Community play explores struggles of urban neighborhoods

By Lissette Linares

RICHMOND, Va. – From World War II and Vietnam to desegregation and the construction of Interstate 95, true-life events have created increasing challenges for survival of Richmond’s inner-city Carver community. To both celebrate and share its legacy, the community teamed up with Virginia Commonwealth University to produce "Sheep Hill Memories – Carver Dreams," a play drawing on residents’ personal experiences during neighborhood transformations over seven decades.

Designed as a living newspaper linking vignettes that capture the day’s events, the play will be offered at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 and at 4 p.m. Nov. 19 in Shafer Street Playhouse, Shafer Street. Panel discussions featuring Richmond public officials, members of the community and VCU faculty will follow each performance.

This local project revitalizes an art form first developed in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and popularized in the United States by the Works Progress Administration Federal Theatre Project in the 1930s. The Carver Living Newspaper documents the history of the community, once known as "Sheep Hill," by focusing on key events that had significant impacts. A voice over a loudspeaker serves as narrator, reading the day’s "headlines." The scenes then flash to the central characters’ memories of life in Carver during those times.

Barbara Abernathy, president of the Carver Area Civic Improvement League and co-chair of the Carver-VCU Partnership, first presented the idea for the project. "A lot of our seniors and elderly persons were passing on, and I felt that we were losing the history and identity of the community with their passing," said the lifelong Carver resident said. "You hear so many negative things about Carver in the media – about the crime and poverty. And while those things exist to some degree, there are some truly wonderful things that have been accomplished and are being accomplished in Carver."

Through the flashback scenes, the play features the actual memories of more than 30 Carver residents interviewed for the project. Laura Browder, Ph.D., VCU English professor, drew on these interviews and on "A History of Carver," a report produced by VCU’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, to write the script. Marguerita Austin, who founded the Richmond Community Theatre Guild in Carver in the 1970s, served as a consultant.

"We chose this format for the play because it provides a lot of flexibility in that it can be produced on a shoe-string or on an elaborate budget and community members or groups can adapt it by adding their own skits to certain vignettes or by producing selected segments," Browder said. "It’s really a foundation for what could become an annual or regular production." VCU also will produce a video of the play for use by the Carver community.

"The hope is that beyond sharing this community’s history, the play sparks a dialogue with other residents and with public officials about what we can do to ensure the survival of Richmond’s
urban neighborhoods," said Cathy Howard, Ph.D., director of VCU’s Office of Community Programs and co-chair of the Carver-VCU Partnership.

John Moeser, Ph.D., VCU professor of urban studies and planning, said urban communities throughout the United States continuously face challenges to their survival. "While revitalization

efforts are for the most part favorable, as property values increase, residents of these low to moderate-income areas are faced with increasing rents and other concerns."

To encourage a dialogue about these issues, the Nov. 18 production will be followed by a discussion featuring Mayor Tim Kaine; Abernathy; Moeser; T.K. Somanath of the Better Housing Coalition; and Henry Rhone, Ed.D., VCU vice provost for student affairs. The Nov. 19 panel will include state Delegate Viola Baskerville (D-Va.-71); Duane Finger of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority; Carolyn Hawley, a Carver resident; Roy West, former Richmond mayor; and Allen Knight, a community historian.

Directed by Dawnamaria Johnson-Minor, director of the Richmond Community Theatre Guild, "Sheep Hill Memories – Carver Dreams" features actors from the guild, Theatre VCU and the VCU Theatre Education Outreach Council, led by professor Janet Rodgers. The production is supported by a Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Public Policy grant. It also is one of a number of initiatives launched by the Carver-VCU Partnership, which strives to improve the quality of life in a shared urban community. Admission to the Nov. 18 performance is by invitation only. The Nov. 19 production is free and open to the public. For information, call (804) 828-8824.