5 Questions With Sharon King

Rocking a huge Afro, Sharon King oozes a personality that’s as big as her ‘fro. The daughter of Herman ‘Woody’ King, the man known as Jamaica’s “first uptown Rasta”, King certainly does not stand on ceremony. Perhaps it’s the actress in her.

She enters the room, any room, and soon her voice is heard relating some fascinating tale. It could be about her smoking a chillum pipe in her mid-teens, much to the distress of her elders, or she could be voicing her intent to sing a risque version of Happy Birthday. And, then, there is her not-so-innocent conversation with a “cute policeman” at a stoplight in Half-Way Tree, way past curfew hours, about the special features of her vehicle.

“Wha’ me know ‘bout dat officer? Man drive car and know ‘bout dem things deh. Me nuh drive car, me drive man. Ask me ‘bout dat,” was her cheeky response.

King left Jamaica for the United States when she “was 11 going on 100”, and she cherishes the memories of a Jamaica in which she never grew to womanhood. But she made use of the educational opportunities available to her and completed her undergraduate studies at SUNY Stony Brook, where she was trained in classical and black theatre by Glenda Dickerson and Amiri Baraka.

For 13 years, King served as an educator with the NYC Board of Education and introduced several successful theatre projects and co-authored grants to finance them. Among the plays written, directed, choreographed and produced by King and her teams are Yes Mi Friend, Tell me the African Story and Don’t Give up on Your Dream. As an actress, she has portrayed Lady in Red in For Colored Girls, Teiresias in Antigone; Spirit in Chap Am So: The Amistad Victory; Mama Benin in P layboy of the West Indies; and Agatha Rochester in Not About Eve.

The founder and president of Sharon Tsahai King Productions Inc, King, is now ready for Follow De Drum, an African-Caribbean musical dramedy described as “an inspirational and heartfelt story about two young men, whose shared childhood suffering creates a bond between them, above and beyond blood ties”.

In her quest to bring authenticity and raw talent to this New York City Off-Broadway production, a two-part audition process is now under way. 5 Questions With caught up with King recently for a quick chat.

1. What inspired ‘Follow De Drum’?

Many of us who are immigrant children end up in America and face assimilation, but we continue to cherish memories of Jamaica and home. Follow De Drum is a love letter to my homeland, a country I left but which never really left me.

2. How would you describe this dramedy?

Follow De Drum winds and interlocks like roots of a magnificent tree. It is full of many branches, yet one common trunk: bearing the sweet and succulent fruit of wisdom. Wisdom attained from the telling and experiencing of a story, about some of the tribulations and triumphs of living in the “real” Jamaica – juxtaposed against the scenes of its magical and mythical paradise that obsess its tourists.

3. Why are you hosting auditions in Jamaica?

I came home for my father’s memorial and decided to stay and sort out his affairs, and also because of the COVID [pandemic]. Then I thought, ‘I have this piece that is inspired by my love and respect for my homeland. Why not cast a wider net and get some Jamaican talent from home for this love letter.’ I have visited Edna and UWI. I am trying to get ordinary people with extraordinary talent, not just industry people. And this is a paid job. We will apply for the work permits and ensure that all requirements are met. Initial auditions must be submitted via videotape after visiting the company’s website at www.stkpinc.com. The deadline is December 12, 2021.

4. What fascinates you most about Jamaica?

Jamaica is perhaps the most magical, mystical, unique, remarkable place on Earth. The people are flavourful; even during this awful pandemic, you touch this earth, drink the water and absorb the spirit of the place.

5 What have you been eating a lot of since your return?

Sugar cane! Ah eat cane till ah sick. If you came in my car, there is cane trash all over. I don’t know what it is about me and cane this trip. Maybe it was lack of sex. You know something, I have this very sexual sense of humour, and I always wondered where I got it from. Jamaica! Jamaicans, no matter how straight and poised they are, give them a little sex joke and dem laugh. Nothing too raucous. I remember my grandmother used to tell me ‘Decorum, Sharon, decorum.’ Yet when people would ask her which of yuh grand pickney dem remind yuh most of yourself, she would say ‘That one over there, Sharon.’

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com