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Contact: Cheryl Minns, Arts Editor
Marts@theotherpress.ca

www.theotherpress.ca

 

Long live the King

» Explore the human side of Martin Luther King Jr. in ‘The Mountaintop’

Cheryl Minns

. Arts Editor
Marts
@theotherpress.ca

QO: a cold, stormy night, a

nervous Martin Luther
King Jr. enters Room 306 at the
Lorraine Motel on the night
before he is assassinated. Actor
Dion Johnstone commands the
stage as he portrays the civil
rights activist’s final evening
in that room in Arts Club’s
production of Katori Hall’s The
Mountaintop, directed by Janet
Wright.

In this two-person, one-
act play, King meets a sassy
maid named Camae (Crystal
Balint) who helps him prepare
his speech for the next day.
After having a few laughs, the

 

King when he discovers Camae
isn’t who she claims to be.

To prepare for the role
of King, Johnstone created a
playlist of King’s interviews
and speeches, noting the
difference in his voice when
speaking to large crowds
compared to one-on-one
interviews.

“T still listen to the playlist

in my dressing room before

: each performance to keep

: absorbing his passionate way
: of speaking,” Johnstone wrote
: to the Other Press.

During the show,

Johnstone delivers a solid

: performance when he portrays
: King practicing his speech in

: the hotel room, his booming

: voice filling the theatre. He

: also excels during the quieter

: moments of the play, such as

: King confiding in Camae about
: his fear of not having enough

: time to achieve everything he

: needs to do.

“There’s a moment when,

upon reflecting on how

: Malcolm X was only 39 when
: he was assassinated, King

: realizes that he too is 39. This
: moment resonates powerfully
evening takes a serious turn for : forme because I’m also 39,”

: Johnstone wrote, reflecting on
: his connection to his portrayal
: of King.

“T relate to the feeling of

: being on the road, rarely being
: settled at home, feeling worn

: out but not being able to stop

: the momentum of what needs
: to be done. Needing a break,

: but at the same time feeling

: the pressure to accomplish
: more. I struggle with those
: feelings a lot,” he wrote.

In preparing for the

: role of Camae, which Balint

: passionately pursued after

: falling in love with the play in
: 2013, she researched the 1960s,
: the Civil Rights Movement,

: and the attitudes of the era,

: familiarizing herself as best :
: she could with the issues of the :
: time. :

“I watched a lot of footage

: of documentaries and films
: that tackled the subject in

: order to better understand :
: what Camae might be thinking, :
: feeling, doing during sucha:
: turbulent but hopeful period
: in our world history,” Balint

: wrote to the Other Press.

“Camae is a unique

: character in the pages of

: the play, but she’s also an

: expression of an average

: African American woman

: living day-to-day amidst this
era of great change,” she wrote.

Balint portrays Camae

: with fierce determination even
: though the maid struggles with
: the difficult challenge she’s

: been tasked with. She plays a

: necessary part in helping King

: when Martin Luther King Jr.

: has a panic attack and Camae
: struggles to bring him out of

: it,” Johnstone wrote, referring
: toa pivotal scene in the

: play where Camae begins to

: reveal her true identity. “It’s a
: powerful moment that I feel

: brings us right to the core of

: the play.”

Dion Johnstone & Crystal Balint , Photo by David Cooper

: accept that he won't beableto :
: achieve all of his goals, but that !
: he has set things in motion for
: others to accomplish.

“There’s also a moment

 

“My hope is that
audiences who come to see

: The Mountaintop enjoy a

: laugh or two, are engaged, are
: entertained, but walk away

: with things to reflect on,”

: Balint wrote. “This show asks

: a lot of its audience, but it also
: starts a dialogue that perhaps

: we need to reignite.”

Arts Club’s The

: Mountaintop runs until March
: 14 at the Granville Island Stage.
: Tickets start at $29 and can be
: ordered online at ArtsClub.com

 

Comic Corner: Let's pretend
this never happened

» ‘Fairest Vol. 3: The Return of the Maharaja’ review

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor
Mlifeandstyle

et | @theotherpress.ca

  
 

00000

ou may be asking yourself

why I would be reviewing
the third book ina series. Well,
the answer is it’s in honour of
illustrator Stephen Sadowski,
who is coming to Vancouver
Fan Expo in April, and who
didn’t join the project until the
third volume. Unfortunately, it’s

Fairest is a spin-off of the
Fables universe. At its heart,
it is meant to be a series that
highlights the heroines. This

: particular volume comes at us

: from writer Sean E. Williams,

: and is about Nalayani, a

: character based off of an old

: Hindu myth. She teams up with
: Prince Charming to save her
village from monstrous wolves.

Maybe it’s the conception

: of Nalayani’s character that’s

: the problem or maybe it’s just

: bad writing. Either way, basing
: the strong female protagonist

: ona myth where her only

: defining trait is that she is a

: devoted wife, ina series which
: is supposed to be progressive

: towards women, seems like a

; : bad idea.
probably the worst of the series. :

As such, this book is the

: black sheep of the Fairest

: series, and Nalayani only serves
: as a catalyst for the return of

: Charming, the womanizing

: ex-husband of Snow White

: and Cinderella, back into the
: Fables/Fairest narrative. The

: issues with this volume might
: explain why Williams wasn't

: back to write volume four.

Despite my dislike of

: the plot, I did enjoy the art.

: Stephen Sadowski and Phil

: Jimenez bring back the classic,
: premium quality I have come

: to associate with the expansive
: Fables universe. Highly

: detailed, with dynamic use of

: shadow, you can't go wrong

: artistically with this series.

For my recommendation, I

: don’t want to discourage people
: from picking up this series.

: Maybe just skip this particular

: volume. Go from Fairest:

: Hidden Kingdom straight to

: Fairest: Of Men and Mice.

 

Art by Ferry Groenendijk