Many African-American parents worry their son could be profiled or targeted by police - or worse. The term "driving while black" is the name of a one-act opera that makes its regional debut this weekend in Fort Worth.
"This story is about a Black mother and the terrors and the stresses of raising a Black son in today's time while also teaching him how to drive which that can be a multi-stage process. There are things Black mothers deal with that typically our non-person of color counterparts don't have to think about every day," said Cremaine Booker, a cellist and one of just three performers who will be on stage.
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Booker joins percussionist David Verin and soprano Marsha Thompson in a powerful story of a mother and son.
Thompson portrays the mom in the almost hour-long chamber opera. She is the only voice the audience hears in a 16-year journey of a mother raising her son and teaching him how to drive.
"At one point, I become a young child. At another part, I become a 12-year-old boy who has been picked up by mistake. There are bulletins in the show where I also talk about various topics of people being pulled over and stopped in between, juxtaposed to my role as the mother and raising my child and also teaching him how to drive and the fears surrounding that," Thompson said. "I think a lot of mothers will be able to identify with this. Mothers who have Black sons and also people who may not know what that emotion is like, they're going to really feel that emotion through the words in this show."
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While Thompson provides the vocals and lyrics, the cello and percussion add dramatic moments on their own.
"There's a lot of things that are written that are meant to bring to life the idea of driving. We open the piece in what's called the prelude, We start with a cluster of two notes that actually sound like a car horn. Then afterward, you play the brake drum that brings to your mind the image of a car. There are so many clever things the composer does to bring all those images to life throughout the piece," Verin said.
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE:
Created by Susan Kander (composer) and Roberta Gumbel (librettist), dwb (driving while black) evolved as a dream collaboration between friends and colleagues. The collaborative project that would become dwb (driving while black) began after Gumbel mentioned her son’s driving lessons, revealing a crushing vulnerability — the reality of “the talk” that Black mothers give their sons as they approach manhood. As the project developed and took increasing inspiration from Gumbel’s life, it moved beyond a chamber music song cycle and took on a fully operatic narrative sweep and importance.
As a special bonus, Fort Worth Opera invites ticket holders to join key members of the creative team — including Kander and Gumbel in talkback discussions after every performance.
The Fort Worth Opera presents dwb (driving while black) Friday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Sat., Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU. The Kimbell Art Museum will host a third performance on Sat. Feb. 24 at 2 p.m. Purchase tickets here.
