Chickahominy Baptist Church is not home to just a pastor, but a playwright who is spreading the story of African-American history in the community.
“I tell my team, ‘we want to take people on a roller coaster ride,’” said pastor Corwin Hammond. “‘But at the end you want to leave them with something to think about.’”
After the success of the church’s play last year, “Change Gonna Come,” Hammond decided to continue the play’s family narrative a second year with his new play “Get Woke/Stay Woke.”
“We are really looking at what it is to be woke,” he said. “It’s a term younger people are using but we want people not only to be aware of your surroundings, not just to talk about it, but to be engaged in what’s going on.”
In the past, Hammond took the audience through the story of a family during slavery, using multimedia videos and presentations alongside the action of the play. The purpose, he said, is to help make the audience realize not only the significance of historical events, but how they impact people today.
“I think it’s important for all people to know the history of our country, but especially for African-Americans,” he said. “Because they are our history, they are our country.”
This year, Hammond will continue the story with 35 actors from the church into a different era of African-American history, tackling topics such as voting rights and mass incarceration. Throughout the scenes, he hopes audiences will make the connection the issues are still prevalent today.
The connections to modern events is part of what helps the production resonate within the community, said associate pastor Dianne Ashton.
“I wanted to participate in it because it touched on issues that not only were important to me, but they’re a part of me,” she said. “It’s important that no matter who we are or what race we are, we understand where we’ve been, where we are and where we need to get to.”
In this year’s production, Ashton is playing the principal of a school during a scene when students protest gun violence. She said the scene is just one example of how current day issues take focus during the performance.
For Hammond, the entire production is one of hope.
“Writing plays is like for me how I got into ministry, it choose me I didn’t chose it,” he said.
Hammond said both callings were just something that came to him and inspired him.
Last year’s performance wasn’t the first play he had written. In the past he has written productions for previous congregations he served and for ministry conferences. He said last year something simply compelled him to write a play that taught African-Americans about their history and the present.
Part of what makes the event popular is that it is different from the typical church play, he said. Hammond wanted the play to connect with a larger audience, ones that can benefit from the all tales he has to tell.
“The church is beyond these four walls,” he said. “There are a lot of great people who live good, moral lives who do not go to church. So my perspective is you play it towards the better nature of people; if it’s relevant and if it’s speaking to the times we live in, then people will want to come.”
The play will be at 7 p.m. from Friday to Sunday at the Chickahominy Baptist Church. Tickets are free but need to be reserved ahead of time by calling 757-236-1825.
