| BY RICHARD JOHNSON— Observer senior reporter— |
FANS of actor and comedian Owen “Blakka” Ellis have something to look forward to. The popular performer is currently developing a one-man performance which he plans to take to the stage by next year, pandemic permitting.
Although he admitted to the Jamaica Observer in an interview that he does not miss the stage as he has filled his life with other elements of drama and theatre, namely teaching and the using drama for community development, Ellis said he is excited of the prospect of taking to the stage.
“This one-man production came out of some work I’ve done with the Back2life Foundation, set up by attorneys Manley Nicholson and his wife Lorna Phillips, which works with young men. It is called Me Name Man and takes a look at how we police masculinity in the Jamaican society and how we assert ourselves as men… real man or real big man. This also comes from the information put together by Herbert Gayle and the parenting partnership, as well as Cariman, a regional organization. I’ve taken this on as we really need to have more conversations around this topic in order to translate how we perform as men and our sense of what it means to be a man and examine how that contributes to gender-based violence and other forms of violent acts in the society,” said Ellis.
He revealed that the script for Me Name Man has passed the first draft stage and is now being discussed, fine-tuned, refined and subject to some dramaturgical reviews before the rehearsal process can begin.
“We really want to release it during a time that is significant. We were thinking International Men’s Day or perhaps Father’s Day, but it’s being thought through and by next year we should have something for the public. Hopefully, the pandemic will allow us to stage physical performances,” said Ellis.
Me Name Man and its focus on masculinity and society falls in line with Ellis’s passion for the use of theatre to address wider social issues and not just for entertainment, the value of which he does not feel is being explored fully, nor it’s worth and benefit appreciated.
“Theatre clearly has the power to change and transform lives and situations but not enough is being done by the people with the resources. Many see theatre as being for one thing — entertainment. It’s time to stop compartmentalizing. We are not just one thing. Miss Lou showed us the intersection of laughter and learning. In her unique way her performances were more of a lecture demonstration that clearly went way beyond the laughter based on the topics she explored,” he noted.
Currently, celebrating 40 years since graduating from the School of Drama at what is now the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Ellis rose to national recognition as one half of the comedy duo Bello and Blakka with Winston Bell. He is currently the acting head of the Department of Arts Management at that college.
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