Lynn Nottage’s play kicks off fall season at University Theatre.
By Damonya Jones, Staff Reporter
Conversations about life, race, and rehabilitation are on the menu as the University Theatre opens its fall season with a production of “Clyde’s.”
Written by the American playwright Lynn Nottage, the play follows the lives of five formerly incarcerated people working together at a truck stop diner in Berks County, Pennsylvania. As the group takes orders from customers, they bond over their shared struggles, talking about their hopes and the pursuit of the perfect sandwich.
It’s a story of institutionalized racism, the perils of predatory capitalism, and working class solidarity.
Directed by theatre arts instructor Jozben Barrett, the play is a follow up to Nottage’s 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning work “Sweat.” That play is also part of the Theatre Arts Department’s fall lineup and is scheduled to open in December, directed by instructor Kelly Herman.
In between the two plays will be the Dance program’s production of “Dreams and Diversity,” choreographed by faculty Chelsea Asman and Cihtli Ocampo.
The kitchen at Clyde’s is managed by its eponymous owner, played by Carol Alana, who isn’t a CSUDH student but agreed to take the part as a favor to Barrett. The two met as graduate students while attending the California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita.
“Off the rip, you picture Clyde to be this demon,” Alana said. “The audience may question why she’s so mean, but there are layers to why she acts a certain way.”
Alana told The Bulletin she learned never to judge a character. She described Clyde as a “woman with mother wounds” trying to survive in a “male-dominated business.”
“She’s been through a lot,” she said. “She’s been hurt by a man and went to jail and did time. The audience will see she comes with a lot of territory.”
Because Clyde is “always on 1,000,” Alana said she sometimes had to step back from the character to take care of her physical and mental well-being. Still, she found the character’s tough-as-nails personality relatable.
“My mentor in undergrad and my mother were hard as steel,” she said. “Being a strong Black woman means always having to work 10-times harder. I went to an HBCU, and nobody cares. You have to show up early, there’s no room for mediocre.”
The play’s focus on redemption also resonated with other cast members, including junior Noreen Flowers, who plays Leticia, one of the cooks.
“I can’t relate to the incarceration part, but at its core, ‘Clyde’s’ is all about second chances and hope,” Flowers said. “There have been times where I felt like maybe I didn’t deserve a second chance for whatever I’ve done.”
Second chances are reflected all along the walls at “Clyde’s,” which was designed by theatre arts faculty member Brittany Bodley. Alana said Bodley incorporated photos of incarcerated individuals from Pennsylvania so the cast could reflect on the realities of life behind bars.
Barrett, the director, also invited friends who were formerly incarcerated to speak with the cast. Those friends, Barrett said, now work with organizations that help support incarcerated youth.
While “Clyde’s” adds a dark comedic twist to some serious topics—prison, drugs, homelessness, and poverty—the play is about reclaiming life, according to Flowers.
The play runs at the Edison Theatre from Oct. 8–11, followed by a second run from Oct. 15–18.
“I really hope the audience walks away with that message because it’s so important,” Flowers said. “Everybody’s done something they’re probably not the proudest of, or would rather not relive, but that doesn’t define who we are—I really hope the audience walks away knowing that.”