Kill Move Paradise - Interview

“How did you teach your children about mass murder?”

I felt frozen in my chair as one of my favorite Cincinnati celebrities stared me down, waiting for an answer to his question. I couldn’t believe the world that these characters were living in- and I hated that it mirrored my own. Kill Move Paradise, by James Ijames, is currently being performed at Know Theatre in downtown Cincinnati, the second theater to produce the play since it’s premier at the Dr. Barbara Ann Teer’s Black National Theater last year.

The shoe box theater is set up in a three-quarter round, where the audience sits on three sides of the stage. The intimate space is poised for the conversation this play presents: when #BlackLivesMatter and all men are created equal, why is it still acceptable to slaughter black men based on the color of their skin?

After seeing the preview of Kill Move Paradise, I spoke with Director Piper N. Davis and actors Darnell Benjamin Pierre and Landon Horton to talk about this absurdist style and sickeningly authentic script.

Carmen: There’s a moment in the show where Daz (played by Elliot Young) lists these artifacts of his life and culture, and another where Isa lists real-life victims of racially fueled killings. Both felt like beat poetry and, in this absurdist style script, they had an interesting place in the story.

Darnell (Isa): [These lists] draw you into the story, and then backhand you. Daz’s list is a beautiful tribute to black culture. Even the bad is a part of black history.

Piper (Director): It was intentional that you see all these flavors of black, that you don’t have one image of what it is to be black.

Darnell: My favorite moments of the show are when the audience is laughing and some moment hits and they realize, ‘this isn’t funny. I should not be laughing.’ They think it’s fun and then it gets too real. As far as the names- the playwright says [in the script], ‘I want you to say these names and I don’t want you to apologize for saying these names. Say it like you’re trying to bring them back to life, like you’re trying to honor them.’ I researched every single name: out of the entire list of names, only three of them had weapons. If I were to sound exasperated, it would allow me to sit back and take weight out of those names.

Carmen: This play is contributing to a much larger and greater national conversation on Black culture, and how we value that culture in our entertainment. For example, Black Panther is dominating the conversation right now because the power to control the story and the dialogue has finally been given to the people that these stories are about.

Darnell: People like Black Panther because it’s finally not a downer! [The characters] laugh and have fun and have a great time in life, despite the crazy adversity. I hope to see more plays dealing with the positive side of the black experience- we don’t always, constantly sit in a struggle! We enjoy life! People don’t have to like it, but respect it because it’s a different perspective.

Piper: Completely unintentionally, this conversation is all happening in March. When Andrew [Hungerford, Know Theatre’s Producing Artistic Director] and I discussed this, my intention was that I was not doing this show in February. It’s ironic that we’re all doing [these plays] now in March, with Marie and Rosetta at Playhouse in the Park, Othello at Cincy Shakespeare, Red Velvet at Ensemble Theatre… it was unplanned!”

Darnell: The big trend right now in the arts is diversifying. Everyone has questions about “how do we diversify?” I’d love to see this conversation turn into action, not just for a certain month or for a certain show or a certain audience, but all year long for every community. We can’t focus these conversations to certain time slots. It shouldn’t matter if it’s a ‘black’ show or ‘white’ show.

Landon (Griff): Anything that we perform should be faceless. Art shouldn’t have to specifically speak to a certain crowd or certain race or religion or anything. Art can be felt by anybody.

Carmen: Finally, what is something you want audiences to walk away from this show with?

Piper: To walk away thinking of the humanity of the men and the boys who walk among them- while they’re alive, and not wait to look at this when they’re dead.

Darnell: I would love people to leave with the idea that it’s not important to talk about the moment that happened- instead, what I think the show is about is knowing that and remembering that these were real people who had lives, who had children, who had mothers, who had poetry that kept them sane. They are real people: they are not numbers, they are not statistics, they are not just names on a list. They are real fucking people.

Landon: I hope we don’t have to talk about this in the future. I hope this isn’t an issue because art is art. Art is something from your mind. There’s no color behind art.”

All my thanks to the wonderful actors and their brilliant director for taking the time to speak with me and to the ingenious Know Theatre for this incredible production. James Ijames has crafted a magnificent and contemporary story that should spur us all into action. Productions like this can change the Cincinnati theatre scene for the better.

Kill Move Paradise will be running at the Know Theatre from March 2nd - March 24th. You can get your tickets at https://knowtheatre.com/season-20/kmp/.

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