Previews: THE MEETING at Stageworks Theatre

Opening on April 17 and running through May 3, Stageworks Theatre presents Jeff Stetson’s powerful drama The Meeting, an imagined encounter between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X that explores tension, respect, and possibility between two leaders whose visions shaped history.

“I approached directing this show from an emotional place. I directed it as if this meeting actually did happen because I believe that many of us wished that this meeting would have happened,” said Rory Lawrence. “This forced me to be true to the words of this script and ask the actors to go beyond themselves, to dig deep into these two powerful men and to give a believable and powerful performance.”

He shaped the staging to reflect distance and connection. “Initially, there had to be a physical distancing. They were not friends and wouldn’t be in each other’s space,” he said. “There are a couple of moments where I had the actors take long beats between their lines and just look at each other to build those uncomfortable moments which brought tension to the scene.”

Lawrence immersed himself in research to guide the actors. “I read the New York Times best seller King: A Life and The Dead Are Arising. I watched documentary after documentary because I knew that if I could grab ahold of the vision that these men had, I could share that with the actors to help them in being organic and believable on stage.”

He sees the play’s message as urgently relevant. “I hope that the audience would see that if we just sit down and talk to one another, change can happen. Sit down and listen to each other, even if we disagree, something hopeful can come out of honest conversation.”

Lance Felton, portraying Malcolm X, focused on intention and restraint. “His devout focus and discipline has been the one quality of his that I’ve been working towards carving out for the audience,” he said. “Playing Malcolm could easily turn into shouting and being performative; I wanted to ground his fierceness with reasoning and wit.”

Rehearsal discussions deepened his understanding of Malcolm’s humanity. “When we talked about it, I learned I’m not alone in feeling this play is very relevant and necessary.”

Felton’s long friendship with Marc Coleman, who portrays Dr. King, fuels the urgency of their onstage debate. “Marc and I have been best friends since middle school and we have these debates all the time,” he said. “We constantly refer to today’s news and our own conversations to develop the urgency of this message.”

Coleman approached Dr. King by studying the man behind the speeches. “I did my best to immerse myself in his works, his speeches and tried to get an idea of who Martin Luther King, the man, was,” he said. “Staying calm and projecting the air of calm was the most difficult part about portraying MLK because, in reality, that’s what makes him so impressive.”

He hopes audiences leave feeling empowered. “I want them to not only have a better understanding of who these two were and why what they did was so impactful, but I want them to leave feeling like they can take a stand. They can take a stand by sitting down. They can enact their will through nonviolence, not of hate, but love and compassion.”

The Meeting runs April 17 to May 3 at Stageworks Theatre in Tampa. Tickets are available at stageworkstheatre.org.

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