Penumbra Theatre artistic director Sarah Bellamy and I spoke for the first time back in late May, in the wake of the death of George Floyd. Back then she said something to me that rocked me. “There’s an immense amount to do,” Bellamy said, simultaneously speaking to the theatre community and country at large. “The stakes are incredibly high and I’m not daunted. I’m tired, but I’m not daunted.”
The strength in that statement, and every word she said to me for that article, was (and honestly still is a bit) unfathomable to me. The strength of the entire Black community in the face of death after death, injustice after injustice continues to bewilder and inspire me. After a summer that has left me personally more exhausted than I ever expected (example: I write this the day after a mind-numbing, inexplicable grand jury decision in Louisville about the wrongful death of Breonna Taylor), leaders like Bellamy somehow find the grace and strength to not only support themselves and their immediate communities, but provide love and insight for the field at large.
With the return of AT’s Offscript, I had the pleasure of speaking to Bellamy, again days after a Black man was ripped from his community far too soon—this time it was after Chadwick Boseman died of cancer at 43. Somehow, through all of the weight on the shoulders of every member of the Black community, Bellamy and the theatre she leads have found their way forward on a plan that has been years in the making. In August, Penumbra announced a shift to become the Penumbra Center for Racial Healing, centering the wellness, healing, and equity of Black artists within the Twin Cities and beyond. I hope you take the time to listen and reflect on Bellamy’s vision for the future and passion for the wellbeing of a community that, especially after an incredibly long summer, is exceedingly tired.