A Review of the Play, How To Catch Creation, at the Baltimore Center Stage

A few weeks ago, I saw How to Catch Creation, the final show of the 2018/19 season at the Baltimore Center Stage. This play was written by Christina Anderson and directed by Nataki Garrett.

I thoroughly enjoyed the show because it dealt with so many issues in the lives of the four main characters individuals: love, sexuality, art, choices, introspection, and heartache. I also loved how the playwright seamlessly took the audience back and forth between the mid-1960s to present day showing how a decision made back in the ’60s affected folks in the present day.

Relationships are hard enough and when folks are trying to find themselves artistically and questioning choices they made and yearning for something more out of life, it makes for fine theatre. Nevertheless, it was great to see representation of a Black feminist writer caught in the midst of political and social struggles while carving out a path of Black love. It was also great to see Black men who enjoyed reading (side note – quite sexy), being passionate about art and understanding what it means to be a Black woman let alone how to love one.

The actors were fantastic in bringing to life the characters caught up in various situations. You could feel the love, anger, indecisiveness, and angst within every scene and throughout their dialogue. Although G.K. Marche (writer in the late 1960s) was a fictional character, I could definitely see myself reading some of her work if it were real.

Wow – two thumbs up for this thought-provoking play. I eagerly await the start of the new season. Way to go Baltimore Center Stage. Thanks for another great season of theatre!

Here’s the synopsis from https://www.centerstage.org/plays-and-events/mainstage/how-to-catch-creation

In the mid-1960s, a young writer’s life turns upside down when her girlfriend drops some unexpected news. Even 50 years later, the reverberations of that moment, and its unexpected consequences, still echo in the intersecting lives of four individuals caught up in a rapidly changing world. This is a bittersweet story of finding and following our passions from Christina Anderson, winner of the Lorraine Hansberry Award. This world-premiere play that explores the universal act of creation—of life, of family, of art—spans space and time to inspire a new generation of makers and lovers.

Here are a few photos from the play:

Me and Shayna Small (Riley) and Jonathan Bangs (Stokes)

Me and Lindsay Smiling (Griffin)

Me and Stephanie Weeks (Tami)

Check out the trailer:

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