Live & Local: Gee's Bend on stage at Aurora Fox

Steve Chavis: It's great to have y'all in the studio to tell us this story of Gee's Bend, which goes across a few generations in this little town, which I found on the map, on the banks of the Alabama River, not far from Selma and Montgomery. How did you find this story, Donnie?

donnie l. betts: Well, actually, I became familiar with the story many, many years ago when I was an actor at the Denver Center Theater Company. They did a production of it. The artistic director had commissioned this piece by Elizabeth Wilder to be produced at the Alabama Shakes, where he was the artistic director. But then when he got hired at the Denver Center Theater Company, he brought the production here. So, I first was introduced to it there, but I don't remember anything about it other than amazing quilters who came to show their wares at the museum. So, I'm glad I don't remember the production, so I didn't try to duplicate anything that was done, but these women of Gee's Bend are incredible because the fabric of our lives, the old song by Nevilles you know 'Cotton, is the fabric of our lives?' In this case, they put together these quilts not only for comfort but as a way to stretch their imagination and our imagination about what the future could hold for them because farming was not the case anymore. So, they used their quilts to generate income and revenue. But Yasmine playing the role of Sadie, which is a combination of a lot of the ladies there in Gee's Bend, does transition from generation to generation to generation. She's an amazing actor, an amazing vocalist, and she puts that all together. So, I'm going to shut up and let her talk too.

SC: This place starts way back when and it goes up to the 2000's. So, I imagine as young as you are, you got some makeup and by the end, you're a more mature woman.

Yasmine Emani Hunter: You would hope I had some makeup on my face, but it's purely physicality and knowing the character and being able to embody the story that she is sharing with us. It's really beautiful to be able to start from the age of 15, and we see her progress to 78 years old. In between all of that time she hits 41. I've only been one of those ages. I've only been 15. And so being able to really channel the wisdom of my youth to inform my character, but also to embody the natural inclination and wisdom that God has blessed me with, and being able to channel from all of the different wonderful people I can look up to in my life to really understand and really bring the essence of Sadie to life, it's been a really wonderful thing.

SC: Give us a couple words about Sadie the quilter, because any quilting story starts to bring together these families and tragedy and blessing and all this stuff comes together, and it ends up on a blanket that keeps you warm and is colorful.

YEH: Yes. I think that's something that I really appreciate about this story is we see this young girl who has an affinity for quilting simply because it's all they've known, and it's something that holds the fabric of their history, and it keeps tradition. And I think Sadie, she is the keeper of tradition in her family. She goes through a lot of trials and tribulations as she develops from her young girlhood to her womanhood. We're also seeing how the integral knowing of this tradition carries her and her connectedness with herself. And so, I think that says a lot to just how we evolve as humans in our day-to-day of those little things that are through lines to us understanding ourselves even as we evolve and shape and reshape ourselves over time. So that's something I really appreciate about Sadie's character.

Carlos Lando: A quick question on quilts. I know that whereas this is focused on Gee's Bend but in the African American community, the whole idea of quilting just spread throughout the entire donnie l. betts (09:57): South. Carlos Lando (10:00): Having spent some time in South Texas, in Robs town, out in that Corpus Christi area and Kingsville and heavy African-American communities and so forth around a generation that is gone at this point, I'm talking about people who were born at the turn of the previous century, who we identify as our grandmothers and grandparents and so forth. The quilting thing, it was not just a work of beauty, but it was a story that they were telling. In other words, they would be doing a quilt with one of the either nephews or grandchildren in mind. And it might be a little smaller for a smaller kid and it would be larger, but it would be like there's something in that quilt that spoke to the person who was doing it, about the person they were doing it for in some cases.

dlb: Well, it's a patchwork. So, our lives are kind of patchworks or panels as we evolve into being the human beings that we become. And so, these quilts, I think represent that not only in this show, like I said, south Texas I'm from east Texas so we had that as well too. And here in Colorado they have as well too, not only in the African American community, the black community, but my neighbor is Puerto Rican, and she brought over this beautiful quilt for me to use in the show. So, it's a real tradition. And then I had a meeting with my grandson's counselor, and she said, I mentioned Gee's Bend, her eyes lit up and she said, 'let me show you something.' And she pulls her phone up, she showed me her quilts. 

CL: Wow.

dlb: Absolutely amazing. So, it's something that connects us to generations. And that's why the play is so beautiful because it connects those generations.

Gee’s Bend runs Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through February 23 at Aurora Fox Arts Center.

Catch “Live & Local” every Tuesday & Thursday on KUVO. Tune in to KUVO JAZZ 89.3 FM in Denver and listen to The Morning Set, weekdays from 7 – 10 a.m. MT. You can also stream online here at kuvo.org or listen to the KUVO app.

Stay connected to KUVO’s programs and our community! Sign up for the Oasis E-News today!