! 1!

!!!!FOR!IMMEDIATE!RELEASE!!!JH:!Mechanics!of!a!Legend:!Diverse'Artists'Find'Tragedy'and'

Triumph'in'the'Legend'of'John'Henry'

!

!Photo!by!Renee!Rosensteel!

!!

Pittsburgh,!PA!–!At!a!time!when!issues!of!racial!justice!constantly!simmer!and!repeatedly!

boil!over!all!across!the!country,!one!local!theatre!company!looks!to!the!nation’s!past!for!

insights!into!contemporary!inequalities!as!it!creates!an!original!play!aimed!at!illuminating!

the!underlying!basis!for!current!conflicts.!!!

!

Hiawatha!Project,!a!Pittsburgh!based!performance!company,!will!present!an!original!work!

entitled!JH:!Mechanics!of!a!Legend!B!based!on!the!legend!of!John!Henry!B!at!the!August!Wilson!Center!in!February!2017.!!In!the!legacy!left!to!us!in!song!by!early!American!minstrels!

and!echoed!today!by!Harry!Belafonte,!Johnny!Cash,!and!Bruce!Springsteen!B!the!mighty!

railroad!man!races!a!steam!drill!to!his!death!and!leaves!his!fabled!hammer!to!Polly!Ann,!his!

mysterious!lover.!!

!

According!to!Monteze!Freeland,!who!plays!the!title!character!and!also!coBwrote!parts!of!the!

show,!“John!Henry’s!spirit!lives!in!every!black!man.!His!story!is!my!story.!I!feel!my!father!

Gary!and!my!grandfather!Walter!every!time!I!step!into!the!rehearsal!room.”!For!Freeland!

inhabiting!that!legacy!hasn’t!been!easy,!but!he!embraces!the!challenge!so!that!“the!world!

will!never!forget!our!sacrifice.”!!

!

Most!members!of!the!JH!core!creative!team,!including!Freeland,!have!been!participating!in!Hiawatha’s!development!process!since!September!2014.!!Right!now!the!group!meets!for!

monthly!workshops!in!preparation!for!a!standard!rehearsal!period!in!January.!While!the!

primary!goal!is!to!mount!a!production!that!will!entertain!and!enlighten!audiences,!the!

company!emphasizes!the!process!as!much!as!the!product.!Hiawatha!Project!values!genuine!

collaboration!and!seeks!to!include!an!array!of!voices!in!its!artistic!decisionBmaking.!!

!

Delana!Flowers!plays!the!role!of!John!Henry’s!wife!Polly!Ann,!who!herself!must!contend!

with!forces!of!discrimination!as!she!strives!to!survive!and!thrive!in!the!postB“emancipation”!

world.!!Flowers!says!participating!in!the!project!“brought!me!to!the!realization!that!art!

should!cause!questions!and!conversations,!introspection,!and!reBevaluation.!It!should!be!a!

mirror!and!a!window,!like!this!piece.”!!

!

! 2!

JH:!Mechanics!of!a!Legend!is!meant!to!be!a!moving!theatrical!experience!for!black!and!white!audiences!about!our!shared!and!often!difficult!history!as!Americans.!!The!piece!aims!to!

honor!the!legend!of!John!Henry!as!the!only!AfricanBAmerican!folktale!hero,!as!well!as!

celebrate!the!rich!AfricanBAmerican!oral!history!traditions!that!inspired!the!legend.!The!

story!of!John!Henry!is!about!a!man!racing!a!machine,!heroically!beating!that!machine!for!a!

moment,!and!then!tragically!dying!from!the!effort.!!

!

That!machine!as!revealed!in!JH:!Mechanics!of!a!Legend!through!the!metaphor!of!the!stage!is!the!systematic!machinations!of!white!power!and!privilege.!The!work!poetically!reveals!

America’s!past!and!present!economic!connections!to!slavery!and!slave!labor.!!It!will!help!

audiences!better!realize!America’s!brutal!and!capitalistic!history!of!slavery!before!the!Civil!

War!and!recognize!the!disempowerment!and!subjugation!of!many!African!Americans!after!

the!war.!The!historical!John!Henry!was!enslaved!as!a!member!of!a!railroad!chain!gang!and!

died!as!a!result.!

!

Hiawatha!Artistic!Director,!coBwriter!and!director!of!the!work!Anya!Martin!says,!“I!first!

became!interested!in!the!legend!of!John!Henry!because!of!the!‘Man!Against!Machine’!aspects!

of!the!story.!!As!an!artist!I!was!asking,!‘What!machines!are!we!racing!against!today?’!I!

thought!I!would!be!creating!a!work!about!cell!phones!and!social!media!B!but!then!after!

reading!Scott!Nelson’s!book,!Steel!Drivin’!Man,!the!concept!for!this!piece!took!an!aboutBface.!!I!realized!it!wasn’t!technology!that!killed!John!Henry.!!It!wasn’t!the!steam!drill.!!It!was!unjust!

social!systems!B!social!machines!–!the!machines!of!racism,!capitalism,!and!industrialization.!!The!show!went!down!a!completely!different!road!after!that,!and!the!process!has!been!about!

honoring!that!artistic!journey.”!

!JH:!Mechanics!of!a!Legend!had!a!workBinBprogress!showing!in!April!2015!at!the!New!Hazlett!Theater!as!part!of!that!venue’s!competitive!CSA!(Community!Supported!Art)!Performance!

Series.!Audience!members!said!the!show!was!“a!scary!realization!of!the!chains!we!still!wear!

today”!and!brought!a!realization!of!“the!lack!of!complete!history!I!learned!in!school.”!!The!

show!was!praised!as!!“deeply!moving!and!intellectually!stimulating”!and!“So!powerful!and!

well!done.”!!(See!links!below!for!a!video!highlight!of!this!workshop!showing.)!

!

Like!the!current!phase!of!development,!the!earlier!one!coincided!with!widespread!racial!

unrest,!taking!place!in!the!midst!of!protests!over!the!lack!of!criminal!charges!in!the!deaths!

of!Michael!Brown!and!Eric!Garner!at!the!hands!of!police,!as!well!as!the!fatal!police!shooting!

of!young!Tamir!Rice!in!nearby!Cleveland.!In!the!context!of!such!events,!then!and!now,!

dramaturg!Kyle!Bostian!says!he’s!found!the!creative!process!cathartic,!noting!his!gratitude!

for!having!an!outlet!for!channeling!his!grief!and!outrage!into!productive,!meaningful!work.!!

!

The!parallels!implicit!in!the!piece!between!presentBday!and!lateBnineteenthBcentury!black!

life!encompass!far!more!than!police!violence.!If!Hiawatha!Project!succeeds!in!its!goals,!JH:!Mechanics!of!a!Legend!will!leave!audiences!reflecting!on!myriad!ways!in!which!AfricanBAmericans!continue!to!be!shackled!by!BB!and!continue!to!resist!BB!oppression.!In!the!

meantime,!the!artists!involved!in!the!project!will!continue!to!bring!their!diverse!

backgrounds!together!in!the!safe!space!they’ve!established!to!explore!sensitive!topics!and!

share!personal!experience!for!the!sake!of!making!art!with!social!impact.!

!

Hiawatha!Project!was!recently!awarded!a!prestigious!August!Wilson!Center!Programming!

grant!from!the!Pittsburgh!Foundation!to!present!JH:!Mechanics!of!a!Legend!at!the!August!Wilson!Center!in!February!2017.!!!The!company!has!also!received!generous!support!from!

! 3!

the!Brooks!Foundation,!Opportunity!Fund,!and!the!Heinz!Endowments!Small!Arts!Grant!

program.!

!

!

Hiawatha'Project!is!an!original!performance!company!that!explores!specific!social!

questions!through!myth,!free!association,!and!movement.!!!

www.hiawathaproject.org!!

!

!

Watch!a!highlight!video!from!the!workshop!performance!of!JH:!Mechanics!of!a!Legend!https://hiawathaproject.org/2015/12/03/jhmechanicsBofBaBlegendBworkshopB

presentationBhighlightBvideo/!!

!

Press'Contact'for'JH:!Mechanics!of!a!Legend:''Tené'Croom'

President'

Tené'Croom'Communications'

412D478D1815'

tene.croom.tc@gmail.com!!!