The lead role

Maybelle Wallace talks Theatre North and ‘Rumble Fish’

Maybelle Wallace, executive director of Theatre North / Actress, “Rumble Fish”

Location: Rudisill Library, The Archer Room

To Drink: Nothing (although I was offered coffee or tea)

The Tulsa Voice: Talk to me about Theatre North.

Maybelle Wallace: Well, it started with a group of actors, men and women, and they wanted to be in plays that had roles other than subservient roles. They were a very industrious group, and they had gone out to audition for parts, but all they could get were subservient roles.

TTV: They were going to have to play a maid or a butler.

MW: Right. 

TTV: Is it difficult to find new material?

MW: There’s a lot more material, but some of them deal with subject matters that are difficult for us to promote—for instance, homosexuality.

TTV: Is that difficult to promote because of the strength of the church?

MW: I think so. Black people still tend to be somewhat homophobic. Now that more people are coming out, I hope that will change. 

TTV: Had you ever acted before you joined Theatre North?

MW: Yes, from the time I went to church as a little girl, we used to have what they call The Tom Thumb Wedding church plays. In elementary school I was in a play called The Gold Dust Twins, and then in high school I was in theatre. In fact, I used to get out on the front porch when I was a little girl and tap dance little Shirley Temple numbers, and my daddy would tell me, “A whistlin’ woman and cacklin’ hen come to no good end.” 

But I’ve always wanted to be on stage. I think it was because we had the Rex Theater in Greenwood, and I lived one block from there. That theater a lot of times would be my babysitter. Mother would let me walk down there, and I would watch cowboy shows—westerns, variety shows, things like that. It just became a part of my consciousness to be involved.

TTV: How much did it cost?

MW: Oh, I think it cost a dime. A nickel or a dime.

TTV: As a young woman, did you get to see plays put on in theaters?

MW: I don’t think I did have that opportunity. I can remember seeing A Raisin in the Sun written on the marquee at the Brady Theater, but I never did get to go. Most of the plays I had seen at that time were in the church.

TTV: Tell me about being cast in “Rumble Fish.”

MW: I was very surprised, and I was happy because there were 20 other women who auditioned for that role, and I got it. 

Of course, it opened up a new world to me. They treated us like royalty. They had trout, they had wine from California—they had a cast party down on Boston that was just luxurious. It was all just like a dream. Oh, and my dressing room was in a trailer with Matt Dillon.

TTV: Was he nice to you?

MW: I never did see him much other than when we were on set, but yes, he was. I don’t remember much about being in the trailer, other than I do recall one of the makeup women telling me I was “no Eartha Kitt.” I don’t know why she said that.

TTV: She was jealous.

MW: [laughs] Maybe. That job gave me a lot of opportunities just by being in the Screen Actors Guild—I’ve been able to have a career. It’s been small change compared to what a lot of actors make, but it has been a great opportunity ... You know I still get residuals? I got a check the other day from Netflix for about $4. I cashed it. [laughs]

TTV: So, does Theatre North only perform plays written by African Americans?

MW: No. We’ve done The Glass Menagerie. It just has to have good parts for our people to play. Our focus is on the black experience. It was funny though, there was a line in The Glass Menagerie that said that black women don’t blush, but that’s not true. We do. 

TTV: Is Theatre North unique?

MW: There are not a lot of black community theatres, I suppose—certainly not ones that have maintained viability over this many years. We have raised the consciousness of others that have started their own theatres. 

TTV: Do you pay your performers?

MW: No, we can’t do that. We can’t afford to do that. These people show up for the love of being on stage. We might try to give a stipend because we realize the cost involved with being here, but we can’t afford to give much.

TTV: Do any other local theatre companies have good roles for African Americans?

MW: It’s getting better. Theatre Tulsa put on a show called Race, written by David Mamet, that had some good parts for black people. They also did Clybourne Park, which is kind of a sequel to A Raisin in the Sun. So it happens more and more.

TTV: What are your sources of funding?

MW: We get some government money—not much, but we’re grateful for what we get. Ticket sales, but most of that goes to paying for the venue. The [Tulsa Performing Arts Center] Trust helps. These things take a good deal of money to put on.

TTV: Do you have a grant writer? Is there money out there?

MW: There’s money out there, I believe. We don’t have one right now. We used to. One of the problems is that when you come to count on that money and then the government decides to cut that program, you are left out—and quickly, with almost no notice. They don’t play.

TTV: What’s the best way to support Theatre North other than showing up and buying a ticket?

MW: They could donate money.

TTV: I like you—you don’t mince words.

MW: [laughs] Well, you ask the question, I’m going to give you the answer.

For more Day Drinking, read Beau's chats with yoga instructor Tom Tobias, Mainline Art & Cocktails owners Kelly Knowlton and Katy Eagleston and artist A. Nigh Herndon.