Interactions that are spontaneous in real life require special attention in live theater. For scenes of physical violence, fight choreographers engineer the action so it is believable and safe. Intimacy coordinators work to make passionate love scenes comfortable for all involved.
But the new comic drama opening at Richmond Triangle Players, “Immediate Family,” requires choreography so specialized that there was no expert director TeDarryl Perry could call.
“The card game Bid Whist is a big part of the plot,” says Perry. “Card games happen that are pivotal in the action of the show so we’ve had to graph out card choreography. Just like you might have dance rehearsals, we’ve had a couple of bid whist rehearsals.”
Bid Whist is a trick-taking game like Spades or Bridge but one that plays a special role in African-American culture, becoming a regular part of community gatherings in the mid-20th century. In the play, the card game is a tenuous thread binding a family together that is in danger of fracturing.
“We don’t get to choose our family,” says Perry. “And a lot of times, unfortunately, if they weren’t family, we probably wouldn’t hang out with these people. So there can be a ‘let go to get by’ culture that either works for your family or it festers and explodes like it does in ‘Immediate Family.’”
The play follows Jesse (played by Todd Patterson) as he navigates reuniting with his siblings to celebrate his youngest brother’s wedding. The family patriarch was a pastor who fathered a child outside of marriage so there is a biracial half-sister in the mix. Jesse has never come out to his deeply religious family as gay, which is only one of many long-standing tensions that bubble beneath the surface of their interactions.
The parallels between his character’s life and his own attracted Patterson to the role. “I grew up in the church so that intersection of queerness and religion definitely rang true to me,” he says. “I think with most families, there are things you don’t agree on but making room and giving people a chance to grow and change is a big part of the play.”
“Immediate Family” was written by Paul Oakley Stovall, an actor as well as a playwright, who played George Washington in the first national tour of “Hamilton.” Perry agrees with the perception that actors can be particularly adept at writing for other actors.
“You can tell an actor wrote this because every character will annoy you at some point but every character also has something that’s super endearing about them,” says Perry. “Actors love that push and tug of playing people where they think, maybe the audience will hate me but, hopefully, I’ll also make them smile at some point.”
Reviews of “Immediate Family” have likened the family-based humor as similar to some ’90s-era sitcoms. The production marks Perry’s debut as a professional director, and that sitcom connection was one of many reasons he wanted to direct the show.
“I was a ’90s kid, I was born in 1990,” Perry says. “The reason I wanted to be an actor was watching people like Tichina Arnold and Tisha Campbell in ‘Little Shop of Horrors,’ then seeing them in ‘Martin.’ I was like, Oh my god, we can be versatile actors too.
“That sitcom feel really informs my humor.”
It took a while for Patterson to get into the comedic groove of the show. “I think because the character I’m playing, his journey might be the most dramatic, I went into the show thinking of it as a drama,” he says. “But watching rehearsal yesterday, it definitely gave me ‘Sister, Sister,’ ’90s comedy kind of vibes. So now I’m leaning into it.”
Patterson may struggle with one aspect of the show even after the run is over. “My family went on trips every summer where the adults would be up playing cards,” he says. “So I know how to shuffle and deal and stuff.
“But, even though I’ve watched a couple videos on it, I still don’t really know how to play bid whist. I’m completely lost on how the rules work.”
“Immediate Family” runs at Richmond Triangle Players, 1300 Altamont Ave., March 18-April 11. Tickets and more information available at https://rtriangle.org/.
