Without substance or character, that is the definition of the word hollow, but don’t judge the play by its title. This Christina Anderson piece is far from that!
Hollow Roots brings together the collaborative efforts of three women of color: writer Christina Anderson, director Lileana Blain-Cruz, and performer April Matthis, profoundly questioning can a person of color have a neutral narrative? This solo show takes us on a “post-racial” ride with an African-American paralegal who plays the cello. In the open black box, Matthis comes on stage and sits on the lonely chair in the dark with her spotlight for 55 minutes. There is a real intimacy between Matthis and her audience as she tells us her secret thoughts about race, gender, and class. “Who do you think I am? What do you think my story could be?” Throughout the show, I thought, how does this woman think she’s going to find someone who has a descriptive narrative that is not attached to ethnic culture or gender? “A Person of color with no color?” Does that even exist?
Interesting enough, this is what Anderson wanted. In discussion with Richard on CultureBolt, she said, “Well the goal I think is to get as many people of color in the audience as possible. Because I hesitate to have this conversation be solely one-sided, an audience that’s mostly white. I want this conversation to be had by as many people as possible, as diverse as possible. Because even though I have this particular stage, that’s a question for all of us. I also think that even in parts of the story, even the question of whether a white man could be neutral is something that comes. So that none of us can be completely neutral. Claiming to be more comfortable or less comfortable in certain circles based on that lineage.” (You can read the entire discussion here.)
Matthis did an incredible job of taking us into her character’s world and helping us see what she saw. We laughed with her, and we questioned along with her. A line that resonated with me was, “Choas on the inside when on the outside you look okay. That’s where the trouble is.” Makes you think. Thank you to Anderson, Cruz & Matthis for continuing the conversation.
*Hollow Roots was presented at the Public Theater as part of the Under the Radar Festival from January 9th through January 20th.
