OKP Exclusive: Roger Guenveur Smith Performs An Excerpt from 'Iceland' At The MLK, Jr. Monument
Okayplayer is honored to debut an intimate exclusive from veteran actor Roger Guenveur Smith, performing an excerpt of his spoken word piece Iceland in front of the new MLK, Jr. monument on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The performance was shot (and shared with us) by writer, producer, filmmaker and friend of OKP Nelson George, and unless you happen to be friends with Nelson on facebook, this post constitutes the short's online premiere. The excerpt cut to the heart of the black artist's dilemma--and the way that dilemma plays out differently for different generations--in a way that feels spontaneously connected both to the place (America's political heart) and the moment embodied by King's March on Washington. Speaking in his (real? fictional?) father's voice, Smith draws us in immediately with his mesmerizing drawl, a form of monologue-as-hypnosis that demonstrates why in addition to his noted film work, Smith is the master of the one-man show (most notably his portrayal of Huey P. Newton, immortalized by Spike Lee for a TV special).
The piece also feels particularly appropriate to a certain "Fight The Power" feeling in the air today, as we celebrate Chuck D's birthday and take today's ruling on the Eric Garner case as cause for tentative hope that something like justice may yet be served in the matter of his death. To make the circle unbroken, the viral video of Garner's choking at the hands of NYPD has reminded many--including Spike Lee himself--of the cathartic depiction of police brutality in his breakout 1989 film Do The Right Thing. Smith, of course, was in some ways the center of the film, his portrayal of the mentally-impaired neighborhood conscience Smiley, with his detourned pictures of Malcolm X and Martin clasping hands, serving as the most direct irruption of the films' themes into the lives of it's characters.
You may also recognize the prolific performer as the housebreaker who almost gets his nose shot off by Denzel Washington in Malcolm X or, if you read LargeUp, as Michael Manley in Storm Saulter's recent Better Mus' Come. Or any number of other crucial roles. In fact, Roger Guenveur Smith's newest one-man play Frederick Douglass opens tonight at Los Angeles' Bootleg Theater. The show combines the pioneering abolitionist, feminist and statesman's classic 19th century texts with original narrative, "achieving a stylistic mash-up which speaks to the current American moment." Watch George's exclusive short below and hit the link to purchase tickets.
