“black odyssey” playwright Marcus Gardley: What’s Past Is Present

With his play black odyssey, Marcus Gardley has chosen an abiding Greek myth to enlighten us on the modern tribulations of an African American Ulysses

BY DOUGLAS LANGWORTHY

Every element of Marcus Gardley’s plays are infused with his poetic voice. Be it his titles (the road weeps, the well runs dry), his heightened language or his stage directions (He guides the cane to a star. It burns like a comet), there is no mistaking the poet in the playwright.

Gardley started his career writing poetry and has expanded his poetic style through his dramatic writing. In fact, all of his favorite playwrights are also poets. So what is a director supposed to do with a stage direction like the example given above?

Marcus says he doesn’t mean these stage directions to be taken literally (phew), but are meant to express the emotional weight of a moment. The creative team is encouraged to interpret them with creativity and originality. “Theatre is collaborative,” Gardley states. “I want my stage directions to speak to the nature of making something together.”

In black odyssey, the playwright focuses his imaginative powers on a mash-up of Greek myth and African American history. Applause recently caught up with Gardley to talk recipes, mythology and journeys of self-discovery.

What attracted you to Homer’s The Odyssey?

I grew up reading a lot of books and had a particular fascination with the Greeks because I like adventure stories, history and myths. I like stories that wrestle with the notion of why we are here and why nature can be both terrifying and utterly beautiful. What drew me to The Odyssey in particular is the idea of the endless journey and being lost. I could not get rid of the image of soldiers returning home after war and embracing their children for the first time. I

think the story of The Odyssey is universal. People can experience an internal odyssey as well, and I wanted to explore that.

You’ve described your writing process as creating a dish from a recipe. Can you describe what ingredients went into this play?

The ingredients for this play are: the original text, spirituals, hymns and melodies from West Africa, the culture and language of contemporary Harlem, African American history and African American folklore. When you mix the ingredients together my hope is that you feel the full tapestry of who we are as Americans and also taste the rich essence of history in both its tragic and celebratory moments. I also hope that the end result will give people hope for the future.

What are the different styles of music you use in the story?

Every major style of American music. The play is also a journey through American music history. I want audiences to feel the full musical breadth of our country.

Does music play a central role in your other plays?

Music plays a pivotal role in all of my plays. I find music to be a great soundscape for the worlds I write about. It sets mood, it is great for transitions and sometimes can be the most profound way to get to the heart of expressing something that dialogue just cannot.

Does African American culture have its own mythology?

For me, myths are sacred stories. So yes, African Americans have many sacred stories. African American history is shaped by stories that are passed down from generation to generation. These stories record the life of one time—and change to embrace another. I think sacred stories and the adaptation of these stories remind us that the great lessons of life are still being learned, that even though we are evolving, improving, moving bodily into the future, we still have so much to gain from the past.

In your play, Ulysses confronts his own lineage as an African American man. Is this something we all must do— discover where we came from—in order to discover who we are?

I think that the journey into our past is vital for understanding who we are. It’s not just about learning one’s genealogy, although that is important. It is also necessary to learn about one’s cultural past. I find that a lot of African American history is still not taught in our schools. I wanted to give audiences a more thorough journey into that history. I wanted to celebrate and honor my culture with this play.

What is Ulysses trying to find besides his home? Is there a larger significance to his journey?

Ulysses is trying to find himself. That is his real journey. His pre-war existence was very hard and his life on active duty is equally hard. He has become lost—and given up on humanity. He must find his history and, to this end, himself. No man can know himself if he doesn’t know his history. This could be familial history, cultural history, even national history. All of these histories are a part of who we are. When we accept, learn from and celebrate who we are then we can move forward.

Why is water such an important motif in the play?

Water is a silent character in the play. It is nature that moves the characters forward and allows them to crash into one another. Water is a symbol of fate.

The gods in the play comport themselves at times like grown-ups and at times like children. Was this playful quality something you found in your reading of Greek mythology?

Yes, indeed! The best thing about the gods in Greek mythology is their human characteristics. If they truly were infallible, the stories would not be half as interesting. Moreover, it is their struggle to be godly that inspires us. What I find most prominent in Greek mythology is that the gods are easily offended. I wanted the gods in this play to be more driven by principle and the need to protect their children. In this way, the gods are ancestors. They are a part of us. Perhaps, the better parts of us. Yet and still, they err, and they are most fascinated by our humanity.

What happens when a god descends into the human world?

Then godly laws are broken. For this to happen, there must be a great need among the mortals. When a god descends, a wrong must be made right and a god will risk her/his immortality to dwell among us. This is because gods sympathize more viscerally when they are among us—they lose their godliness. They relate and gain a deeper sense of compassion—they cannot help it. Gods are meant to judge, not sympathize—this is how they lose their power. It’s their ability to manipulate us that makes them powerful. When they are among us, our humanity is so strong that they become the manipulated. Only the bravest of gods come down to dwell among us.

The play is often so funny. Why was it so important for you to inject humor into the play?

Humor helps audiences feel the full weight of tragedy. I don’t necessarily think that humor is required in a tragedy, but I think it can be useful to set up tragic elements. We laugh and cry with the same muscle. Most of my plays exercise this muscle. I am interested in using humor so that the muscle is already stretched. Then when tragedy arises, we are allowed to

feel, to compare how delighted and how sorrowful life can be.

Are you excited to be presenting your play in the round?

Yes. It will give audiences a sense of the earth’s globe, the world. It will also allow them the freedom to see others while watching the play, which I always find intriguing. It makes the action feel Greek—it is in an arena. There are spectators who are a part of the live action. It feels Olympic.

Douglas Langworthy is the Literary Manager of the Denver Center Theatre Company

black odyssey

Jan 17 – Feb 16 • Space Theatre

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