As the cast of “Livin Fat” conducted a rehearsal at the NCCU Theatre, Assistant Professor Kenneth Hinton took notes on a legal pad on the edge of the stage. When the first act was complete, the cast stepped down to the audience seats and Hinton ascended the stage to offer advice.
He advises one cast member to use two different voices during a scene – one voice for talking to his girlfriend on the phone, the other for a friend in the room who keeps interrupting. He tells others where they should stand or move.
“You got to start running around the set,” Hinton says and demonstrates, causing the cast to laugh.
“Livin Fat” is comedy about a young man named David Lee who is working as a janitor in a bank when robbers come in. During the confusion, Lee grabs a stack of cash. His parents advise him to turn return the money and turn himself into police. His grandmother, however, advises Lee to enjoy his new wealth.
The play was written by Judi Ann Mason when she was 19 and was produced off Broadway in 1976 by the Negro Ensemble Company. Mason went on to write for the TV comedy “Good Times,” other TV shows and some movies.
Shahim Faircloth portrays Lee. A theater major, Faircloth says one challenge of this play is the time period.
“I feel the 1970s is a tricky time to replicate,” Faircloth said. “I was born in 2003. Just to get the rhythm of how they spoke back then.”
Hinton acknowledges the challenge.
“These students are so young; you have to teach them the nuances. In the 1970s, people walked slower with a bit of a bounce.”
Kelyse Raiyel, also a senior majoring in theater, portrays the mother of Lee. She particularly enjoys her onstage interactions with Big Momma, the grandmother.
The actors interviewed agreed that audience members usually don’t understand how much work goes into a play.
“From the outside looking in, it can look easy,” Raiyel said. “Just get up there and say a few things. We put in long hard hours. We go to school, come here (for rehearsal) and don’t leave until about 11 p.m.”
Hinton, who is retiring after directing “Livin Fat” – he’s taught at NCCU since 2004 – said he wants to go out on a comedy.
“We haven’t done a really good slapstick comedy in a while now,” Hinton said. “We’re always doing dramas and biographies and stuff that tries to educate people. This is my last play and I wanted to do something fun, something that the kids could enjoy.”
Though he is exiting NCCU, Hinton will continue to direct plays at Agape Theater Project in Raleigh.
“Livin Fat” will be performed at the NCCU Theatre in the Farrison-Newton Communications Building (501 E. Lawson St.):
- Thursday, Feb. 20 at 8 p.m.
- Friday, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m.
- Saturday, Feb. 22 at 8 p.m.
- Sunday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m.
Tickets are $5 for students, $12 for seniors and $15 for everyone else.