“The Movement: 50 Years of Love and Struggle” production coming to Purdue
10/6/15 "The Movement: 50 Years of Love and Struggle"
Emmy award-winning
actor Ron Jones is coming to Purdue to perform in a theatrical
production about the African American experience since the Voting Rights
Act of 1965 was passed.
The act enabled African Americans to better overcome barriers that restricted their ability to vote.
Jones is performing in a one-man show in which he
will play 10 characters. Supported by music, video and stock historical
footage, Jones will highlight some of the most important cultural
landmarks of the last 50 years for African Americans.
“The 10 characters cover ideas,” said Jones. “Each character represents a perspective on the black experience that I think is important to share from either the civil rights point of view or the black experience point of view.”
Jones considers one of the characters, named William, to have the most important story of the show because he is designed to represent the African American “every man or woman.”
“He is just a regular guy who is doing the best he knows how with the resources he has, trying to make his children’s world a little bit better than his own,” said Jones.
The actor believes most people whose voices need to be heard better live lives of what he likes to call “dignity and grace under outrageous pressure.”
“One of the things I say in the discussion after the show is that no one group that is not the dominant group controls its narrative,” Jones said. “When your narrative is designed to paint you as something less than just a regular, decent person doing the best they can under outrageous circumstances and you still manage to live that way, you are living a life of dignity and grace under outrageous pressure, because it is very easy for you to become the very thing that everyone says you are if that is all you ever hear.”
Jones finds upsides and downsides to his career choice. It’s hard, he says, to live a life on the road with an uncertain schedule where it’s hard to eat and sleep well, but it’s worth it because he knows that through theater he can make a difference, and that if he weren’t doing it, he would feel like something was wrong.
“I have to say that I believe that this work is vital to making the world a better place. Theater is there to help people see the world that is not necessarily their own or to make sense of the world that is,” Jones explained. “The only way we can learn to distinguish from the pain of another is by seeing it, by experiencing it, by making ourselves vulnerable to the point where we allow ourselves to be affected by it. That is part and parcel of the great role and responsibility of theater.”
It was originally announced that the production would be held tonight, but because of scheduling conflicts, the performance will instead be at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at Fowler Hall in the Stewart Center.
“I’m excited for The Movement production because I have never seen a one man theatrical show. I’ve heard great things about Ron Jones, so I’m looking forward to being amazed,” said Kimberly Graves, a member of the Black Voices of Inspiration, an ensemble sponsored by the Black Cultural Center. The ensemble will be performing the opening act for the production.
“We will sing a couple of pieces that reflect the Civil Rights Movement of the ‘60s,” said Graves.
After the performance, Jones will hold an open discussion with the audience. It is hoped that this production will encourage dialogue amongst people concerning the importance of this landmark law.
“I like to say that America is a morality tale,” said Jones. “We were a country founded on an idea, and to me that idea says that the way you treat the least of your own is exactly where your nation is. So the morality tale is basically told by the people who struggle the most. And that’s where the social justice element comes back into play. We all have a responsibility to make sure that whatever this dignity we have endured as a people or as a culture or as a nation, does not get visited upon anyone else. And that, I think, is one of the great lessons that I hope people walk away with.”
“The 10 characters cover ideas,” said Jones. “Each character represents a perspective on the black experience that I think is important to share from either the civil rights point of view or the black experience point of view.”
Jones considers one of the characters, named William, to have the most important story of the show because he is designed to represent the African American “every man or woman.”
“He is just a regular guy who is doing the best he knows how with the resources he has, trying to make his children’s world a little bit better than his own,” said Jones.
The actor believes most people whose voices need to be heard better live lives of what he likes to call “dignity and grace under outrageous pressure.”
“One of the things I say in the discussion after the show is that no one group that is not the dominant group controls its narrative,” Jones said. “When your narrative is designed to paint you as something less than just a regular, decent person doing the best they can under outrageous circumstances and you still manage to live that way, you are living a life of dignity and grace under outrageous pressure, because it is very easy for you to become the very thing that everyone says you are if that is all you ever hear.”
Jones finds upsides and downsides to his career choice. It’s hard, he says, to live a life on the road with an uncertain schedule where it’s hard to eat and sleep well, but it’s worth it because he knows that through theater he can make a difference, and that if he weren’t doing it, he would feel like something was wrong.
“I have to say that I believe that this work is vital to making the world a better place. Theater is there to help people see the world that is not necessarily their own or to make sense of the world that is,” Jones explained. “The only way we can learn to distinguish from the pain of another is by seeing it, by experiencing it, by making ourselves vulnerable to the point where we allow ourselves to be affected by it. That is part and parcel of the great role and responsibility of theater.”
It was originally announced that the production would be held tonight, but because of scheduling conflicts, the performance will instead be at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at Fowler Hall in the Stewart Center.
“I’m excited for The Movement production because I have never seen a one man theatrical show. I’ve heard great things about Ron Jones, so I’m looking forward to being amazed,” said Kimberly Graves, a member of the Black Voices of Inspiration, an ensemble sponsored by the Black Cultural Center. The ensemble will be performing the opening act for the production.
“We will sing a couple of pieces that reflect the Civil Rights Movement of the ‘60s,” said Graves.
After the performance, Jones will hold an open discussion with the audience. It is hoped that this production will encourage dialogue amongst people concerning the importance of this landmark law.
“I like to say that America is a morality tale,” said Jones. “We were a country founded on an idea, and to me that idea says that the way you treat the least of your own is exactly where your nation is. So the morality tale is basically told by the people who struggle the most. And that’s where the social justice element comes back into play. We all have a responsibility to make sure that whatever this dignity we have endured as a people or as a culture or as a nation, does not get visited upon anyone else. And that, I think, is one of the great lessons that I hope people walk away with.”
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