val gray ward

Q&A- VAL GRAY WARD

NDIGO: What inspired you to come home with a new play? WARD: I have always wanted to return to the Chicago area to perform again and the Logan Cen Like   Tweet   Preferences   Forward     VAL GRAY WARD NDIGO: What inspired you to come home with a new play? WARD: I have always wanted to return to the Chicago area to perform again and the Logan Center gave me the opportunity. This is not a new play. "My Soul Is a Witness" has always been the name of my one - woman show. NDIGO: What have you been doing since you departed Chicago? WARD: I never completely "departed Chicago." Francis and I moved to Syracuse, New York when he became a professor at Syracuse University. However, our children and grandchildren have always lived in the Chicago area and we visited them regularly. I also kept in constant contact with most of our friends in Chicago. Also, I have continued to do live performances and I also created a CD, "Rhapsody in Hughes 101." I do various interpretations of the works of Langston Hughes with excellent musical accompaniment from Baabe Irving and musicians under his direction. VAL GRAY WARD NDIGO: What is your One Woman Show about? WARD: "My Soul Is a Witness" is my dramatic interpretation of the works of various black writers, such as Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Wright, Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni and Sonia Sanchez. I also perform a segment from "The Life of Harriet Tubman" which Francis wrote for me many years ago. NDIGO: Are you writing a book? WARD: Not at the moment, but I would like to do a personal memoir and also a book on the Kuumba Theatre. My uncertainty now is only because of my health. NDIGO: How has Chicago changed since you left? WARD: I think it’s more vibrant, very much alive in theater and the arts. It’s changed in terms of the shootings and killings. We didn’t have that when I left. But there are so many new theaters and playwrights; 47TH Street is coming back – with galleries and restaurants -- and the house tour, art tour. Even though DuSable Museum needs our help, and eta probably needs our financial help too, they are very much alive. So is the South Side Community Art Center, the Black Ensemble. Oh, it’s so exciting. It’s good to be home. VAL GRAY WARD NDIGO: What was your thinking when you founded the Kuumba Theatre in 1968? WARD: I wanted to create an arts organization that would both teach and entertain. My vision was an organization whose work would make a radical departure from the prevailing Western concept of art for art's sake. Kuumba would fuse the basic ideas of the 1960's Black Consciousness Movement with the goals of the black freedom struggle. The Kuumba Theatre also did more than live drama. We also did major public forums on issues of great public importance and gave annual liberation awards to major public figures like Lerone Bennett Jr. and John Henrik Clarke in honor of their life's work. NDIGO: What are your thoughts on how the arts and culture in Chicago have thrived since you left the South Side Art Center on South Michigan Avenue? WARD: Chicago always had a strong tradition of artistic and cultural life, so it's no surprise that live theatre and other arts organizations are doing well. NDIGO; How is your family? WARD: Family members are doing well. We now have eight great grandchildren. VAL GRAY WARD NDIGO: What's your greatest achievement? WARD: I've had many successes over the years. If I had to pick one, it would be the great success of the TV show we created, "Precious Memories: Strolling 47th Street." After it first aired on WTTW in 1987, it won 21 Emmy awards for all the singers and musicians in the show. I won an Emmy for the stage direction. However, my greatest achievement has to be 50 years of marriage to Francis Ward and rearing five wonderful children. They eventually gave us four grandchildren which has now led to the eight great grands. Family life has always been our greatest joy and certainly the most cherished achievement. NDIGO: Would you consider moving back to Chicago? WARD: I've already moved back to Lynwood in south suburban Chicago. NDIGO: Where have your travels taken you? WARD: The Kuumba Theatre toured throughout the U.S. to cities like Louisville, Ky., New York City, Detroit, Atlanta, Springfield, Mass. and many other locations too numerous to name. We also toured internationally to Japan, Montreal, Canada, and to the World Festival of Black and African Arts (FESTAC) in January 1977 with one of our most important plays, "The Image Makers." This play was written by Useni Perkins as a satire on the blaxsploitation films of the early 1970's. We first did it at Kuumba in 1973 and toured with it later on. I also traveled to East Africa (Uganda and Tanzania), I believe in 1976. NDIGO: What book would I find on your nightstand? WARD: I've read good books all my life. My latest favorite book is "Between the World and Me," written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, a memoir to his son.   "Like" us on Facebook and twitter © 2015 NDIGO | 1006 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 200, Chicago 60605 Web Version   Forward   Unsubscribe     Powered by Mad Mimi®A GoDaddy® company