A NAUTICAL INTERWEAVING
S: Is there anything that you took
from the Oregon production that
you hope to carry over this time
around?
NW: Kwame. [Laughs] You know
I had both a wonderful and testing
experience at Oregon, develop-
AN
INTERVIEW
WITH
ing the play. Kwame is one of the
most brilliant minds working in
American theatre, and his keen
NAOMI
WALLACE
eye is ruthlessly honest. When he
finds a scene or a line that is not
working, he will challenge me.
We worked quite intimately on
the script in Oregon. We would
sit together, talk about lines,
about characters, about what was
missing and what still needed to
RESIDENCY ONE PLAYWRIGHT NAOMI WALLACE RETURNS TO SIGNATURE
WITH THE SECOND PLAY OF HER RESIDENCY, THE LIQUID PLAIN.
be uttered. And far more often
An Interview with Naomi Wallace
than my pride will let me admit,
Set on the slave-trading docks of Bristol, Rhode Island at the turn of the nineteenth
century, the play features a motley crew of characters, including former slaves and
poets, sailors and ghosts, all striving to create a better future for themselves and
their descendants. Drawing from historical events, The Liquid Plain gives voice to
the men and women who helped build America—vividly bringing to life their desires,
their disappointments, and the communal resistance that sustained them in the
face of dehumanizing injustice. Shortly before beginning rehearsals, Wallace spoke
with Literary Fellow Nathaniel French about the play’s inspiration, working with director Kwame Kwei-Armah, and how individual dramas can shape human history.
Kwame would come up with
better ideas and possibilities than
I did for the demands of the play.
So I am very happy that I’ve the
privilege to work with him again.
Signature: How did The Liquid Plain come about?
Naomi Wallace: The play was a commission for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for their
Ameri