Atlanta-Area Serenbe Playhouse and Founder Brian Clowdus Called Out For Anti-Black and Anti-Indigenous Racism
(photo by BreeAnne Clowdus)
Matt Blank
Serenbe Playhouse, the Georgia theatre company that has gained national attention for its gorgeously inventive and often-immersive productions, has come under fire for a multitude of racially-charged incidents against Black and Native American artists.
The majority of these claims are alleged to have taken place while under the leadership of founder and former artistic director Brian Clowdus, who departed his role last year to focus on his own brand, Brian Clowdus Experiences.
The semi-Equity theatre, founded in 2009 and located 30 miles outside of Atlanta, is known for daring visions of shows that have included Titanic staged upon a lake and Miss Saigon with a real Vietnam-era helicopter.
“A promo shot from Serenbe’s Titanic (photo by BreeAnne Clowdus)”
Full disclosure: in my past career, I provided them with a substantial amount of glowing coverage and have had only pleasant experiences with Clowdus himself and his staff at the time. My former employer offered an expansive celebration of their work in this feature from July of last year.
While I can’t pinpoint the exact genesis of the current complaints, a cursory search on social media turns up dozens of artists who are sharing their experiences. The most notable at the time of press comes from Native American director Tara Moses.
In a lengthy public Facebook post, Moses alleges the following:
- “Serenbe chose [me] to do this show because it would ‘look good’ to do a Native show. The consensus among the staff was that I (and the actress [playing Pocahontas]) were two Natives they plucked from a reservation somewhere to put on their posts. I was told that Brian [Clowdus] and/or [associate artistic director] Joel Coady planned to reblock the show once I left.”
- “What was truly unacceptable is that [Brian] insulted the playwright’s work, asked that I add in ‘happy songs,’ and made a comment that the [lead] actress wasn’t sexy enough. If he read that dramaturgical packet he would have understood just how racist, colonial, and sick it was to ask an actress who was portraying a *child* that was kidnapped, raped, and murdered to do those things. During every single interview (and every single call after the fact) I spoke at length about the harm of Disney’s Pocahontas. I openly supported the playwright in her quest to write a play that did not Disney-fy her true story. I wrote about the impact of Disney at length in the dramaturgical packet. But it didn’t matter. That is what Brian wanted. This play was not a musical, and it became clear that he wanted Disney’s Pocahontas.”
Promo shot from Serenbe’s The Story of Pocahontas (photo by Casey Gardner Photography)”
- “The show was scheduled to tour for a year, and I learned they planned to bring in another actress who I would never have the opportunity to work with or even have input in her casting. I voiced concerns about this especially as the cast would be performing in other locations and because the play required a high level of nuance to execute well AND deep cultural understanding. I was ignored. Serenbe Playhouse was happy to continue using my face and my tribe to sell tickets even though I would have no creative input whatsoever in that tour.”
Actor Russell Alexander II followed up with his own story of Clowdus.
- “I’ll never forget when this man was invited to lead a workshop at Aurora Theatre for Musical Theatre Auditioning and we got to experience his racial bias and prejudice there firsthand. He started off by going through all of our apprentice headshots and proceeded to tell all of the White apprentices and the one Asian apprentice that they’d make his Yes pile for having professional headshots, while telling (the Black people) that we’d not even get seen because our headshots were not up to par and didn’t meet his standards.”
- “He then went on to look at each shot and tell the White apprentices how they’d make great ‘ingenue’ or ‘leading man’ types and he’d cast them immediately if he had the choice. Us Black men were told we’d make great ‘sidekicks’ or ‘funny best friends’ (to a White lead) in a production, series, or movie BEFORE seeing ANY of us, Black or White, perform our audition materials!”
- “Our White counterparts were praised for their auditions and songs with VERY little to no critique; Each of them- whether they were strong pieces (which honestly few were) or thrown together minutes before class. And that was no shade, y’all that were there know what was up and what wasn’t. Not taking anything away from anyone’s talent. Before I opened my mouth to sing or start a monologue he told me that I looked like an ‘Angry Black Man’ because I wasn’t smiling at him enough and that I should do more of that because he’d like to see it.”
It didn’t stop there. In another lengthy post titled “An Open Letter to Brian Clowdus,” actor Lilliangina Quiñones runs through a few of her more thrilling experiences with the company. Highlights include:
- “While in rehearsal [for A Christmas Carol], fellow cast member Julie Trammel, who is now Casting Director at [Brian Clowdus Experiences], made blatantly racist jokes throughout the rehearsal process. She consistently used Deep South Negro dialect to retell Uncle Remus stories and just to be funny. This quickly turned into a favorite pastime between the two of you during rehearsals and breaks. One night, she put a Tar Baby doll in her shirt, ‘gave birth’ to the doll, and proceeded to parade it around for the entirety of rehearsal. You and my castmates found this very funny. When I brought this to everyone's attention, she cried. You defended her and yourself saying, ‘I am not a racist’ and followed up with ‘I’m not political but if it makes Gina upset, we’ll just stop.’ No one, not one person had my back.”
- “Rehearsal [for Ragtime] began, your vaudeville concept was starting to erase the racial narrative. I was concerned so I wrote a long, kind, diplomatic, well-researched e-mail explaining that the opening number could not be performed as a homogeneous group. We needed to distinguish race because that was the entire premise of the show. Your assistant director kindly acknowledged my e-mail (privately) but I never got a response or action from you.”
- “Dozens of other things happened during rehearsal, but the most impactful was the night that the Willie Conklin scene, in which the character uses the n-word and commits a hate crime, was rehearsed over and over but people were not allowed to leave the room. When the actor, who was flustered and emotionally exhausted by your direction, added extra n-words to the script, he was not corrected. I saw my Black castmates leave in tears, completely stunned and traumatized.”
- “I heard those horrific voice memos where you said you ‘don't have a reserve of African American designers’ and ‘just because you're Black doesn't make you the owner of your story’ and ‘The Color Purple at Actor’s Express was just a carbon copy of a show directed by a White cracker’ and so many other overtly racist statements. You have never publicly addressed or apologized for those words.”
For their part, Serenbe eventually released the following statement on June 10.
It should also be mentioned that Brian Clowdus Experiences posted a statement of support for the Black Lives Matter movement on June 4, which likely prompted people to step forward.
So here are some thoughts I have on this:
I am compelled to acknowledge that these are all individual reports and nothing has been confirmed.
But the truly troubling part of this mess is that this alleged behavior does nothing to advance the art or boost the product. None of this nastiness worked to make these shows any better or the company more profitable. These abuses and aggressions served no purpose other than to fulfill the ugliness and hatred that lives in the hearts of the people apparently involved.
We’re hearing stories like these a lot more in the past couple of weeks and it’s sad to see they’re happening all over. The idea that one would choose to behave this way in a professional setting is proof positive of how insidious, powerful, and deeply-rooted these prejudices are. In this age of social media, one has to imagine that they will be called out or filmed or end up in an article like this. To ignore common sense and let your racism be known at the workplace is an indication of just how much you value these beliefs and are willing to put yourself and your career at great risk. Because, well, it just feels so good to put a Black Man in his place, how could you resist?
I don’t believe in “Cancel Culture” as a general rule. But in these cases, it may be warranted. You’re all in the wrong business. Or at least the wrong part of the business. If you are someone who is torn between your love of theatre and your love of a pure White society… maybe look into General Management or producing. That seems to be a safe haven for you. I hear Nederlander is hiring soon.
So that’s all for now. Keep an eye on social media, this site, and Serenbe Playhouse for the latest in lip service and damage control. Until then, much love to the land where honor lives and breathes, the old red hills of home.
Update: 10/13/20: Brian Clowdus has appeared on Twitter praising Donald Trump and attending his maskless, non-socially distanced rallies.