On a trip to Memphis, Tenn., a former Ball State professor first accidentally met a homeless woman who has dedicated 20 years of her life to protesting the National Civil Rights Museum, which was built next to the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was killed.
“The moment when I discovered this woman, for me, is the moment that my life changed as an artist because in that moment I decided that I wanted more insight into why this woman has decided to spend half of her life protesting,” said Dwandra Lampkin, an associate professor of theatre at Western Michigan University. “I became fascinated with her conviction, her willingness to protest something that probably will never change.”
Three years later on March 28, Lampkin will perform, for the first time, her one-woman show “The Conviction of Lady Lorraine” based on her experience trying to convince the homeless woman to tell her story.
Registration for the event, which is sponsored by the multicultural club, ends today.
Before Lampkin’s performance at 7 p.m. on March 28, there will be a dinner by university catering starting at 6 p.m. along with student performances.
“Sometimes it’s hard to go eat and then go to a show,” said Patricia Lovett, director of the Multicultural Center. “Why not eat and then have the show come to you?”
Lovett said they chose to have the performance during Women’s History Month because it is the story of a woman’s conviction and because Lampkin wrote the script and performs herself.
“I hope that students learn what the term ‘to be convicted’ really means,” Lovett said. “Not to be convicted of a crime, but conviction as a sense of having a strong belief.”
Lampkin said she is excited to bring the show back to the school that gave her the grants that made the show possible.
She received $6,000 from Ball State’s ASPIRE Internal Grant for the research and development of my one person show. She also received $2,000 from the Indiana Arts Commission to attend the National Black Theatre Festival, to research one person shows and to submit her show into the new works category of the festival.
Lampkin said she is looking forward to getting feedback from the audience so she knows what parts of the show need to continue to be tweaked.
“I am hoping students can come away with is asking themselves, ‘What do I believe in and how hard am I willing to fight for it, to stand for it and to make it happen?’” Lampkin said. “I wanted to ask the question, ‘How long are you willing to wait for something?’ I look today and some people easily get irritated having to wait in line at the grocery store for 10 minutes.”
In the next year Lampkin said she hopes to continue to tweak the show and then either start to tour or have it produced at a regional theater.
Timeline:
Dec. 2010- Lampkin met the homeless woman protesting in Memphis, Tenn.
Jan. 2011- Lampkin began applying for Ball State’s ASPIRE Internal Grant and the Indiana Arts Commission grant.
April 2011- Around the time when Lampkin officially received the grants.
June 2011- Lampkin went back to Memphis to continue doing research and convince the woman to let her tell her story.
July 2011- She began the writing process.
Oct. 2011- The first workshop was held where another actress performed the show and Lampkin made edits to the rough draft script.
March 28 2013- “The Conviction of Lady Lorraine” will have its first performance at 7 p.m. in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center.
