy tickets.