Through 11 museum "exhibits," "The Colored Museum" reflects on the blacks' experience from slavery to modern day. The George C. Wolfe play uses satire to explore black stereotypes and modern views on black history. "The Colored Museum" confronts issues from homosexuality to Vietnam.
"The Colored Museum" will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15, 16 and 17 at the University Theatre. Tickets for the general public are $12.50. Ball State faculty and staff tickets are $11.50.
When Dwandra Lampkin, assistant professor of acting and director of "The Colored Museum," selected the play last March, she was apprehensive because of its controversial content.
"Originally I was unsure if Ball State [University] and the Muncie community would be prepared for the subject matter, but after thinking about it, I thought they would be open to receiving it," Lampkin said.
Auditions were held in November, and although the show is usually performed with an all-black cast of five actors, 13 Ball State students of varying races were cast in order to give more students the opportunity to participate. Each student plays between one and three roles.
At first approaching sensitive issues with humor was difficult for some of the actors. As a white actress, Aubrey Baumgartner, sophomore musical theater major, had to overcome uncomfortable feelings when playing black characters.
"It's a huge learning experience for me," Baumgartner said. "I had to get over feeling like I had to tiptoe around making sure I didn't hurt anyone's feelings."
Lampkin said the biggest difficulty of producing "The Colored Museum" was keeping a closeness between the actors and the audience in a larger theater.
"My main challenge was being able to adapt this production on a bigger stage," Lampkin said. "I wanted to maintain a sense of intimacy between the characters and the audience."
"The Colored Museum" achieves a sense of intimacy by allowing the audience to speak some of the lines with the actors and by having actors exit the stage through the aisles of the theater.
Creators of the costumes and set had the challenge of setting the scene in several time periods.
"Some of the costumes are specifically described in the script, so we already know exactly what they should look like," Kristin Sartor, senior costume designer and technical theater minor, said. "But there's plenty of room for creativity with the other costumes, and it's a very interesting process involving research and discussion among the production team."
Lampkin says she is unsure of what the audience turnout will be like, but she hopes the posters advertising "The Colored Museum" will generate attention for the play. Lampkin held a poster competition and chose two winning designs by former student Bobby Richards and current student junior Tara Branham.
"What drew me to this poster was its ability to represent images from throughout African American history and show how they contribute to present society," Lampkin said.
Deedee Batteast, cast member of "The Colored Museum" and senior theater major, said she hopes the show will be a thought-provoking experience for the audience.
"I believe our school strives for diversity, but I think it is difficult for a university in the Midwest in Indiana to provide our students with a broad world view," Batteast said.
Lampkin and the cast suspect the audience will have strong feelings about the performance.
"People will either love it or hate it; there will be no middle ground," Lampkin said. "Even if they hate it, it's still a good thing. At least the show provoked some kind of emotion."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
