If you
are old enough and were allowed to watch the nightly news as a child, then you remember
the news reports of Atlanta Black children, gone missing and then found, dead.
Murdered. It was the first time I ever heard the word "asphyxia" and
even though I looked it up in my well-worn Webster's pocket dictionary back in
1980, my childish mind couldn't comprehend the torture and slaughtering of a
child, and still it made me feel a bit, unsafe, even though I was three states
away. Old haunts are back as Jonathan Norton prepares for his play "My
Tidy List of Terrors" set in Georgia around the time of the Atlanta Child
murders. I sat down with Jonathan to discuss this sure to be enthralling theatrical
venture.
APP: I remember watching the news about the Atlanta Child Murders when I was young, it scared my whole family, even though we were in Texas, we were cautioned. So what inspired you to write about such a tragic issue in recent African American History?
Jonathan: When I was nine or ten there was a made for TV movie about the murders. My parents made me watch it. I was terrified. I’ve been haunted by the murders ever since, even as an adult. But I did not set out to write a play about the murders. The play started as an independent study for credit in my grad program. Vicki Meek was my advisor, and the idea was to study an African American visual artist and write a play inspired by their work. I chose three – Betye, Alison, and Lezley Saar. I used their work as a guide. During my exploration different ideas emerged, feelings, and memories – and eventually this process stirred up memories of my ten-year old self. There’s an even longer and more complicated story of how the play emerged. I will be happy to share that with anyone who comes to the show! Check us out Jan 20th thru 29th at the South Dallas Cultural Center.
APP: What kind of research did you conduct to assist in creating and telling your theatrical story? Where does history meet fiction?
Jonathan: Basically I lived on EBSCO Host and all the other Academic Research engines. And I amassed a $200 library fine at SMU. Seriously. No Joke. I work at SMU full-time, and I wrote the play while a student in the MLS program at SMU. Researching the murders was painful and aggravating, but not for the obvious reason. I was hurt by how little documentation was available, and how little was first- hand. I really had to hunt and dig. But I was fortunate to locate a law professor at Georgia State University, who was a community activist at the time. She gave me a lot of great insight. Most especially she suggested I focus a great deal more on the political climate of Atlanta at that time. Understanding the politics helped to put the murders into focus.
Now here’s the kicker. After all that research you can only incorporate about 25% into the play, otherwise you end up with a docudrama. You have to be very conservative about what to use. Audiences respond to story, emotion, and character, not facts. However, the research is important because it helps to inform the different directions you can take with the story. My research was most useful in placing the story. I was able to craft a story that takes place between September and October 1980. And I was able to weave in key events that took place at that time. But the play does not tell the entire story of the murders. It just zooms in to that specific time in the fall of 1980.
APP: What will people find most compelling about this story and what is your purpose in telling it?
Jonathan: I really hope that the play will inspire people to learn more about the murders. The more you learn the angrier you become. I feel that the play comes from the idea of giving voice to the voiceless. And I do think that evoking the memory of the abduction and murders then, shines a light on the fact that this still happens today. So many times African American women and children go missing and we hear nothing on the evening news. But when white woman and children go missing, it is EVERYWHERE. I hope this play reminds folks of that and makes them angry. But what I always kept at the front of my mind is the fact that it was the mothers of the murdered children in Atlanta that made noise, and made the world pay attention. They were single mothers from low-income communities. But they organized, and fought hard – while still grieving the death of their chidren. That’s why the protagonist of “My Tidy List of Terrors” is a single mother from the Bowen Homes Housing Project. I wanted to honor those brave women. A few years back Atlanta dissolved their Public Housing programs. Now families are given vouchers to move into different neighborhoods. Bowen Homes and many other Housing Projects was demolished. I am always haunted by the thought that some part of the history of these murders was washed away. “My Tidy List of Terrors” seeks to reclaim that history. Which is especially important considering these murders are still unsolved. Wayne Williams was NEVER convicted for the murders of the children, just two adults. Why is that?
APP: Is this play different from what you have written in the past?
Jonathan: My past work is entirely satirical comedy. I really wanted to branch out with this piece and work different muscles.
APP: Tell me a bit about the director, casts and working with the South Dallas Cultural Center.
Jonathan: The cast includes Nadine Marissa Richard, JuNene K. Harris, Douglas Carter, Rene Michael and three amazingly talented young actors – Joshua Jackson, Timothy Owens, and John Franklin. Cora Cardona is the director and it is scary just how well her sensibility fits with the play. Working with Vicki Meek and the South Dallas Cultural Center has been an incredibly positive experience. Vicki and I have been on this journey together since December 2009. So it is so amazing to see how far this process has come. This is a fully realized production. Plus Cora’s brought along her design team, so it will be a great looking show. I think audiences will definitely get their monies worth. But Vicki is truly my hero. She’s invested so much time, energy, and now – resources and money into this project. I can never repay her. But I try, and won’t stop trying.
APP: Is this the final stop for “My Tidy List of Terrors” or can we expect to see it at other venues in other cities; what are the plans for this production?
Jonathan: It’s not the final stop! Although, I have no idea where the NEXT stop will be. But in the last year or so I’ve learned to be patient. And I’ve come to understand that my dreams and goals are very possible but will take TIME. But I feel that I’m substantially closer now than a year ago. I’ve submitted it to a lot of places, and I made a lot of great contacts in September at the Texas State University Black and Latino Playwrights Conference. “My Tidy List of Terrors” was workshopped there. Friends I met at the conference sent the play to their friends… and they have some pretty AMAZING friends. But it takes time. It’s all about relationships and waiting, and keeping busy while you wait. And I have a few big plans for 2012, so I will see how that works out.
A little tid-bit about the author:
Jonathan is a playwright, director and dramaturge based in Dallas, TX. His work has been produced at Capitol City Playhouse, TeCo Theatrical Productions, and Soul Rep Theater. He recently earned his Masters of Liberal Studies from Southern Methodist University.Jonathan is a proud recipient of a 2010 Diaspora Performing Arts Commission sponsored the South Dallas Cultural Center, for his play My Tidy List of Terrors, which was a Semi-Finalist for the 2011 Eugene O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. My Tidy List of Terrors was recently workshopped as part of the 2011 Texas State University Black and Latino Playwrights Conference in San Marcos.
ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE
Opening Thursday, Jan 19 and playing through Sunday, Jan 29
First performance on Thursday, Jan 19 at 8pm
There will be 8 performances
214-939-2787
South Dallas Cultural Center
3400 S. Fitzhugh Ave. Dallas, TX 75210
Dallas- A controversial sitcom has hit the internet webisode world with
a BANG or maybe a “rat-a-tat-
Pikahsso’s take on Trap
House is this, “… [it’s] to make people laugh and to entertain them with
everyday life satire. People may wanna sweep it under the rug but there is a
Maurice in every hood. It is what it is. If they wanna watch something deep and
informative National Geographic comes on Discovery channel or they can watch
Bill Nye the science guy.” 
And finally, Macklin has a more prolific
approach to public reaction, stating “I would say to them that I would rather
see young brothas/sistas pick up a pen, paper and video camera and be creative
then to actually sell dope. Those elders talked a lot about black folks "self-leveraging"
and that’s exactly what we're trying to do in a comedic way instead of in a
destructive way. White folks make movies and air TV shows every day depicting
violence and drug use. What’s the difference in what we are doing?”
