Lorene Chesley, Gregory Perri, Jaysen Wright, and Sue Jin Song (Tony Powell)
By DCist contributor Elena Goukassian
Arena Stage wraps up its 2016-17 season with Smart People, a comedy/drama that delves into issues of race in intellectual circles and esteemed professions. Written by Boston-based playwright Lydia R. Diamond, the play revolves around four characters—an African-American medical resident (Jaysen Wright), an Asian-American psychologist (Sue Jin Song), an African-American actress (Lorene Chesley), and a white neuroscientist (Gregory Perri). We talked to all four actors about the play, their roles, and the racism they’ve experienced in their own lives.
DCist: What drew you to your role? How do you relate to the character you play in Smart People?
Lorene Chesley: Valerie is a black actress dealing with the entertainment industry—the audition process, being typecast, colorblind casting, all things that I’ve also had to deal with.
Jaysen Wright: I’m a local D.C. actor, and I’m always looking through parts that will fit me. This one fit me spot on! I’m over 30 and black, and in reading the play, my character Jackson is an ambitious and socially conscious guy dealing with a lot of the societal pressures put on black men.
Sue Jin Song: I love my character, Ginny, because she’s so complex, smart but also flawed. She’s a psychologist, and I was a psych major in college. She studies third-generation Asian Americans, and I’m a second-generation Asian American.
Gregory Perri: My character, Brian, is a neuroscientist, and I’m not. But he has a passion and sense of humor that I can relate to. He hates hypocrisy and cuts people down when they’re being too PC.
DCist: Smart People largely deals with whether racism is inborn or learned (nature vs. nurture). Would you say this is the most important aspect of the play? And what does your character think about the issue? How about you personally?
Jaysen Wright: It’s hard to distill what the play is about in a single sentence. It’s as much about our characters’ romantic entanglements and friendships as about the neuroscientist’s study in racism—and our opposition to it.
Sue Jin Song: As a person, I believe it’s nurture. A lot of racism is about ignorance, and we’ve seen how desegregating schools has a huge impact. Ginny would argue, “Who cares?” and say that we should instead learn to navigate this broken system. She’s in denial about how it’s impacting her. I understand the views of all four characters, but no one is totally right or wrong—the truth is in-between them.
Gregory Perri: The director actually asked us that question when we auditioned. My character believes it’s nature, but I have to believe racism is socially imprinted. I think white liberals are hypocritical in saying they aren’t racist but holding still and not saying or doing anything further to address the issue.
DCist; Smart People has a lot of clever dialogue. Do you have a favorite line your character says in the play?
Lorene Chesley: My favorite line is Valerie speaking her truth as an artist: “I am an actor, because I can do this better than anyone else can. It’s my contribution to society.”
Jaysen Wright: My lines don’t read as necessarily funny on the page, but you hear the audience reaction, and they are. When Lorene and I first meet, she has a nasty cut on her head, and we have a quick back-and-forth: “The cab driver said five,” she says. “Five what?” I say. “Five stitches.” “The cab driver should know.”
Sue Jin Song: The first one that popped into my head is: “I will never know you well enough for that to be funny.”
Gregory Perri: My character is making jokes all the time, so there are a lot of great things I say, like “I called my undergrads and the dean and the institution racist on NPR” and “We’re scientists, so we bear the burden of reason, don’t we?”
DCIst: Give an example of when you recently experienced racism in your own professional or personal life.
Lorene Chesley: I played Portia in Julius Caesar, and people were saying it was so “brave” to cast me in that role. When I try out for roles, I’m seen as the hoodrat, not the social worker. When I first moved to LA, I had to play a hooker. I was like, seriously? It’s fun, but to be seen like that?
Jaysen Wright: That’s what casting often boxes you into—both in how we are seen and what roles we’re offered. Then there’s Jackson Moore, a 28-year-old African-American surgical intern. You never see a role like that.
Sue Jin Song: Growing up in Northern Virginia and going to Vassar, I didn’t face that much racism; it was a diverse community. As an Asian-American actress, taking on a role is impactful, because we’re so underrepresented. I tried to quit acting, but I stayed because of that (and for the roles that are specifically Asian). I’ve actually felt more racism in dating than in my professional life. It’s so insulting when people think they’re being complimentary in saying, “You speak English so well!” There’s also a lot of “yellow fever” out there; I would be afraid to online date.
Smart People runs through May 21 at Arena Stage. Buy tickets here.
