The production of “A Woman Called Truth” is bringing history to life to the young actors tasked with performing it on stage.
“My great-grandmother lived through the Great Depression and the Civil Rights movement. It really does make me want to experience what she experienced,” said Chayah Worth, a 17-year-old Grovetown High School student, who like the rest of the cast of the Augusta Junior Players production, plays multiple characters in the show.
“A Woman Called Truth” will be performed at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Feb. 19 and 3 p.m. Feb. 20 at the Kroc Center.
The focus of the action is on Sojourner Truth who was born into slavery in 1797 but escaped and became an abolitionist as well as a women’s rights’ activist. After the New York Anti-Slavery act was passed, her son was illegally sold. She sued a White man to have her son returned and became the first Black woman to sue a White man and win.
Worth plays multiple roles including that of the White lawyer who took on Sojourner Truth’s case and the actors have researched the plot to see how close to the truth the play is.
“At the start of every rehearsal, we talk about the facts,” said Worth. “It’s been a fabulous history lesson.”
All the thespians in this performance take on several parts.
Charlissa Smith, 16, plays Mama and Old Woman. Her characters aren’t necessarily a single person, but represent more of a composite, she said.
Portraying them she can see others and has drawn from the women in her own life as inspiration, she said.
“It’s really opened my eyes,” she said. “The reality is some of the same things happen today.”
Smith and Worth said early in the rehearsal process director Roy Lewis challenged them with recent events including the killings of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd and the face of racism in the 21st century.
Tickets are $8-$12 and are available at ajp-101081.square.site
Charmain Z. Brackett is the managing editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
