The Elstad Annex’s blackbox stage was set with chairs, a desk, and a poster board reading “Deaf President Now!”. The classroom setup was lit in orange as Antawn Wanliss took the stage as Myron Jr., and began a poem in American Sign Language (ASL). The poem spoke of Jr.’s wishes to emulate prominent Black figures, both Deaf and hearing. As he signed, the projection screen shifted to show the faces of these aspirational people, including Lenny Kravitz, Malcolm X, and Carolyn McCaskill. The passion in the character of Jr. came through instantly, and the poem was a strong and beautiful opening to “Dinner Note.”
This opening performance is interrupted by Jr.’s teacher, Mr. Watson, and revealed to be part of a larger presentation on U.S. Deaf history. Jr. is told his presentation is “off-the-point” and Mr. Watson sends a note home explaining his concerns. Through dinner table conversations with Jr.’s parents, cousin, aunt, and family friend, the audience is enlightened to Black Deaf experiences.
Aaron Loggins as Myron, Jr.’s father, has a natural ease on stage. One can easily believe his bond with the other characters, especially his son and wife. In addition, Loggins delivers a powerful ASL poem centered on Myron’s experience being a target of racism in his youth. Loggins’ strong facial expressions and signing demonstrated his skill in performance, as well as clearly communicated the trauma his character still carries with him. In other scenes Loggins shows Myron’s sweetness as he invites his wife to dance, and his playfulness as he teases his son and purposefully embarrasses him by busting out dance moves at the dinner table.
Starting on Saturday, April 4th, Fatimah Abdul-Rahim performed as Jr.’s mother, Leena, instead of Candace Jones. This was due to unexpected illness in the cast and Abdul-Rahim had only a few hours notice before her first performance, which I attended. There were a few scenes where it was noticeable that Abdul-Rahim did not have her lines memorized, but she could not be expected to with such short notice. Overall, Abdul-Rahim did a beautiful job portraying Leena; her love of cooking, her fierce protectiveness of her son, and her bond with her husband, Myron. Similarly to Myron, Leena also has a cut-away scene showing an experience of racism in her youth. It’s made even more heartwrenching by the fact that it happened at the same school where her son is being criticized for discussing Black Deaf history and culture. Abdul-Rahim skillfully carried Leena’s past and her pain through the entire performance.
Shane Carrizales, an understudy, also stepped in for Saturday’s performance. Carrizales plays a true-to-life villain in Mr. Watson. If he had been over-the-top in his performance and made his character cartoonish, the performance would not have landed the same way. I think we’ve all met people like Mr. Watson, who wouldn’t consider themselves racist, but their actions cause harm nonetheless. Satisfyingly, Myron and Leena confront Mr. Watson at the school and leave him speechless with no retort. This is a fitting end to a character who provided stark contrast to the warmth and strong relationships Jr. has at home.
Triallen Washington as James, Candace Broadnax as Murphy, and Nana Akohene as Carl help to fill out the rest of the Stewarts’ close relationships. Murphy and Carl are present for Myron and Leena’s flashbacks, respectively. This adds more richness to the characters’ backstories than if they were shown alone during these scenes. The character of James goes to a predominantly white Deaf school, in contrast to the diverse mainstream school that Jr. attends. Their dialogue is part of a wider conversation about Black Deaf experiences in education, and it was handled well by the actors and script. Although Jr. and James are sad to be going to separate institutions, there is no indication that one of their families made the right choice and the other is wrong.
While the play is focused on a school project, it opens up many more conversations than just around education. There was discussion about how racism looks different in different places in the country, the formation of a Black Deaf identity, and how Black Deaf culture is ignored by wider Deaf society. All of these issues are still very much present in the United States today, and I am glad Dinner Note brought these dialogues to Gallaudet’s campus.
Dinner Note was originally developed in Seattle, Washington where the play is set. That is also where Michelle Banks, the production’s director, and Rhonda Cochran, the playwright, first met. Cochran received a grant from Sound Theatre Company to develop Dinner Note and in 2024, Banks directed a stage reading of the show in Seattle. Banks then set out to bring Dinner Note to Washington, D.C. This year’s production of Dinner Note was a collaboration between Banks’ theater company Visionaries of the Creative Arts (VOCA) and Gallaudet University Performing Arts. It was also the first full production of the play ever. Dinner Note was beautifully done, and I am looking forward to seeing the future works from the cast, playwright, and director.