The Pierce College Theater department will soon be opening their rendition of the production “Clyde’s”, with the cast waiting to share a story of second-chances and hope.
Written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage, “Clyde’s” will open on Dec. 6 and run until Dec. 15. The play tells the story of a truck-stop sandwich shop giving a second-chance of hope and community to its ex-convict workers.
Pierce’s production of “Clyde’s” is directed by Esdras Toussaint who has directed three other productions at Pierce and is a full-time professor.
“All of these types of characters are what society would probably keep them in the far margins of society,” Toussaint said. “The characters start out doubting themselves and somewhere along the way, they start thinking, Yes, I am human and part of having society accept you is to truly accept yourself.”
“Clyde’s” consists of six main characters, Clyde, Tish, Rafael, Jason, Montrellous and Letitia. The cast includes two student actors, Andrew Tafur playing Rafel and Alany Solis-Coleman playing Tish, as well as professional actors Nicholas Caisse playing Jason and Marcus Nash playing Montrellous, and Tiffany Chevonne.
The cast has been rehearsing since mid-September, and they didn’t have connections to each other prior to the start of rehearsals. However, the cast believes it helps portray the connection formed in the play between the characters.
“I worked with a lot of new actors, a couple of actors that are outside of peers and they’ve been very nice,” Tafur said.” I think it helps add on to the story where we begin to get closer, because we came from the stranger aspect and now we’re getting closer and it just helps fuel our characters more”.
The cast is preparing to get the show stage-ready and feeling a sense of community with each other, as they prepare to tell a story of struggle and self-acceptance.
“Lynn Nottage, the director, brings them in a very confined area, and they’re having to deal with each other,” Toussaint said. “It is coming together over something that is loved and shared, what we have in this play are five characters each of whom would typically be stereotyped by our society”.
Solis-Coleman, who plays Tish, an ex-convict who had a child at a young age, describes that she hopes the audience will learn that someone’s past is not the only thing to define them.
“The main thing that I want people to get from this is that your actions don’t define you, and change is an inevitable thing that everybody will experience at some point in their life,” Coleman said. “That’s also a big theme in this play, and something that I would want people to look at moving forward”.
“Clyde’s” challenges the stereotypes and boxes that society places ex-convicts in. It challenges the audience’s thought process and society’s acceptance of those of different backgrounds.
“This sandwich shop is just a little sandwich shop in the middle of nowhere,” Cash said. ”But this is the foundation for them that’s going to help them on the rest of their journey in life”.
“Clyde’s” will open at the Dow Arena Theater on Friday, Dec. 6, and run until Sunday, Dec. 15 (exception for Friday, Dec. 13). Showtimes for Fridays and Saturdays are at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for students and seniors and $20 for general admission.
Free parking is located at Parking Lot #6, next to the Performing Arts Building.
LAPC Theatre’s venues are accessible to those with mobile disabilities and hearing impairments.
For additional information or to purchase tickets, call (818) 719-6488, or visit lapctheatre.org to purchase tickets online.
