Artist Interview: Director Zuhairah McGill
The director of THE ROYALE talks about the play and the history that inspired it
Marco Ramirez’s The Royale — onstage at Lantern Theater Company now through December 11, 2022 — is a play that resonates with the percussive rhythms of the boxing ring and the syncopation of jazz. To bring it to vibrant life, the Lantern turned to Zuhairah McGill, an award-winning director, actor, dancer, choreographer, and more, who brought a distinct understanding of the play’s musicality to the production. “I worked with Maurice Hines, Gregory Hines at one point, Mama Lu Parks,” she said. “I was the lead dancer for the Arthur Hall Dance Company. I started out as a dancer.” As an actor, she is twice-nominated for Philadelphia’s Barrymore Award for Excellence in Theatre, including a nomination for the one-woman show Sojourner. In addition to directing and acting at home in Philadelphia and across the country, McGill is also the founder and producing artistic director of First World Theatre Ensemble. Lantern dramaturg Meghan Winch caught up with McGill to talk about Jack Johnson, The Royale, and the unique demands of this play on the director and actors.
Meghan Winch: You write really beautifully in the show program about what living with Jack Johnson has meant to you during this process. What was your relationship to him before you started this show?
Zuhairah McGill: Well, I’ve always heard of Jack Johnson, coming from parents who were born around that time. My father was born in 1907, and my mother was born in 1912, so they weren’t born at the same time Jack was, but they were born during the Jim Crow Era and during that time period. So I’ve always been familiar with Jack Johnson and his accomplishments…So it was very interesting, you know, with this play. I call it “inspired by” — not necessarily “based on” — Jack Johnson’s life because of the way that Jack Johnson lived. And it had to have been very difficult for him during that time. So I’ve always been interested in his story. I’ve always been a historian. That’s the way my parents raised me: to always know your history and where you come from.
MW: As a director, how do you start your preparation? Where do you start your work before you come into the rehearsal room?
ZM: Well, I start the work basically just by reading the script several times over and over and over. And then I start from the vision of where I want to take the play, what do I want to do with this piece? And what is this play saying to me? I can’t follow the vision until I feel what the play is saying to me, what the playwright has written, what they’re trying to say so it can be relayed to the audience. So I usually read the scripts three, four, five times. Sometimes I sleep with the script in the bed with me. I know it’s a little weird, but…it’s my Bible when I’m working as a director or an actor. So I sleep with it. And I feel as though there are times when you sleep with something like that, it begins to seep into your subconscious while you sleep and you become closer towards it spiritually. So I do that process and then I just start thinking about the vision of where I would take it because of what the playwright has said, and would the playwright be happy with what I’m trying to show of their words and their work? I’m always concerned about the playwright and their work, to make sure that the vision is on track.
MW: You‘re an actor, too, and also a dancer and a choreographer. How do all your artistic identities come together on this production?
ZM: I choreograph a lot of the dance movements in the show. This is such a wonderful piece that Marco Ramirez has written. And when you listen to the rhythms and the timing and the precision of it, I couldn’t help but incorporate some sort of dance, choreographed movement, because in the show, the original show, there’s clapping, things like that…And as I was listening to the play, it was like jazz. And I said, “Oh, I can add something here physically to heighten that jazz and that rhythm.” And then at times the play is like blues; it depends on the moment of the scene and what’s going on. I’m not going to say too much, but there are moments where it’s like blues and it’s sad and it rips you into your own core, you know — it touches you. So I tried my best to incorporate dance with theater in this…I thought this was a great time for me to infuse acting, dancing, put everything together to infuse it all.
MW: Can you talk about how the “fights” developed over the course of rehearsal? Did you come in with a map of how they were going to look?
ZM: I came in with a map of how I wanted them to look. I guess I would just say the audience has to come and see how the fights look. There are fights, but there’s no physical contact. So if the audience wants to know how that was made and created, they have to come to the Lantern and see our show!
MW: Fair enough! And once they do that, what do you want audiences to come away with? What questions do you want them to be asking when they leave the theater?
ZM: Well, I want people to leave the theater asking themselves the question, “Am I that privileged? Am I that unforgiving? Am I that biased, racist? And what is it that I can change within me to become a better person, so that we can all live together and resolve these issues? How can I approach someone of a different ethnic background and sit down and have a conversation with them and ask them, ‘What is it that I can do to help ease our relationship so that we can move forward as a people?’” That’s what I want — people to leave from the theater, and to go into their communities or their homes and just walking down the street, you meet someone, and not judge people by the color of their skin. Get to know them, who they are, their character…That is the goal, to make sure people leave this theater, understanding their own bias, prejudice, themselves, and then being able to change that to help make the world a better place. That’s the goal. I think when they walk out, they’ll get it.
MW: I think so. Is there anything else you want to talk about?
ZM: The actors are wonderful. They’re doing a great job. This was a very difficult play for these actors…And when they started the process, they were all like, “What did I get myself into?” But they’re really good. They’ve worked hard. And I’m so happy that they were able to accomplish what they needed to accomplish with me as their director. They were able to keep up with me at my pace. ’Cause my pace is fast. We only had three weeks and three days to get this play up on its feet for first preview. And they’ve done a great job. The tech team has done a great job. Everyone here at the Lantern has done a great job in supporting what I needed to be done. And I commend the Lantern, the whole tech crew, everyone has really been supportive of all of us. And I want people to know that. So it’s been a nice ride. I’ve enjoyed it…I’m just glad that I don’t have to go on stage. This thing is a beast. I’ve tried it to direct it from a point where, from the time the show starts, the show is not going to let up. The audience is going to have to be on that fast ride, right along for the next 80 minutes, and just go for it. And the play starts off like that and it doesn’t release you until the last scene of the show. And that’s how I want the audience to be, right there with us as we’re taking this ride.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
More reading: Jack Johnson, Heavyweight Champion of the World — The inspiring figure who inspired Marco Ramirez’s The Royale
Lantern Theater Company’s Philadelphia premiere production of The Royale by Marco Ramirez is onstage November 10 through December 11, 2022, at St. Stephen’s Theater. Visit our website for tickets and information.
