Emancipation, a play authored by, and starring Jones, premiered April 10, in New York City's Audubon Ballroom in the Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. The site is the place where Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965. Produced by the Classical Theatre of Harlem [www.classicaltheatreofharlem.org], the play runs through May 10.
The play examines the powerful 1831 slave rebellion led by Nat Turner that became a watershed event in America's long and troubled history of slavery and racial conflict.
In a recent interview, Jones said that Emancipation is an examination of the impact that race and the legacy of slavery have had on the American psyche.
"I think our life, our existence, our being, is largely informed by how much contradiction one is willing to embrace," Jones said. "The challenge is that since we live on top of one another, society must enroll its citizens to find agreement on those contradictions."
Slavery, Jones noted, was an acute, severe contradiction, and that its legacy resonates today. The impact of slavery, Jones said, is both subtle in suppressing institutional access and overt in the unwillingness to civilly discuss and debate that suppression.
"Emancipation is not a solution, but rather an invitation to promote dialogue and discussion about the residual effects of this peculiar institution," Jones said. "It is dialogue about how the presence of people of color is seared in society's psyche as an agent of fear which triggers a defensive impulsive."
Jones said that all Americans are presently participants at an important time in our history where individuals can begin to transcend such deeply rooted impulses.
"I believe transformation can occur through our conversation," Jones said. "Considering the uncharted territory our world is facing, I don't think we have much choice."
"The best actors are from the PTTP," Jones said. "A third of my cast are PTTP graduates, and it would have been more if some hadn't had other employment."
Jones credits PTTP graduates with being able to "understand the most abecedarian approach to creating art--teamwork. PTTP graduates get that as actors we are vessels for every word on every page--not just for every word of your part."
While Jones described his undergraduate experience at UD as that of being a spectator, he said his PTTP years were profound and enlightening.
"I was able to identify the courage it takes to execute ideas with integrity and recognize my own potential to see that come to fruition,' Jones said. "I was no longer a spectator but rather a player on the field."
A recipient of a 2003 Obie Award for his work in the off-Broadway production of Jan Genet's The Blacks: A Clown Show, has numerous television and movie roles to his credit, including Redacted, a 2007 film directed by Brian De Palma.
Jones, who said that Emancipation has been received with extraordinary enthusiasm thus far and has been submitted for a Pulitzer, offered a final comment on the work and the issues it confronts--"Come see the play!"
Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photos by Jill Jones