Director Bryan Mitchell values his actors and performers as well as his role as a teacher and guide. The Essential Theatre Associates’ production of “The Amen Corner” serves the community and Mitchell as a means to achieve catharsis and gain perspective through theater about the Black experience. The play runs at the Monticello Opera House for two weekends, July 21-23 and July 28-30.

The intimate relationship between ritual and theater is one that has withstood the test of time. From the ancient Greek celebrations of life through wine and performance at the festivals of Dionysus to the traditional African mask dances shared in celebration, performance has found its roots in ritual.

The evolution of African American theater parallels that of the Black experience in America, relying on spirituals, spoken word, hip-hop, storytelling, and gospel worship to root itself in ritual. Sit-ins during the civil rights movement and dances performed at the Black Lives Matter protest amidst a global pandemic, both used performance as a form of activism.

Essential Theatre Associates summons the power of those roots to the Monticello Opera House in James Baldwin’s “The Amen Corner,” a play that wrestles with social issues faced by Black Americans and the role of the church in it all.

Director Mitchell believes theater, in its own right, is a very spiritual place. Perhaps it was his upbringing as a pastor’s son or simply his work as an educator and artist, but Mitchell is able to see the sanctity of theater-making. “When done right, theater can make some come to see a show feeling and thinking one way and leave completely different,” says Mitchell.

As a performer turned director, Mitchell recalls the first time he felt a calling to be on stage. He was in eighth grade and touring Scotland as a member of his middle school’s production of Cole Porter’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’.” The experience was mind-opening and solidified in him the desire to pursue a career in musical theater.

Since then, he attended Florida A&M University, performed in powerful plays like author Alice Walker’s stage adaptation of “The Color Purple,” and ultimately received a Bachelor of Arts in theater. Shortly after, he began teaching elementary school theater and directing throughout Tallahassee. The journey he took his first time directing helped to shape his approach to arts education.

Although he was only 28 while directing high school students in the production of playwright Samm-Art Williams’ “Home,” he knew he could tell stories through theater. “I’m a teacher. I tell people I’m not training actors. I’m not training technicians. I’m training another generation of theater appreciators,” says Mitchell. Currently, he teaches kindergarten to 5th-grade musical theater at Apalachee Tapestry Magnet School of the Arts.

Mitchell’s process is one that values the actor. He likes to think of himself as an “actor’s director” whose primary goal is guiding actors toward discovering their character and story. The catharsis chased by actors and audiences alike is one Mitchell relies on to help push the story forward.

For Mitchell, the intimacy shared between the audience and the actors leads to such a catharsis, and as a director, he feels honored to share in such a moment.

Today, Mitchell finds himself as one of the founding members of the Essential Theatre Associates, a professional theater company that aims to “give life to the Black experience and give voice to artists from all cultural backgrounds.”

Mitchell credits FAMU for providing him with extensive, well-rounded knowledge about theater that has helped him venture into the world of theatrical production. With the help of other FAMU alumni Dametria Selmore, Monica Woods, Sidney Bronson, Lilita Forbes, and Carol Hill, Mitchell has built a theater company that brings professional-level productions to Tallahassee theatergoers. Another primary goal is to provide artists with a creative space to continue cultivating their talents.

Directing “The Amen Corner” places Mitchell in a familiar location — the church. His opportunity, combined with his desire to create a theatrical and spiritual space for the work, has allowed the cast to blossom.

Mitchell is proud to partner with the Monticello Opera House to create space for an all-Black cast and provide artistic guidance to many first-time performers. Mitchell aims to challenge audiences and leave them with a deeper understanding of the world around them and the Black experience.

Audiences “should be ready for a rollercoaster ride,” Mitchell said. “This show is funny, dramatic, and thought-provoking. It’ll definitely give you a cathartic moment of self and make you think about the people around you.”

Read the article in the Tallahassee Democrat.

Learn more about The Amen Corner.