“Make your own work, put it up wherever you can, and do not wait for institutions to give you permission.” This was the response given when asking Jack Tamburri what advice he would give to black women stage directors trying to navigate the theater space. Over the span of his twenty-year extensive career, Mr. Tamburri has made sure to lend his expertise to support minorities in the arts and make sure that their voices are heard. I had the pleasure of interviewing Jack Tamburri to talk about the new play he is directing entitled “Drawing Lessons”.
Written by Michi Barall and Directed by Jack Tamburri, “Drawing Lessons” is about a 12-year-old named Kate who is starting the 6th grade at a new school. Kate is a Korean American who is being raised by her single father in Minneapolis. Kate does not talk in person. The only person that she converses with is her father. She is bound with crippling anxiety that starts to create conflict with her social studies teacher. Her social studies teacher believes that young women should use their voices to stand up for not only themselves but what they believe in. The way she manages her anxiety is by doodling compulsively on her homework. As her home and school life become tough to navigate, she meets a curmudgeonly cartoonist, Paul, who has a daily comic strip in the paper. Paul’s dilemma is that he no longer believes in the art that he was once so passionate about. Both come together in this incredible coming-of-age story that teaches resilience and highlights all that can happen when you believe in yourself.
Being that the play is being performed at The Children’s Theater of Minneapolis, did you all find local young performers to showcase in the show?
The Children’s Theatre has an amazing community of young performers that they keep in contact with through training programs. With the theatre continuously producing art with the local children, they were really excited for the opportunity to aid us in casting for these younger roles. Even the illustrations shown throughout the play come from local Minneapolis cartoonist Blue Delliguanti, who created over 100 images that will be projected onto the set to provide scenic context and insight into Kate’s imagination.
This isn’t your first time working with Michi Barral, what made you want to join forces with her on a children’s production?
I am forever in debt to Ralph Pena (Artistic Director of the Ma-Yi Theater Company located in New York), who had worked with Michi on a production previously. Ralph introduced me to Michi will I was working on a passion project of mine. I adore Michi as a writer. She is so deeply intelligent, and her research is incredibly rigorous. She is incapable of writing an inauthentic moment. The voices of the characters in her plays are just so real, so engaging, and so truthful that I love being in progress with her. I suggested to Michi that I wanted to do a play where the characters were visual artists who would draw, and we would watch them draw during the play. She took that idea and wrote early drafts of the play. The Children’s Theatre Company and Ma-Yi Theatre Company co-commissioned Michi to finish the play, thus aiding in putting on multiple workshops in New York and Minneapolis to refine the play. And about 10 months ago committed to producing that show that is premiering this Fall at the Children’s Theatre in Minneapolis.
You have worked with the Ma-Yi Theatre company for many years, which ensures that Asian American playwrights have a chance for their stories to be developed and performed, as well as the ArtEquity’s national facilitator trainer for anti-racist activists in the performing arts. – As a white male playwright and director, do you feel obligated to advocate for other races in the theatre world?
The short answer is yes! I think there are two different but related things going on. One is the history of labor equity. Who historically has been paid to tell certain stories? Who knows the most about these stories through lived experiences? The history of theater performance and entertainment in America is pretty racist, as we know, and folks from marginalized communities of all kinds have historically been shut out from telling stories about themselves, their experiences, and their communities. Sometimes I make a a play about a story I want to tell a story, one that I deeply relate to. As a director, I can bring my experience and POV to a project where the job for me is to platform someone else to showcase their heart.
What is your advice for theatre majors at Spelman who want to continue to break barriers for Black women directors?
Make your own work, put it up wherever you can, do not wait for institutions to give you permission. I know it’s easier said than done. Making your own work means finding a space. That in itself is a gigantic task. Making your work from the ground up is incredibly hard. It is also incredibly satisfying to be in control of every aspect of your work, from the invitation up through the performance. It is incredibly powerful to make work in nontraditional spaces.
Who and/or what inspires you to continue doing what you love every day?
My students. I am a professor at SUNY Purchase in New York. I’ve been teaching for six and a half years, and seeing young people who are interested in live performance, interpreting text, sharing stories with audiences, and connecting with audiences, gives me a lot of hope. I think that live performance deserves to be at the center of any civilized culture, it can not be replaced by media. It is people talking to people about their experiences as opposed to sitting back and receiving something that a corporation has vetted. In time, I’ve realized that relationships are more important than achievements; everything that I’ve done in my life has taught me that lesson. When it comes to legacy: Are there people close to me? Are there people that I’ve done right by? To me that’s the only legacy there is.
Drawing Lessons
Runtime: October 8 – November 10, 2024
Where: Cargill Stage
2400 3rd Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55404