Rosa Parks revisited

I was just an extra, a moving piece of scenery – in the “Rosa Parks: Quiet Strength” play presented at the South Arkansas Arts Center in February, but I repeatedly heard one after another of the experienced SAAC volunteers comment, “This cast is astounding.”
I am not sure what that difference was, but perhaps ….
• It was the ensemble show where no one person dominated. Even the part of Rosa was played by three women, each portraying a different stage of her life.
• It was that everyone learned their lines early in the practice schedule, reducing the director’s frustration and allowing the players time to concentrate on the presentation of the show.
• It was that we had no prima donnas and no trash left behind after practice and shows for the stage manager to clean-up.
• It was the choir singing at the back of the stage providing transitional hymns, background music and soloists who sang out loud and clear, heightening the feelings accompanying various incidents in Parks life. The choir, director and accompanist never left the stage, they put in long hours and set the mood before and during the show.
• It was the merging of actors from so many social groups, from the executive to the homemaker, from high school students to retirees. Many were new to the South Arkansas Arts Center stage, but everyone worked hard to create a believable, workable show.
• It was the circle time just before each performance when the details of the show were addressed, successes applauded and the cast and choir joined hands in prayer led by a volunteer from the circle.
• It was the vivid reminder of just how worn out people were in the 1950s of being called “out of my name” just because of the color of their skin.
• It was the compact review of the civil rights movement within the context of the play and the realization that it was not just a burst of energy in the middle of the 20th Century but a sustained determination to work until change came. The play forced us to hear and see again a time in this country when national newspapers called for the lynching of a 14-year-old for whistling at a white woman, “somewhat frightening.” Tired of the status quo, the unequal treatment and lack of respect, many took a stand, in Rosa’s case – a seat – in defiance of the Jim Crow laws. Parks symbolized the thousands of individuals who declared it was time to expect respect … even if it meant walking everywhere during the year-long strike against the bus system before the city relented and changed the laws regarding who sat where on the bus.
Perhaps it was that just as Rosa Parks decided to break away from the traditions of her times, many of the actors were breaking out of their own status quo to try, and succeed, at a new thing: Acting. One of those new to the stage is an employee of SAAC whom other staff members encouraged to try for a part. Afterwards his accolades included “it is the beginning of a new career for you,” and “You will have to be in another play.” He was just one of many who surprised their friends with a hidden talent that glowed under the expert guidance of an experienced director.
Perhaps it was all of that. Whatever, it was, the Rosa Parks story, as acted at SAAC the last weekend in February- was a success with full to overflowing audiences every time, including the unannounced Sunday evening show. In four days we performed seven times, including two day-time shows for area students.
The Rosa Parks spirit continues.
(Joan Hershberger is a reporter at the News-Times.)