A staged reading of three vignettes is set to debut in the Bellamy Theatre at the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts, based on the groundbreaking research by Calhoun Lemon Professor of Literature Rhondda Thomas and created in collaboration with the Tectonic Theater Project.
“Call My Name, Clemson” tells the stories of seven generations of African Americans, both freed and enslaved, who contributed to the University’s history. Thomas said that the most challenging aspect of the adaptation is reducing more than 300 years of history to a few hours on stage, according to Clemson News.
The project honed in on three figures who will become the focus of the stage adaptation: Issey, an enslaved girl at Fort Hill plantation, Wade Foster, a 13-year-old convicted laborer assigned to work at Clemson College, and Harvey Gantt, the first Black student to attend and graduate from Clemson after winning a class-action lawsuit.
“The Call My Name Project documents the contributions of Black people to Clemson University history by sharing stories that have often been left out of the school’s public narrative,” said Thomas, who began the “Call My Name” project in 2014. “This staged reading of the Call My Name play, a work-in-progress, provides a means for the campus community and the public to learn about and engage with this important part of Clemson history.”
Tectonic Theater Project is a New York-based production company founded and directed by Moisés Kaufman that develops new plays through a rigorous process of research and collaboration and is best known for producing the internationally renowned play “The Laramie Project.”
Tectonic’s trademarked theater-making method, Moment Work, employs a rigorous process of research and collaboration in a laboratory environment. Tectonic is collaborating with Thomas on the adaptation.
Throughout the summer and fall of 2022, Thomas traveled to New York to develop the play with Tectonic’s ensemble.
“It can also enable us to better understand and seek to know more about Clemson’s complex origins as well as honor those who have helped to ensure the development and success of the university, Thomas stated. ‘A full version of the Call My Name play will be staged when funds for the production are secured through grants and gifts.”
The play will be debuting on Jan. 28 through Jan. 29 at the Bellamy Theatre while the University celebrates its 60th anniversary of integration.
On Jan. 28, 1963, Harvey Gantt became the first Black student to enter Clemson University. Gantt earned a Bachelor of Architecture and graduated from Clemson University with honors in 1965.
To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Harvey Gantt’s enrollment at Clemson, the Clemson Black Alumni Council introduced the Harvey B. Gantt Scholarship Endowment. The purpose of this fund is to provide academic scholarships to recruit and retain black students with special preference given to South Carolina residents and entering freshmen, and the debuting play is an extension of his historical impact on the University with current Clemson students.
Additional exhibits, art galleries and displays are ongoing throughout Jan. as well.
