Download We Are Proud To Present A Presentation About The

June 17, 2013
We Are Proud To Present A Presentation About The Herero Of
Namibia, Formerly Known As Southwest Africa, From The German
Sudwestafrica, Between The Years 1884-1915 - (Matrix Theatre)
by Dale Reynolds
Theatre comes in a wide variety of styles and views. An unorthodox one is now on display at
the adventurous Matrix Theatre in West Hollywood: “We are Proud” is a shortened version of
the very long title to be read above. Six actors in a company, three white/three black, are
putting together a lecture/demonstration/history play about German hostilities to the Herero
Tribe of Namibia, earlier called Sudwestafrica, then Southwest Africa after 1915 when the
British conquered the land.
So far, so understandable: in order to
create Germany-in-Africa, the native tribes,
especially the Herero, must be not just
subdued, but essentially eradicated – a
rehearsal of sorts to the attempted
eradication of Jews, Gypsies and
Homosexuals a half-century later. So, we
get it: terrible atrocities which wiped out
80% of the indigenous peoples of the
area. But what playwright Jackie Sibblies
Drury is more interested in exploring is the
nature of African-American/ EuropeanAmerican conflicts today. Specifically developed in the integrated theatre she apparently knows
intimately, her valuable play is how we get up close and personal.
Her characters are given generic names: Black Woman (Julanne Chidi Hill), White Man (John
Sloan), Black Man (Joe Holt), Another White Man (Daniel Bess), Another Black Man (Phil
LaMarr), and Sarah, The White Woman (Rebecca Mozo), the six-actor ensemble explores the
delicate battleground between Whites and Blacks in our country today. For the three black
actors in the play, the racism and attempted exterminations are crystal clear; to the three white
actors in the play, it’s more nuanced, and as the other three company members keep making
clear: you aren’t us; you don’t know what background we bring to this production.
Drury lays it out carefully, with Black Woman self-designating herself as director/writer, spelling
out the various characters’ positions: lonely German guard, wife back home in Germany, slave,
freedom-fighter. The white actors want to talk about it. The others want to act it out. Both are
right, but lack of listening (among other problems) exacerbates the underlying dynamics, leading
to a formal split along racial lines.
What she has done here is brave indeed: actors, who are notoriously liberal in their racial,
sexual and religious relationships, are shown to be frightened, inarticulate, messy peoples.
And, as a result, we have a tremendous piece of agit-prop that carefully explore the tensions
and fault-lines of our earthquake-prone profession. Trust it, you have never seen this play
before – in any guise – and that makes it thoroughly exciting.
Producer Joe Stern and director Jillian Armenante have allowed their small cast free-rein to
explore these tensions. All of them are up to the task and Hill, Sloan, Holt, Bess, LaMarr and
Mozo are extraordinary in their work. The play was developed at the Bay Area Playwriting
Festival, Magic Theater’s Virgin Play Reading Series, and Victory Garden Theatre’s Ignition
Festival, and at less than 90 minutes, it’s an amazing theatrical journey and will be appreciated
by all who see it.
We Are Proud plays through August 11th, 2013, at the Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Avenue,
Los Angeles, CA 90046. Tickets: 323.852.1445 or www.matrixtheatre.com.