When you think of theater, the “Big Apple,” maybe the first thought to pop in your mind as Broadway has made New York the Mecca of theater. Now when you think of film, you probably think of the glamour of Hollywood. But just like the mainstream market, there is a world full of playwrights, directors, and producers who produce quality work yet they go unnoticed. We call this the “Underground Market.”
Racquel Marie Jones, a resident of Long Island City, New York, began writing when she was around 17. However, she didn’t begin writing stage productions until her mother’s passing, when she was 23. In 2007, Jones wrote her hit stage play, “For Better or For Worse.”
“My mom passed away when I was 23 so I started writing on how to process, how it feels, and the affects of not having a parent,” Jones said. “I then began to write plays and that kind of started the journey for me.
Jones believes playwrights such as herself, don’t get enough support other than people who know her personally. A difficult issue for underground artists is getting investors and donors to come see the remarkable talent, thus underground playwrights and filmmakers don’t get the exposure needed to be on a larger platform.
“Everybody wants to get to New York, everybody wants to get to a bigger platform,” Jones said. “I’ve had 1,700 in one night and 500 on another night, it’s still not in Time square. That’s what my desire is to see it in platforms like that.”
Keenan Scott II, an acting major while in college, was inspired to become a playwright from different productions he saw in his theater program. He wrote poetry since he was a teen and decided to challenge himself to write a stage play. His desire became real after writing a stage play for his senior project.
“I wanted to step into a different realm so I decided to write a play,” Scott said. “It was really just my thirst for art and exploring different avenues.”
Many of his productions are centered on Black culture. He enjoys exploring those types of subjects and creating well-developed characters of people of color.
“I feel not enough of our people tell our own stories so I like to tell our stories,” Scott said. “As a writer I want to continue challenging myself to write about different subjects and cultures.”
LeMaro Smith studied film at Cleveland State University. Currently, he has two underground short films under his belt and is working on his first featured film called “Affliction.” The talented filmmaker believes funding is the key for underground performing arts to be seen.
“A lot of people are trapped because they don’t have the funding or equipment to do what they want to do,” Smith said. “I’m trying to be a voice for underground performing arts by working on my own budget to make a big movie.”
With his first film running at eight minutes, he spent a whopping $2,300. That pushed him to invest in his own quality equipment. He is encouraged to show that underground performing arts can produce great work as well.
“It takes patience and building a solid team around you,” Smith said. “If you make it out of Cleveland you can make it anywhere is how I look at it.”
As most underground filmmakers, playwrights, artist, and authors use their own money, they benefit from producing their own work. Still, questions remain about how will the rest of the world take notice.
“I know there has to be some funding out there somewhere for underground performing arts,” Jones said.“ Through film, the arts, and the theatrical you can literally change lives. It helped my self-esteem, my confidence and to mold me as an entrepreneur.”
Talent can be found almost anywhere. However, lovers of film and theater must dig to find the jewels hiding in the underground. The underground performing arts need more exposure in order to introduce the many talented individuals to the rest of the world.
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