Flyin' West !

Written : Treyvon Waddy

The Texas Southern University Theater department recently concluded showings of their

semester’s opening production, “Flyin’ West,” directed by TSU Theater Alumni Delisa Chatman.

The show was held at Ollington Smith Playhouse on Thursday, Oct. 6, and continued into the

weekend all the way to Sunday, Oct. 9.

The cast included a plethora of TSU students (Nariyah Spellman, Morgan WIlliams, Chya

Woddard, Alasia Alexander, Rachel Omotoso, Javion Cox, Mckinzi Allen, Ryhan Brown,

Mykal Sanders), who rehearsed for the production over a span of roughly three and a half

weeks.

The story takes place during the late 1800s following the prohibition of slavery, in the all-Black

town of Nicodemus, Kansas. We follow a family of Black women who are trying to adapt to their

newfound state of “freedom” while laying the foundation for the generations of their family to

come after.

Chya Woodard, a Senior Psychology major and Theater minor performed the role of Miss Leah,

the matriarch of her family who acts as a source of wisdom throughout the show and grounds

the other characters.

“My role as Miss Leah, the matriarch of the family, is very special, because not only does she

give comedic relief throughout the show, but she also lets everyone else know that things have

gotten better,” explained Woodard. “That there’s still a long way to go, but we have progressed,

and to not let little things pull us back into that dark space we were in.”

In preparation for her character’s many monologues throughout the show’s runtime, Woodard

recalled having to record herself speaking the monologues in her tone of voice and listen to it on

repeat as though she were memorizing a song. For inspiration on the character herself, she

looked to real life examples.

“Personally, I tried to look at the strong women in my life,” Woodard said. “Such as my mom, my

aunt, my great aunts, and my grandmother, to find the ‘strength.’ And then for the body

mannerisms, I actually looked to Cicely Tyson in ‘The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.’

Those strong women are physically strong as well. They don’t curl into themselves like I had

Miss Leah do.”

The play notably presented several examples of social issues topics that are still present and

relevant today, such as traditional family values and the role they play in the Black community,

domestic violence through the relationship of characters Frank and Minnie, as well as colorisim

and what it meant from the historical perspective of post-slavery 1800s.

“I definitely think the play holds relevance today,” said Mykal Sanders, Freshman Theater Major.

From the topic of colorism, domestic violence, and the family dynamic that they had in the show.

Every family goes through things, and this family particularly has everyone all having their own

different battles. As far as domestic violence, I feel like that’s something that people will never

stop dealing with, unfortunately.”

Sanders played Frank during the production. For Sanders, having to play that character meant

having to step away from his own personality and search for motivation behind his character’s

actions, thoughts, and feelings, even though they clashed with his own.

“It was a long process,” Sanders said. “I had to just put myself in a different mindset. I had to

find motivation behind why my character did what he did. Him being such an abusive character,

it was difficult, because I don’t believe there’s ever validation behind that.”

Sanders stated that he hopes audience members watching the performance walk away knowing

that they have a voice, and are motivated to speak up on their own issues and dilemmas they

might otherwise stay quiet about out of fear.

The TSU Theater department holds two productions per semester. With “Flyin’ West” having

come to a close, the department now shifts focus to their next production for the semester,

“Rabbit Hole,” which is set to be shown towards late November.