An African American woman playing a 16th-century Italian duke? Why not?

Stephanie Hickling plays Prospero(shown with Chris McLouglin as Ariel) in the Montford Park Players production of Shakespeare’s "The Tempest."

By Moe White

Here in
Asheville, there\’s no shortage of talent in the performing arts, and
we\’re blessed with the presence of a number of African American women
with a dazzling ability to entertain and challenge onstage — just think
Kat Williams, Glennis Redmon, Janet Oliver, Becky Stone, Angela Jones,
and Jacqueline Hallum, among the better known.

A
name to add to that list is Stephanie Hickling, a relative newcomer to
Asheville and already an accomplished, well-traveled actress. She moved
to Asheville in 1997 from Atlanta.

This summer Hickling will be tackling two of the most challenging jobs any woman can face in the theatre — playing Shakespeare, and playing a man. She\’ll star as Prospero, the deposed-and-exiled Duke and masterful magician, in The Tempest, produced by the Montford Park Players in June and July.

Hickling is no stranger to Asheville audiences or to playing men on stage. She appeared as the prisoner Robert in Scapegoat Theatre Collective\’s The Exonerated at the Reid Center this year, and earlier in Love\’s Labours Lost, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, and Marisol. She also travels all over the United States with Brightstar Children\’s Theatre (you can see wonderful pictures of Hickling at www.brightstartheatre.com). She considers it a real honor to play what is not only a traditionally male role but the lead in a Shakespeare production when, historically, the only role he specifically and technically wrote for an African American actor, lead or otherwise, is that of Othello, the Moor.

Hickling notes that, “In a profession where racism is still acceptable to some degree, especially in Asheville, Jason Williams, the director, holds my utmost respect for not only his vision, but his willingness to prove, rather than just say, that MPP believes in color-blind casting. To MPP\’s credit, the Company has always practiced some degree of gender bending in regard to the casting of children and other less profiled roles, but to cast a woman as Prospero, the Duke of Milan, without changing the gender of the actor or the character, is awesome and impressive.”

So what are some of the specific challenges for an African American woman playing one of Shakespeare\’s white men? We asked Hickling to tell us.  

SH: “The hardest thing so far is the lines,” she said. Usually I don\’t have too much trouble learning lines, but this is a big part. Prospero talks a lot!”

MW: What are the major differences in getting into the character — into his head and heart and mind-set — when you\’re playing a man instead of a woman?

SH: “Thanks to Jason\’s vision and basic direction — to be Prospero rather than specifically a man (or woman) — I\’ve not had to prepare for this role any differently than the majority of other roles I\’ve had. Prospero, however, is not the first male character I\’ve played. In August, as assistant director for the Scapegoat Theatre Collective\’s The Exonerated, I stepped in as a replacement for a male cast member who was recovering from surgery and could not perform as death row inmate Robert Hayes. For this role, not only did I have to make several physical adjustments (duct tape CAN be used for everything) but I spent a lot of time studying and adopting various male oriented mannerisms and gestures, and doing far more vocal warm-ups than usual to work on lowering my voice while still being able to project audibly despite my restricted lung capacity.”

MW: Since there are more male parts written than female ones, and so many more women interested in acting than there are men, do you think this is something you\’ll do more of?

SH: “Definitely — and as often as possible. I\’ve always described myself as an actor rather than an actress for this very reason. I once heard Whoopie Goldberg say an actor can play any role whereas an actress can only play the part of a woman. I hope the fact that I\’ve played two male roles in a row helps give birth to a new trend. In some sense I can imagine how Sidney Poitier, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Bill Cosby, Denzel Washington, and other African American pioneers in the entertainment industry must have felt at one time. I believe crossing gender lines to be just as important as crossing color barriers; it\’s definitely not that much different.”

The Tempest\’s cast also includes Mike Coghlan as Ferdinand, Jonathan Crow (Gonzalo), Madeleine Davis (in another male role as Trinculo), Christopher McLoughlin (Ariel), and Darren Marshall (Caliban). Jason Williams directs, with sets designed by Amy DiGiralamo and costumes by Victoria Smith.

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The Tempest will be on stage every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening at 7:30 p.m. from June 16 through July 9. Hickling appears as Prospero June 30, July 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9. Performances are at the Hazel Robinson Amphitheatre behind and down the hill from the Montford Community Center. For more information, call 254-5146 or visit the MPP web site at www.montfordparkplayers.org.