Nashville gained unfortunate national attention in August when 32-year-old homeless woman Tara Cole—afflicted with bipolar disorder but by all accounts a gentle soul—was cruelly thrown into the Cumberland River, where she drowned despite attempts to rescue her. Her death continues to resonate in this city.
It was while working as a volunteer for the homeless that Nashville playwright Jim Reyland started to gather material for his realistic drama Shelter, which the American Negro Playwright Theatre will present through Dec 17 at Poag Auditorium on the campus of Tennessee State University.
Shelter’s plot is partially concerned with a homeless person who drowns after being thrown from a bridge into the Cumberland River. But in a strange twist where life imitated art, the Cole case occurred more than three years after Reyland wrote his first draft. This production is dedicated to the memory of Cole and to the more than 30 other homeless who, according to the local advocacy group Nashville Homeless Power Project, died on the streets of Nashville in the past 12 months.
“I’ve had lots of conversations with the men, women and families who have stayed in the shelters, and the characters in the play come out of that cumulative experience,” says Reyland. “Shelter is my attempt to come up with a different way to address the issue. A lot of plays and other artworks about the homeless recount stories and tug at your heartstrings, but I wanted to do something that was a little more desperate, a little more edgy, so that people might come to understand what it’s like to be in that position, to be in danger every day.”
Shelter is under the direction of ANPT’s Barry Scott, who also has a role in the play. “We were already talking about doing the play this year,” says Scott, ”but then with Tara’s death, it was clear that the time had come. It was kind of eerie.”
Scott saw Tara Cole on the street not two weeks before she was killed. He remains haunted. “At best we can raise the awareness level here, and people can do a gut check about how we view the homeless, so we don’t look down on them.”
With its cast of mostly marginalized characters and its overtones of violence, Shelter portrays life inside a typical homeless shelter, where a Vanderbilt University medical student serves as the volunteer “innkeeper.” When one of the shelter’s regulars doesn’t arrive as expected, the mystery of her whereabouts sets into motion a whodunit scenario that culminates in a tense standoff between two hard-bitten street people. Reyland’s strong language helps to capture the desperate reality of the situation while also providing insight into where his characters have been and how they view their plight.
It is Reyland and Scott’s hope that the focus on homelessness doesn’t die when the curtain rings down on the ANPT run, and they’re taking steps in that direction. Homelessness organizations as well as representatives from Metro and the governor’s office will attend the performances and participate in post-show talks. Moreover, the show will be videotaped for later use.
“We’ll do it every month throughout the year in different venues, and just keep it going in guerrilla fashion,” says Reyland. “Our dream for the long term is to eventually see other theater companies in other markets produce the play and follow the exact same model that we’ve set up in Nashville, to use it as an opportunity to raise the dialogue or to raise funds.”
In the spirit of the season, Shelter is being presented as a free show. Donations benefiting the homeless, however, are encouraged. For further information, call 579-4223.
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